Editing Elizabeth City, North Carolina (section)

==Arts and culture==
Elizabeth City is home to the [[Museum of the Albemarle]], the northeastern regional branch of the [[North Carolina Museum of History]]. The museum occupies a prominent location adjacent to the city's waterfront and contains many permanent and revolving exhibits on the history and culture of the historic Albemarle region. The history of European colonization dates back to 1668, making the Albemarle the country's oldest colonial inhabited area, second only to Jamestown and adjacent settlements in neighboring Virginia.

[[File: Museum of the Albemarle, Elizabeth City, NC.jpg|thumb|Museum of the Albemarle viewed from Waterfront Park]]

Downtown Elizabeth City is also home to Arts of the Albemarle, a regional arts council located in the Lowery-Chesson Building. Once home to the Chesson Department Store on the ground floor and a turn-of-the-century opera house on the second and third floors, the once-dilapidated building undertook a $3.4 million renovation, and "The Center" became AOA's permanent home in 2005. The three-story building houses three art galleries, the state-of-the-art McGuire Theater for the performing arts, and multiple conference and meeting rooms. The Center has been an economic driver for downtown Elizabeth City since its opening. 
[[File:elizabethcity mainstreetCBD.JPG|thumb|Main Street business district, looking westward and away from Pasquotank River waterfront]]

Among these are the most striking architectural feature of the greater Albemarle region, the Virginia Dare Hotel, and Arcade, which has dominated the skyline of Elizabeth City since its completion in 1927. Designed by [[William Lee Stoddart]] of [[New York City]], one of the nation's leading hotel architects, the nine-story building was billed as the Albemarle's first “skyscraper” when it opened in 1927. It remains the tallest building in the region.

The hotel contained 100 rooms and a heated garage (now the rear parking lot) with an interior filling station and lubricating stand. It remained the premier hotel and center of Elizabeth City's social activities for over 40 years. Architecturally, its restrained Colonial Revival finish follows the typical division of such tall buildings into the three parts of a classical pillar: a sturdy two-story base; a simply detailed six-story shaft; and a one-story capital, which displays an abundance of decoration. Today it serves as an elderly apartment complex.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.echna.org/documents/MSCommWeb.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=December 29, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721221004/http://www.echna.org/documents/MSCommWeb.pdf |archive-date=July 21, 2017  }}</ref>

Elizabeth City has been the birthplace of a few government officials in its history. Judge [[John Warren Davis (judge)|John Warren Davis]], a justice of the Federal Court of Appeals, was born in Elizabeth City, as was [[John C. B. Ehringhaus]], governor of North Carolina from 1933 to 1937 and for whom Ehringhaus Street, a major thoroughfare, is named.<ref name="historicelizabethcity.org"/>
[[File:NC Potato Festival 2010.jpg|thumb|National Potato Peeling Contest, one of several potato-related activities at the festival]]

During the same era, nine-ball legend [[Luther Lassiter]] was born in Elizabeth City, and developed much of his skill at [[pool (cue sports)|pool]] in the City Billiards pool hall.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1080434/index.htm | work=CNN | title=Shooting Out The Lights With Wimpy | date=October 16, 1967 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604172817/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1080434/index.htm | archive-date=June 4, 2011 | df=mdy-all }}</ref>

Elizabeth City was the 1929 birthplace of the American [[Moth (dinghy)|Moth Boat]], a class of recreational sailboats invented by Dr. Joel Van Sant. The city hosts a Moth Boat Regatta annually in late February.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mothboat.com/|title=Classic Moth Boats - Classic Moth Boat Association|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517172408/http://mothboat.com/|archive-date=May 17, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mothboat.com/schedule.html |title=Classic Moth Boat Association |access-date=February 11, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831233657/http://www.mothboat.com/schedule.html |archive-date=August 31, 2012  }}</ref> The Moth Boat features prominently on the city's seal.

===North Carolina Potato Festival===
Elizabeth City hosts the [[North Carolina Potato Festival]], an annual celebration of the [[potato]], one of the region's most important crops. The festival has steadily become one of the most popular draws in northeastern North Carolina, and is usually held in mid-May in downtown Elizabeth City.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Irish Potato Festival, NC Potato Festival {{!}} NCpedia|url=https://www.ncpedia.org/symbols/irish-potato-festival|access-date=January 29, 2022|website=www.ncpedia.org}}</ref>

===Albemarle Craftsman's Fair===
This annual Christmastime fair is sponsored by the Albemarle Craftsman's Guild and features artisans, many of whom wear period costumes, selling and demonstrating traditional crafts. Crafts include quilting and fiber arts, pottery, jewelry and woodwork.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.albemarlecraftsmansfair.com/|title=Home|first=Lisa|last=Winslow|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120627041233/http://www.albemarlecraftsmansfair.com/|archive-date=June 27, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.discoverelizabethcity.com/pdf/PressRelease/October2011-AlbemarleCraftsmansFair-ElizabethCity.pdf|title=Albemarle Craftsmans Fair|accessdate=February 18, 2023}}{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===Juneteenth Celebration===
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2021}} 
This annual celebration is sponsored by River City Community Development Corporation and celebrates the freeing of African Slaves in America. It has evolved into a multi-racial, multi-cultural celebration of American Freedom. The festival features vendors and informational booths, speakers, entertainment, and good food.<ref>{{cite web |title=Juneteenth 2022 |url=https://www.rivercitycdc.org/juneteenth |publisher=River City Community Development Corporation |access-date=October 27, 2022}}</ref>