North Carolina Black Bear Festival
FrequencyAnnually
Location(s)Plymouth, North Carolina, United States
WebsiteOfficial website

The North Carolina Black Bear Festival is a three-day annual June event in Plymouth, North Carolina.

The festival celebrates black bears as an important part of North Carolina's cultural, historical and natural heritage.[1] The festival has over thirty activities, such as live music, bear tours, museums, and helicopter rides. The festival has up to 30,000 attendees each year.[2]

History

The North Carolina Black Bear Festival was created in 2015 by Tom Harrison, director of Washington County Travel & Tourism Authority. The festival was created to celebrate that North Carolina has the largest black bears and the highest density black bear population globally.[3]

In its first year, the festival was given the "Rising Star Award" and later was awarded the "Top Twenty Event Award" as well as "Best Event" from the Southeast Festival & Events Association.[2] There were around 7000 visitors the first year; in 2018 the event had around 30,000 visitors from 18 states and four countries.[2] Events include mechanical rides, wildlife museums, tours on a bear farm, helicopter rides, a black bear tent theatre, and fishing.

National Black Bear Day, which is celebrated on the first Saturday in June, was founded by the festival.[4][5]

A black bear in its natural habitat

References

  1. ↑ https://www.ncwildlife.org/portals/0/learning/documents/profiles/blackbear.pdf
  2. 1 2 3 "Black Bear Festival brings home top festival award". Washington Daily News. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  3. ↑ "NC Festival is a Bear Lover's Paradise". Carolina Country. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  4. ↑ "Return of the Award Winning NC Black Bear Festival!". WITN. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  5. ↑ "NATIONAL BLACK BEAR DAY - First Saturday in June". National Day Calendar. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
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