The U.S. Navy is coming to the Port City this spring, coinciding with the N.C. Azalea Festival. Wilmington is among the 14 selected sites – including Miami and Puerto Rico – to host Navy Week 2019.   Sailors from across the U.S. will participate in the outreach program sailing into Wilmington April 1-7.   Navy Weeks are designed to give people the ...

The Southeast Tourism Society recently named the N.C. Azalea Festival one of the group’s Top 20 Events in the Southeast for April this year.   The festival, which this year falls on April 3-7, features more than 30 events attended by several hundreds of thousands, according to organizers.   Georgia-headquartered Southeast Tourism Society is a nonprofit ...

Wilmington City Council’s final Tuesday vote on short-term rentals allows whole-house rentals in residential zones with some restrictions, a compromise that received mixed reviews from locals who have been involved with the issue since the beginning. The restriction states that establishments eligible for whole-house lodging should have a separation distance of 40 ...

New funding options for the Choose Cape Fear campaign will be explored this year. The regional economic development marketing initiative, which developed around the Wells Fargo Championship golf tournament in May 2017, received public funds for campaign efforts.   Most of those funds, however, were committed through the first phase of the campaign, said Natalie Engl ...

Landing a third carrier and new flights at the Wilmington International Airport triggered unprecedented growth in passenger traffic last year.   The new additions came as the airport embarks on its $60 million expansion that will increase ILM’s ability to handle more travelers in the coming years.   Just over 934,000 passengers flew through the airport ...

Historic Wrightsville Beach landmark Blockade Runner Beach Resort is reopening its largest block of rooms Feb. 15, with another big portion to follow in March and April, according to an announcement Wednesday. Blockade Runner closed in September to repair substantial damages caused by Hurricane Florence.   “The reopening will be in two major stages,” ...

Construction has been delayed for one year on a new exhibit at the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Originally slated to open in 2019, construction of the new Asian otter exhibit was supposed to begin this month. “The aquarium has been planning this build for a long time with design and funding in place,” Associate Director Brian Dorn said in a news release. ...

The Cape Fear Museum of History and Science is readying new reveals in the new year. Among them, a unique mobile program that’s expected to launch this spring.   The museum at 814 Market St. will introduce Science Cycle, which will bring science programs to unexpected places.  With it, the museum can deliver science to outdoor spaces.   “By u ...

With the 2018 holiday season in full swing, nearly a third of Wrightsville Beach’s hotel rooms remain unavailable for booking because of damage caused by Hurricane Florence. Two of the island’s three major resorts were forced to close for repairs after the storm, which made landfall near Wrightsville Beach on Sept. 14. Both the Blockade Runner Beach Resort, ...

Cape Fear Museum of History and Science has received a coveted designation. The museum, 814 Market St. in Wilmington, is now one of only seven organizations in the state to obtain a Smithsonian affiliation. The affiliate program establishes long-term relationships with museums, education institutions and cultural organizations to facilitate the loan of Smithsonian artif ...