Christopher Everett spent a weekend in the Arts & Cultural District as part of a special free screening of his critically acclaimed documentary Wilmington on Fire on April 15 at Neuse Regional Library. Everett is a native of Laurinburg and wrote about his time in Lenoir County and how Kinston could be a model for rural placemaking in places like his hometown.
By Christopher Everett
Coming to Kinston, North Carolina this past weekend was an eye-opening experience for me on so many levels. When you think of Rural America, you think of the countryside, farming, manufacturing and poverty. The one thing that never comes to mind when thinking about Rural America is cultural arts. Smart Kinston in Kinston, North Carolina is setting a great example and leading the way towards a new vision for rural towns in the form of creating cultural arts districts.