New Bern Historical Society receives NC CARES: Humanities Relief Grant

Ghostwalk 2020
For this year’s Ghostwalk, the ghosts will be captured on video. Here are a couple of spirits who popped in last year. (Jim Atchinson and Cinda Hill)

Going Virtual to Replace Programs Impacted by the Covid Pandemic

The New Bern Historical Society has received a $4900 NC CARES: Humanities Relief Grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council. This emergency grant funding was provided to North Carolina cultural organizations experiencing hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This grant will help fund the Historical Society’s work to move their programs into the virtual sphere.

“We are grateful to be one of 59 organizations the North Carolina Humanities Council selected for this funding,” said Executive Director Mickey Miller. “We are very excited to be able to present New Bern’s fascinating history in new ways and expand our outreach.”

This important funding will support our ongoing efforts to tell New Bern’s stories, this time in the virtual realm. This year our largest annual event, Ghostwalk, will be available in a video format produced with the help of professional videographers. Some of our most popular programs can now be found on our Facebook page and can also be watched on our website NewBernHistorical.org. We are working on additional series. Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Deeds, premiering in August, will introduce viewers to five amazing women from New Bern’s history. All of which are made possible through the cultural funding provided by NC CARES.

NC CARES: Humanities Relief Grant funding was provided to the North Carolina Humanities Council by the National Endowment for the Humanities through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by Congress in late March. The $2.2 trillion CARES package included $75 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities, nearly $30 million, or a total of 40%, of which was sent to the 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils, including the North Carolina Humanities Council, to distribute to local cultural nonprofits and programming. The North Carolina Humanities Council NCHumanities.org is a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The mission of the New Bern Historical Society is to celebrate and promote New Bern and its heritage through events and education.  Offices are located in the historic Attmore-Oliver House at 511 Broad Street in New Bern.  For more information, call 252-638-8558 or go NewBernHistorical.org or Facebook.com/NewBernHistoricalSociety.

Submitted by Kathy Morrison on Behalf of Mickey Miller, New Bern Historical Society