A happy Wednesday to everyone who celebrates it as the day before the day before Friday. Below, we have a lovely view from Nags Head and nine October festivals in western NC, but first:

We have an exclusive story to bring you about a mammoth get-out-the-vote effort in North Carolina. 

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) told me that they have recruited more than 12,000 North Carolina volunteers to mobilize Black voters in this year’s midterms. 

While it is a statewide effort, the group’s focal point is Congressional District 1 in eastern NC. You might recall that in 2025 President Trump ordered Republican state lawmakers in NC to gerrymander this district—the only predominantly Black Congressional district in NC. 

Let me be frank: This many volunteers, especially local volunteers, is staggering. It is, potentially, a game-changing number.  

In a new Billy Ball Explains NC, I broke down why this effort, following the dismantling of the Voting Rights Act, is so significant. And why voter suppression is not just a thing of the past in NC. 

Watch it here. 

Why are 12,000+ local volunteers pounding the pavement in NC? Watch the new Billy Ball Explains NC here. (Graphic by Kelly Lennon)

Thanks for reading the Cardinal & Pine newsletter. If this newsletter makes a difference in your life, share it with a friend now. 

Here’s what you’ll get in today’s email: 

C&P reader Roxanne Newton sent us this lovely photo from Nags Head. I know those dunes pretty well.

Got a good View from NC? Send it to Cardinal & Pine!

Video by Dylan Rhoney/Cardinal & Pine

A very important deadline for North Carolina voters is upon us. 

This Friday at 5 pm is the voter registration deadline. Cardinal & Pine’s Dylan Rhoney tells you what you need to know here. 

Of course, early voting—which begins next Thursday, Oct. 15—will offer the opportunity to register and vote in the same visit, although why worry about the lines? Voter registration is easy. 

Cardinal & Pine has everything you need to know about the upcoming elections in North Carolina. Go right now to our 2026 Voting Guide.

Make sure to bookmark it so you don’t miss any updates.

You’re election-ready. 🙌 Now help a friend get there, too—forward this email before Nov. 3.

1. Rabies vaccine bait drops planned this week in western North Carolina by USDA. WLOS

“Oral Rabies Vaccination (ORV) bait drops are planned for this week in the mountains of western North Carolina.”

2. NC Republicans tout a gas tax cut that Democrats call an election-season desperation move. NC Newsline

“Democrats say GOP leaders are motivated by election fears, not concern for their constituents.”

3. Marking 10 years since deadly Hurricane Matthew devastated North Carolina. CBS-17

“Matthew was the strongest storm of the 2016 hurricane season, and brought significant flash and river flooding to the Carolinas.”

4. Where’s Sarah Stevens? The Assembly

“With the November election approaching, the Republican candidate for the state Supreme Court hasn’t run TV ads or raised much money.”

The Woolly Worm Festival celebrates these curious, weather-predicting caterpillars. (The Woolly Worm Festival)

October in North Carolina is for peak fall weather, especially in the mountains.

Today, Cardinal & Pine published a new guide on October festivals, featuring the delightfully odd Wooly Worm Festival in Banner Elk, the Carolina Mountain Cheese Fest in Black Mountain, and this week’s Cherokee Indian Fair. 

That’s just three. Our guide includes six more October festivals to put on your calendar. 

Read it here.

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Billy Ball. I’m an NC native and journalist. I tend to lean left on opinion, but I lean no way on facts. Today’s edition includes stories from Dylan Rhoney and Brook Bolen. It was edited by Paula Solis.

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