The Highway 64 Project October Newsletter
The Highway 64 Project
Monthly Newsletter | October 2026
Highway 64 connects communities across North Carolina, and so do the stories, people, and ideas that shape them. Led by Elon University students, the Highway 64 Project explores communities across the state through research, storytelling, partnerships, and conversations with the people who call North Carolina home.
Upcoming events
From mountain craft traditions to food festivals and community celebrations, October offers plenty of ways to experience North Carolina. Here are five events happening across the state this month.
1. MumFest | New Bern | October 10–11: Historic downtown New Bern comes alive for MumFest, a weekend filled with live music, food, local artists, vendors, and activities along the waterfront. The festival offers visitors a chance to explore the city while celebrating the fall season.
2. Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands
| Asheville | October 15–18: The Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands brings together artists and makers from across the region for several days of handmade work, demonstrations, and traditional Appalachian craft. Visitors can explore everything from pottery and textiles to woodworking and jewelry.
3. Apple Harvest Festival | Waynesville | October 17: Downtown Waynesville celebrates fall with its annual Apple Harvest Festival, featuring local vendors, food, crafts, live entertainment, and plenty of apple-inspired treats. The event highlights the community and agricultural traditions of western North Carolina.
4. Lexington Barbecue Festival | Lexington | October 24: One of North Carolina’s best-known food traditions returns to Uptown Lexington this October. The annual Barbecue Festival celebrates Lexington-style barbecue with vendors, live entertainment, street performers, activities, and plenty of barbecue throughout the day.
5. NASCAR Day Festival | Randleman | October 24: Randleman celebrates its connection to North Carolina racing history with the NASCAR Day Festival. The downtown event features vendors, food, entertainment, family activities, and a celebration of the people and traditions that helped shape the state’s racing culture.
Community Spotlight: Corey Davis
Corey Davis is an Assistant State Climatologist with the North Carolina State Climate Office, where his work focuses on helping communities better understand the weather and climate patterns shaping North Carolina. Corey has previously appeared on the Highway 64 podcast, and this month we are continuing the conversation by hearing his perspective on recent climate trends, community preparedness, and how climate information can be communicated in ways that feel relevant to North Carolinians.
How can communities better prepare for increasingly unpredictable wet and dry conditions?
“I encourage people to think about how they’ve handled wet times and dry ones in the past, then keep their heads on a swivel and be prepared to use those strategies as our weather calls for it, sometimes even using both within the space of a few weeks or months. For example, clearing debris from storm drains or waterways can help prevent flooding during wet periods, while being smart with irrigation can help communities weather periods of drought. I call these 'low-risk, low-regret decisions' since there are no consequences to doing them proactively, and they can help us absorb some of the shocks of those rapid swings.”
What have you learned about communicating climate issues in a way that feels relevant to North Carolinians?
“As a public service center for the state, part of the State Climate Office’s mission is using our climate data and expertise to inform people’s decisions and address their vulnerabilities. I try to use that decision-support framework whenever I’m talking about weather and climate. For farmers, that can mean anticipating whether it might be too wet or dry to plant in the spring, or how hurricane activity could affect rainfall and harvest timing. For local towns, that can mean helping them understand how extreme heat could affect their population and having heat action plans in place. For me, it boils down to cause and effect: if the weather or climate does this, then it could mean that for folks across the state. Being able to apply the science like that is a great way to make a connection.”
Have you seen examples of North Carolinians adapting to climate challenges in particularly effective ways?
“There’s some irony here in that the most inspiring changes tend to happen after our most devastating events. After the flooding from Hurricane Floyd in 1999, we realized the risks of having farms in floodplains, and many were bought out or farmers put plans in place to move animals and equipment to higher ground during future storms. After Hurricane Florence in 2018, the North Carolina Department of Transportation revised plans for rebuilding Interstate 95 through Lumberton to make it more resilient to future flood events. We’re now seeing similar adaptations in western North Carolina after Tropical Storm Fred in 2021 and Hurricane Helene in 2024. Local towns are still rebuilding, but they’re adding flood protection measures like wetland buffers and redesigning water treatment plants and pipes to better handle major flooding.”
Looking ahead, what climate-related issue or development in North Carolina will you be watching most closely?
“The big story I’ll be watching over the next few months is El Niño. We’ve been hearing all summer about a potential ‘super El Niño’ developing, and this event is tracking as one of the strongest on record. During El Niño events, we usually see a stronger jet stream bringing more storm systems and more precipitation overall to our part of the country. On one hand, that should be good news for our drought, but it also means a different set of hazards, with potential flooding, coastal erosion, and the first test of the Mountains’ flood preparedness since Helene. That means it’s shaping up to be a consequential and potentially record-setting few months in North Carolina and many other parts of the world.”
Community Partnership
Recent Collaboration
Elon University Environmental Studies Senior Seminar × Hillsborough Stormwater Department
Students in Elon University’s Environmental Studies Senior Seminar recently partnered with the Hillsborough Stormwater Department to explore environmental challenges affecting the local community. The collaboration gave students the opportunity to move beyond the classroom and apply their research, communication, and problem-solving skills to real-world environmental work.
Working alongside the Hillsborough Stormwater Department, students examined local stormwater and water-quality issues while learning how communities respond to environmental concerns at the local level. The project also demonstrated the value of collaboration between universities and community organizations, bringing together student perspectives and professional expertise to address issues that directly address North Carolina communities.
Elon University's Environmental Science Senior Seminar students are working with the Town of Hillsborough to plan a rain garden/bioswale to be planted at Cates Creek Park. This would entail planting native grasses, shrubs, and flowering plants; these will act as natural filters and hopefully provide some pollinator habitat and aesthetic appeal while naturally treating runoff from nearby concrete and preventing erosion on the slope at the park. Bioswales are usually utilized for these purposes and in many cases can be a great alternative to typical water retention systems.
Upcoming Podcast
Coming soon from the Highway 64 podcast.
Check out our newest podcast episode featuring Dr. Kelsey Bitting!
This episode of the Highway 64 podcast, "From Murphy to Manteo," features Dr. Kelsey Bitting, an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Elon University, in conversation with hosts Olivia Love and Dr. Michael Strickland about the practice of foraging wild foods and medicines. The discussion explores Kelsey’s personal experience and education on foraging, its historical and cultural significance, common misconceptions surrounding the medicinal properties of plants, and how reconnecting with foraging practices can deepen people’s relationships with their local environment. The episode highlights why responsible, sustainable foraging remains culturally and ecologically relevant today, particularly in the context of climate resiliency.