Celebrate Good Times, Come On! Durham (NC) Is 150 Years Old, Y’all!

Durham, NC – In Durham, the spectacular begs to be discovered.

We’re not a boastful city; magical moments occur here without glitter-filled cannons announcing their arrival. Even after 150 years of innovation, Durham finds a way to humbly revel in its firsts, accepting the approval of communities around the country, but celebrating wins from within.

Bottom line: we don’t often sound off about our successes.

This year, we’re shouting.

This is the year of our sesquicentennial, a marker noting 150 years since the City of Durham was incorporated. It sounds like a bureaucratic pat on the back, but it’s so much more than that — it’s a celebration of Durham establishing itself as a pillar in our state and on the map as well as all the innovations and changemakers from our past. This is Durham 150.

This pivotal year encourages Durhamites and visitors to explore themes of history and education, innovation and entrepreneurship, social equity and robust democracy, as well as arts and leisure.

Durham 150 is supported by the City of Durham, Discover Durham, the Museum of Durham History, as well as the generous contributions of Durham residents, businesses, and organizations. All year long, over 150 events and projects have taken place in Durham, many of them funded by Durham 150 grants.

Over 1,500 people descended upon the American Tobacco Campus for the Durham 150 Opening Celebration this spring, mere days after an explosion occurred downtown. In breweries, across wide-open green spaces, and on rooftops, American Dance Festival pop up performances happened during a month-long festival. Taraji P. Henson graced our historic Carolina Theatre stage to represent local Civil Rights activists.

For 12 months, our community has proven that we’re here to stay, reveling in a year that has been a non-stop invitation to delight in the best of the place we all call home. In theaters, around dinner tables, on red carpets, and in time capsules, we’ve retold decades-old stories, reclaimed narratives, and nurtured the next generation. It makes sense that so many of these Durham 150 moments happened face to face and shoulder to shoulder this year.

No, these aren’t necessarily events that make national headlines — but they instill the kind of pride that can bolster a community for the next century and a half. That’s the Durham way.

Regardless of how you’ve chosen to participate in our Durham 150 year, we invite you to attend a final commemorative evening this November 2 at DPAC. Community members will take center stage as we honor changemakers in our history books, premiere a new Durham anthem, and dream about the future. Attendees will find plenty to remember in this once in a lifetime evening as actors, singers, videos, and reverential moments are put on display.

Whether you’ve been to DPAC one hundred times or never have been before … whether you’ve heard the stories of Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, Dr. James B. Shepard, or Dr. Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, you’ve never seen them portrayed as they will be on November 2. Get in on the action: visit durham150.org/tickets.

We’ll see you there — this is certainly a moment worth shouting about.