Quirky NC
Offbeat And Off The Beaten Path In North Carolina
Ready to stray off the beaten path for something different, unique or downright weird? With gas prices high, you’ll enjoy exploring some of these slightly odd, interesting oddities hidden in North Carolina.
Belhaven Memorial Museum, Belhaven
(50 miles east of Greenville)
Think you’ve seen it all? One visit to the Belhaven Memorial Museum will surely change your mind. This museum is the result of Mrs. Eva Blount Way’s penchant for collecting buttons. When she died in 1962 at age 93, Mrs. Way had amassed some 30,000 buttons in addition to a fascinating array of memorabilia. Among the collection are period clothing, toys and dolls, china, farm tools and some truly “odds” and ends such as a dried flea wedding (visible through a magnifying glass), a two-headed kitten, one-eyed fetal pig and a hare lipped dog. (252) 943-6817
The Mary and Marvin Johnson Gourd Museum, Angier
(20 miles south of Raleigh)
Marvin Johnson, long-time president of the Gourd Village Garden Club, founded the Gourd Museum in 1964. He and his wife collected so many gourd crafts from around the world that they decided to build a museum to display them. A master gourd grower, Johnson cultivated more than 200 different kinds of gourds, most of which he crafted and placed on display. Visitors will find giant African gourds and gourds so tiny they look like robins’ eggs. The collection move from the family's home in 2006 to the municipal building (by the library) in downtown Angiers. (919) 639-4413
Museum of the Alphabet, Waxhaw
(just south of Charlotte in Union County)
The Museum of the Alphabet fills a small building with various depictions of the world’s alphabets. Exhibits include languages dating from early Egyptian to Turkish, Russian and Greek, to name a few. Many of the displays are hand-painted with amazing attention to detail. (704) 843-6066
Clyde Jones – Chainsaw Folk Artist, Bynum
(south of Chapel Hill)
The small mill town of Bynum has become popular for its unusual outdoor art. Local chainsaw folk artist Clyde Jones has a small mill house covered in decorative murals and surrounded by hundreds of animal figures handcrafted with a chainsaw. Jones carves his “critters” from large chunks of wood (mostly cedar); he then uses an assortment of junk (old softballs, plastic fruit, old film canisters) to add other features. Also, check out the YouTube link and watch Clyde make a critter at the 2008 Clydefest. (919) 542-0394
Whirligigs, near Wilson
(45 miles east of Raleigh)
Located in Wilson County is an amazing collection of “Whirligigs” – large, wooden, wind-driven mechanical windmills – created by local folk artist Vollis Simpson. The devices incorporate complex movement and sound and are an integral part of more than 30 works erected on Simpson’s property. His works have been exhibited in several museums, such as the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. He has also been featured in several publications, including Sign and Symbol, People and Time. Take advantage of great antiquing and barbecue while you’re there. (252) 243-8440
Country Doctor Museum, Bailey
(35 miles east of Raleigh)
The Country Doctor Museum, founded in 1967, is the only medical museum in the nation dedicated to rural physicians who practiced medicine in the South during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The museum collects and preserves the medical instruments and tools of pharmacy used by country doctors as well as their diaries, papers and medical books. The museum is housed in two restored 19th-century physicians’ offices. (252) 235-4165
Love Valley, Love Valley
(60 miles west of Winston-Salem)
If you love westerns, this is the place for you. In 1948, Mayor Andy Barker decided to start his own town in Iredell County’s Brushy Mountains. When you approach Lovevalley, you’ll think you are entering an authentic western town, complete with a dance hall and saloon, tack shop, general store and blacksmith. Cowboys and their horses roam the dirt streets. No vehicles are allowed, so saddle up and ride on in. (704) 878-3480
Real-Life Mayberry, Mount Airy
(35 miles northwest of Winston-Salem)
Fans of the 1960s Andy Griffith Show get a taste of the life depicted in the popular television series when they visit Mount Airy, Griffith’s hometown and the inspiration for the series. Visitors are welcome to take a ride in Barney’s squad car and cruise by Andy’s childhood home and down Main Street past Floyd's Barbershop. The town has dedicated a bronze statue of Andy and TV son Opie, and there’s plenty more to see and do around this small town, from enjoying a pork chop sandwich at Snappy Lunch to sampling the wine and beer made by Old North State Winery. (336) 789-OPIE
