The Museum of the Albemarle starts the summer off with the opening of "Are We
There Yet," on April 19, 2024.
This traveling paneled photography exhibit, on loan from the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, “looks back at an era when tourism boomed thanks largely to a state-run marketing effort called “Variety Vacationland.”
The Variety Vacationland campaign was successful in creating a unified tourism industry in North Carolina from the 1930s to the 1970s by depicting our state as both modern and progressive, but with strong ties to its past. However, true to the Jim Crow era, most sites promoted were marketed (and accessible) to white tourists only; people of color were neglected and even exploited at times, an attitude this exhibit attempts to point out where possible.”
“During the Great Depression of the 1930s, politicians and business leaders began efforts to boost North Carolina’s economy by lobbying for a statewide campaign to showcase tourism attractions. This eventually led to a full-color tourist guide titled North Carolina, a Variety Vacationland first printed in 1937. It was soon followed by billboards, postcards, movies, television programs, and even a jingle!”
“This was a difficult exhibit to pull together during the COVID-19 pandemic,” says the exhibit’s curator, Katie Edwards, also curator of popular culture at the NC Museum of History. “I had to seek out photos of amazing vacation spots throughout the state – at a time when traveling and visiting locations was impossible.”
“While the exhibit showcases many of the popular sites promoted by the Variety Vacationland campaign, I also wanted to highlight where people of color were able to vacation during this era; while more sites existed, a few that I located – which the campaign failed to mention – are documented with several photos.”
Northeastern North Carolina highlights include Lake Mattamuskeet, the "Lost Colony" play, Fort Raleigh, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Elizabeth City Potato Festival, and the segregated beaches Chowan Beach, Bias Shores/Hargraves Beach, and Bogues Beach.
This exhibit, which will close in 2026, is free and open to the public.
About the Museum of the Albemarle
The Museum of the Albemarle is located at 501 S. Water Street, Elizabeth City, NC. (252) 335-1453. www.museumofthealbemarle.com. Find us on Facebook! Hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Sundays and State Holidays. Serving Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hertford, Hyde, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell, and Washington Counties, the museum is the northeast regional history museum of the North Carolina Division of State History Museums within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the state agency with the mission to enrich lives and communities and the vision to harness the state’s cultural resources to build North Carolina’s social, cultural, and economic future. Information is available 24/7 at www.dncr.nc.gov.
About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.
The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the North Carolina Symphony, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.