Editing Kinston, North Carolina (section)

==Culture==

=== Arts and theater ===
[[File:Grainger Elderly Housing - Kinston, NC.jpg|left|thumb|Former Grainger Performing Arts Center, now Grainger Elderly Housing]]
One of Kinston's most notable buildings is the [[Grainger Hill Performing Arts Center]], formerly Grainger High School. Constructed in 1924 after a fire destroyed the previous Kinston High School building, the school was named after Jesse W. Grainger, a local [[truck farm]]er who owned the land that the school was built upon and donated money to fund one-half of the building's $182,340 general contractor's fee. After the decision in 1970 to make way for the newly constructed and integrated [[Kinston High School (North Carolina)|Kinston High School]], it served as Kinston Jr. High School until 1987 (when ninth-grade students were moved to the campus of Kinston High School and eighth-grade students were relocated to the campus of Rochelle Middle School). After the school's closure, the building was sold to a private developer, who renovated the school and turned it into a performing arts center. The property was most recently sold to the Landmark Development Group, which renovated the building into Grainger Elderly Housing, a 57-unit apartment complex for low-income elderly residents.
[[File:Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library.jpg|thumb|Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library]]

=== Tourism and recreation ===
The Neuse Regional Library system is headquartered in Kinston and operates branches in Kinston, [[La Grange, North Carolina|LaGrange]], and [[Pink Hill, North Carolina|Pink Hill]], as well as locations in Greene and Jones Counties.<ref>[http://www.neuselibrary.org/branches/branches.html Branch Libraries of the Neuse Regional Library System<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080319003154/http://www.neuselibrary.org/branches/branches.html|date=2008-03-19}}</ref>

Kinston is home to the [[CSS Neuse|CSS ''Neuse'']], which is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris" /> Its remains are on display in the CSS ''Neuse'' Civil War Interpretive Center. The Lenoir County Confederate Memorial, the Caswell family cemetery, and the Lenoir County [[Korean War|Korean]] and [[Vietnam War]] Memorial are located nearby. There is also a Civil War Trails marker.<ref>[http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/hs/neuse/neuse.htm CSS Neuse State Historic Site<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229061225/http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/hs/neuse/neuse.htm |date=2008-02-29 }}</ref>

The Cultural Heritage Museum, built in 2000 on South Queen Street as a new economic development catalyst for Kinston and the surrounding areas of eastern North Carolina, was created to recognize the contributions of [[African Americans]] in numerous fields. It pays tribute to the more than 200,000 Black soldiers and 7,000 White officers of the [[United States Colored Troops]] who fought with the Union forces in the Civil War. It also honors Black military veterans from all wars, [[Carl Long (baseball)|Carl Long]] and the [[Negro league baseball|Negro Baseball League]] players, local heroes, and Africa and [[African diaspora|Black history]] in general. The museum intends to generate jobs and promote economic expansion opportunities.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.culturalheritagemuseum.org/ |title=Culturalheritagemuseum.Org<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2008-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151116134628/http://culturalheritagemuseum.org/ |archive-date=2015-11-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:Chef & the Farmer.jpg|left|thumb|Chef & the Farmer]]

Kinston is home to several notable restaurants. The Chef & the Farmer, recipient of a James Beard Award, started by [[Vivian Howard]] and Ben Knight, is located in downtown Kinston. The PBS series ''[[A Chef's Life]]'' focuses on the restaurant, owners, and local farmers from whom it sources. Also a proponent of sustainable practices and local ingredients, [[Mother Earth Brewing]] was founded in Kinston in the summer of 2008.

Other local attractions include the [[Neuseway Nature Center and Planetarium]], the Kinston Center for the Arts, the Global Transit Park (GTP), [[Grainger Stadium]], the Caswell Center, and [[Lenoir Memorial Hospital]].

Annual festivities in Kinston include the Sand in the Streets concert series held at Pearson Park, the Annual BBQ Festival on the Neuse River, and the Festival on the Neuse.