UNUSUAL EVENTS
National Hollerin’ Contest, Spivey’s Corner
(45 miles south of Raleigh)
Every year on the third Saturday in June, people from across the nation come to hear a bit of history at the National Hollerin’ Contest. The contest garners attention and fame throughout the country and the world. The contest and its winners have been featured on television shows such as “The Tonight Show” and “Late Night with David Letterman,” in Sports Illustrated magazine and documentary films. Contestants compete in such contests as the Whistlin’ Contest, the Conch Shell and Fox Horn Blowin’ Contest, the Junior Hollerin’ Contest, the National Hollerin’ Contest, and ‘the Ladies Callin’ Contest, where wives call their husbands in from the fields. (910) 567-2600
Underwater Bicycle Race, Beaufort
(100 miles northeast of Wilmington)
The Annual Underwater Bike Race, held off the shore of Indian Beach at the Indra wreckage site, draws intrepid participants each year. Contestants decorate their bikes (and themselves), don scuba gear and race to the finish – underwater. It matters not how rider and bike finish, as long as they both cross the finish line. Spectators can view the action by charter boat or by snorkeling or scuba diving. The event benefits the Mile of Hope children’s cancer group. (252) 728-2265
Ayden Collard Festival, Ayden
(90 miles southeast of Raleigh)
The Ayden Collard Festival got its name about 30 years ago when the town decided it needed a festival but couldn’t decide what to call it. The local newspaper held a contest, collards won out over cucumbers, and the rest is history. The festival has all the traditional elements, such as a parade, concerts, foods, arts and crafts, carnival rides, a 5K run/walk and the crowning of the Collard Queen. The festival incorporates traditional elements and also honors the festival’s namesake: the Collard Cooking Contest, followed by the Collard Eating Contest. But perhaps the most anticipated event is the “Ms. Collard Blossom Womanless Beauty Pageant,” in which Ayden men create some true “photographic” moments. (252) 746-7080
Benson Mule Days, Benson
(30 miles south of Raleigh)
The mule has been highly regarded in the rural community of Benson. As technology began to take the place of mule-power in the late 1940s, a few city leaders wanted to honor the mule for all it had contributed, and Benson Mule Days was born. Today this popular event annually draws some 70,000 people from all over the country and around the world. Activities include pageants, parades, rodeos, food, arts and, of course, the mule events: pulling contests, halter classes and pleasure riding. And for fun there’s the human braying contest, coon jumping and the popular mule race. (919) 894-3825.
Annual Woolly Worm Festival, Banner Elk
(15 miles southwest of Boone)
Move over Punxsutawney Phil, there’s a new meteorologist in town, and his name is “Woolly Worm.” For generations, High Country residents have been studying the black and brown bands on these fuzzy caterpillars to determine what kind of winter to expect (the colors of the worm’s 13 bands correspond to the 13 weeks of winter). To chase the honor of being the official woolly worm to have its rings read, caterpillars race up 3-foot strings. Anyone can enter a woolly worm for a chance to win; those who forget their favorite worms at home can pick up a winning worm at the festival. Humans with an urge to run will enjoy the challenging 10K “Woolly Worm Woad Wace.” The festival – with crafts, food, live entertainment and more – takes place in the small mountain town of Banner Elk and attracts around 20,000 fans, 140 vendors and some 1,000-race entrants annually. (828) 898-5605
New Year’s Eve Possum Drop, Brasstown
(100 miles southwest of Asheville)
New York may have its descending Waterford crystal ball to ring in the New Year, but Brasstown has, well, a possum. That’s right, a live possum in a festively decorated Plexiglas container is gently lowered to signify the beginning of the New Year. Of course, the event wouldn’t be complete without music, homemade cider and a pageant to elect Miss Possum. These and other activities combine for a New Year’s Eve not to be forgotten. (828) 837-3797
added: December 5, 2008
updated: May 12, 2009
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