When you’re looking for some beach time, one of the many beaches in the area will do the trick. When history or theater is calling your name, downtown Wilmington has the answer to your yearning.   But when you want to socialize and engage in a multi-generational activity, Leland has a place to go: the House of Pickleball.   The popularity of pickleball ...

Although the ocean draws numerous tourists to Pender County, another more inland attraction serves as a major contributor to its rural economy.   The Holly Shelter Game Land, at about 64,000 acres, makes up nearly 12% of the county’s acreage, according to Pender planners. The game land appeals to hunters, anglers, sport shooters and more.   “The H ...

Once again, summer’s high travel season is in the rearview, but that doesn’t mean beach businesses shutter.   Thanks to moderate temperatures, lower lodging rates and the like, fall is a shoulder season for vacationing at area beaches. Therefore, many businesses that boom in the summer are able to weather the slower seasons, even through the winter. &nb ...

The restaurant world, much like teenage fashion and Top 40 radio, is amazingly susceptible to trends and changing customer expectations. Restaurateurs, as they say, must roll with it.   One recent trend has seen a New England tradition – the lobster roll – claw its way to a front-and-center spot in the Cape Fear region.   In September, co-owners D ...

With more room coming to Wilmington International Airport (ILM), officials there wanted to find out what passengers might want to see, buy or eat as part of the growing airport's ongoing and upcoming terminal expansion. According to a news release Friday, ILM recently developed and shared a passenger survey, "with a goal of receiving customer feedback regarding ...

Correction: This version of the story corrects the recipient of the Historic Wilmington Foundation grant to the Coastal Land Trust. An earlier version stated that the grant was given to the Cedar Hill/West Bank Heritage Foundation. Navassa officials are optimistic about the impact a historic preservation project will have on the town’s economic development. Since ...

The Cape Fear Museum of History and Science is fully functional once again, nearly a year after sustaining damages from Hurricane Florence.   The final phase of repairs wrapped this month, following a two-week temporary closure. Flo first shuttered the museum for more than a month after making landfall Sept. 14, 2018, near Wrightsville Beach.   The finishing ...

A new hotel concept is fully opening in October in downtown Wilmington. The Hive, a boutique hotel at 505 North Second St., has opened six suites in June and will open its remaining eight rooms during the first week of October, after repairs are done from Hurricane Florence damage. A boutique hotel is a smaller, 10- to 100-unit accommodation that usually features mod ...

For the first time in decades, Battleship North Carolina has a new area open to visitors.   The ship’s cold storage compartments, the first new spaces added to the tour route in decades, can now be explored on daily tours. The World War II vessel could store 200,000 pounds of fresh food and fed 2,000 men while it was in service and at sea.   Loc ...

With Brooke Bloomquist’s background in marketing and special events and her father’s naval career and business prowess, their masterminding of Blue Shark Vodka seemed almost inevitable.   Five years ago, it started with drinks by the pool while Bloomquist was living in Hawaii, and it evolved into the first spirits distillery in New Hanover County. Blue S ...