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Why PARADE

Just a handful of the many firsts, great achievements, inspirational people, and overall reasons North Carolinians have to be "On Parade!"
  1. “First in Flight” - In 1903, the Wright Brothers made the first successful powered flight by man at Kill Devil Hill near Kitty Hawk, NC.  
  2. First public State University  - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  3. Furniture Capital of the World - High Point, NC
  4. Bojangles!  Founded and Headquartered in Charlotte, NC in 1977
  5. Cook Out!  Founded in Greensboro, NC in 1989
  6. Pepsi was invented and first served in New Bern, NC in 1898.
  7. Bank of America - Headquartered in Charlotte is one of the nation's largest banks
  8. Nation's leader in furniture, tobacco, sweet potato, brick, and textile production.
  9. OBX!  The Outer Banks of North Carolina hosts some of the most beautiful beaches in the country.
  10. First English colony in America was located on Roanoke Island.  Sir Walter Raleigh founded it.
  11. Highest peak east of the Mississippi - Mount Mitchell in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  It towers 6,684 feet above sea level.
  12. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts!  Founded in Winston-Salem, NC
  13. Barbeque Capital of the World - Lexington, NC
  14. State Motto:  “Esse quam videri”  (“To be rather than to seem”), BUT we like "Heels On Parade" better.
  15. NASCAR Hall of Fame - Charlotte, NC.  The Charlotte Motor Speedway is known as “America’s Home For Racing.”
  16. First miniature golf course - Fayetteville, NC
  17. Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run in Fayetteville, NC on March 7, 1914.
  18. The Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC is America's largest private residence, and includes a 250-room chateau, an award-winning winery, and extensive gardens.
  19. Most visited national park in the U.S. - Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which spans 500,000+ acres across both NC and TN.
  20. First state-owned art museum in the country is located in Raleigh, NC.
  21. Grandfather Mountain, the highest peak in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is the only private park in the world designated by the United Nations as an International Biosphere Reserve.
  22. Highest suspension footbridge in the U.S. - Grandfather Mountain's Mile-High Swinging Bridge. 5,305 feet above sea level and hangs about 80 feet above the ground.
  23. Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the U.S., was born in the Waxhaw area on the border between NC and SC. 
  24. James K. Polk, 11th President of the U.S., was born in Mecklenburg County, NC.
  25. Arnold Palmer honed his skills on the championship golf team of Wake Forest University.
  26. Largest number of beer breweries per capita of any city in the U.S. - Asheville, NC
  27. "Nation's Safest Beach" - White Lake near Elizabethtown.  Very unique in that it has a white sandy bottom and is blessed with crystal clear waters.  No currents, no tides, no real dangers of any kind to swimmers.
  28. North Carolina has 1,500 lakes of 10 acres or more in size and 37,000 miles of fresh water streams.