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Diana Gabaldon, whose popular “Outlander” novels and Starz series unfold across North Carolina, will join the inaugural NC First in Freedom Festival, a hallmark America250 event that takes place Feb. 21-28 in southeastern NC. The event commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge, the first significant Patriot victory with the defeat of Scottish Highlanders in the “Lexington and Concord of the South.” “An Evening With Diana Gabaldon,” complete with conversation and a backstage meet-and-greet, takes place Feb. 27, the eve of the battle re-enactment in Currie. Gabaldon will also join a guided battlefield tour before the re-enactment. In April, Halifax State Historic Site will mark the 250th anniversary of the Halifax Resolves, which made North Carolina the first colony to call for independence. The weekend of April 10-12 will include living history, tours, a military encampment, and small arms and artillery firing. Track more events at America250.nc.gov.

Raleigh, High Point and Charlotte are becoming the forever home of the largest North American collection of Danish recycle artist Thomas Dambo’s celebrated troll sculptures with this fall’s creation of seven outsize figures. An additional dozen, a collection dubbed “Trolls: A Field Study,” make their North American debut in Asheville with a Nov. 15-Feb. 17 residency at the NC Arboretum. At Raleigh’s Dix Park, the awakening has begun with five trolls crafted from natural and reclaimed materials. They’ll be connected via storyline to one each in High Point and Charlotte with exact locations kept secret until the unveiling to encourage discovery and exploration. The NC seven will join more than 150 other Thomas Dambo sculptures that have transformed public spaces, forests and greenways across five continents and attracted a devoted following that pursues the artist’s global Trollmap. 

The first phase of the Catawba Indian Nation’s $1 billion Catawba Two Kings Casino is on track to open in March in Kings Mountain. The initial development will feature more than 1,300 slot machines, 22 table games and sports betting kiosks plus a 40-seat restaurant and bar. When completed in 2027, the 16-acre complex will include more than 2 million square feet with a 24-story, 385-room hotel. In 2021, the tribe opened a temporary casino space. The resort's name pays tribute to 18th-century Catawba Chief King Hagler and the city of Kings Mountain, which is off Interstate 85 west of Charlotte.

The North Carolina Zoo, the world's largest natural habitat zoo, adds a third continent to its realm with an 8-acre Asia exhibit, targeted for a summer 2026 opening. Tigers, red pandas, Komodo dragons and Chinese alligators are among the species expected to occupy the space, which will also include a glass-walled restaurant overlooking the tiger habitat and an overhead tiger walk. With 500 developed acres, the Asheboro zoo currently features Africa and North America displays plus desert habitat and an aviary with exotic birds and tropical plants. Visitors can opt to stroll 5 miles of trails through the main property or take a free tram to explore the wonders.

Wineries and vineyards in a 176-square-mile area of southwestern NC have claimed a new appellation, the state's seventh. Tryon Foothills American Viticultural Area, approved in September by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, encompasses four wineries and five commercial vineyards in a scenic stretch in the Blue Ridge Foothills. The region is distinguished by the thermal belt climatic phenomenon in which warm air lingers on the slopes while cooler air drains to the valleys below to create an unusually stable environment for grape growing. The new AVA joins Yadkin Valley, Swan Creek, Haw River Valley, Upper Hiwassee Highlands, Appalachian High Country and Crest of the Blue Ridge Henderson County on the NC wine landscape.