Today's News

Pender County is hosting its fifth annual North Carolina Blueberry Festival this weekend on Friday and Saturday, June 20-21, in historic downtown Burgaw.

Last year’s event attracted an estimated 25,000 people and this year organizers expect to surpass that number.

Celebrating the home of the first cultivated blueberry in North Carolina, the Blueberry Festival celebrates the historical, economic and cultural significance of blueberries in the southeastern region of the state.

Currently, Pender County ranks second in blueberry production in North Carolina.

As part of the Fourth of July festivities in Southport, each year Franklin Square Gallery invites artists from across the country to participate in its July National Exhibition, a juried show.

These artists from afar join local and regional entrants. First slides of submissions are judged for them to become part of the show, and accepted artwork is then shipped to the gallery for the exhibition. Artists are in contention for prizes totaling more than $6,000 in cash, merchandise and guaranteed purchase awards.

While there are many plant diseases that make growing tomatoes a challenge in the Southeast, a relatively new disease threatens to make homegrown tomatoes almost impossible for many local gardeners.

Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV) is different from most tomato diseases because a virus, rather than a fungus or bacteria, cause it.

Daylilies are tolerant of almost anything nature or humans can cast upon them—heat, cold, drought and neglect. They are remarkably resistant to diseases and pest problems.

Daylilies require little care, increasing in number and beauty year after year. Their spectacular blooms create a palette of colors. Thirty-five thousand plus registered varieties can be found in a kaleidoscope of extravagant shades—creamy beige, lemon yellow, pale lavender, hot magenta, candy pink, pizza orange, splashy red and royal purple.