The North Carolina Fossil Festival will celebrate the rich fossil record of the region with thousands of people from around the world returning to the Miocene and Pliocene periods, which ranged from 2 to 18 million years ago, on May 28-29, 2022, in Aurora, Beaufort County, just off NC Route 33.
The North Carolina Fossil Festival, to benefit the Aurora Fossil Museum, will have free public admission, and plenty of free parking, and will include the town of Aurora’s streets filled with craft and natural history vendors, fossil sales, educational and STEM displays, plus food and beverage vendors. The festival will kick-off Saturday, May 28th at 8:00 a.m. with the Fossil 5K, and the community’s Festival Parade down Main Street at 10:00 a.m.
Family fun-filled activities are planned for both festival days, including the opening of fossil pits and piles at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 28th, where shark teeth and fossils can be found. Festival attendees will also enjoy “Ed’s Dinosaurs LIVE,” an entertaining show with life-size dinosaur puppets which includes Ruby the T-Rex. The Jurassic Classic Bike Race will be hosted by Flythe’s Bike Shop, and live music will be provided starting with the I-42 Band on the festival stage at 11:00 a.m., The Bonafides at 2:30 p.m., and Rivermist at 6:00 p.m.
A Laser Show and Glow Party with multitude of interactive activities will be held Saturday, May 28th starting at 8:00 p.m.
On Sunday, May 29th, the fun and educational experiences continue, with Slime Party and Fossil Scavenger Hunt kicking-off at 11:00 a.m., and Foam Party at 2:00 p.m. Attendees can join paleontologist and geologist Cynthia Crane, Executive Director of the Aurora Fossil Museum, who will lead exclusive tours of the museum’s research and collection space starting at 11:00 a.m. See additional North Carolina Fossil Festival details and two-day schedule online at www.eventeny.com/events/
Submitted by: George Young