Please join us at the Museum of Durham History (500 W. Main St.) for our 5th Birthday celebration! We mark five years of sharing Durham’s stories with a weekend of activities that recognizes the past, highlights Museum accomplishments, and shares our value of inclusion with a series of FREE events supported by our community partners. All events rain or shine.

Friday, October 26th: 6:30-8:30PM kicks off the occasion with a “Fireside Chat” outside under the Museum gazebo. Emcee John Schelp hosts an evening of local storytellers including the Honorable Bill Bell, Jim Wise, Mayme Webb-Bledsoe, Andre Vann, Tommy Hunt, Charmaine McKissick-Melton, Dorian Bolden and more. Complimentary refreshments will be served, and revelers can toast their own s’mores around a fire pit. A backdrop of rare historic footage of Durham will be projected on screens around the gazebo during the storytelling, courtesy of Durham Cinematheque.

On Saturday, October 27th, the day starts with two different ways to tour Durham’s history, both starting from the Museum.

9:30AM: Preservation Durham will leave from the Museum and lead a walking tour of the surrounding neighborhoods.

10:00AM: History Grove Champion Steve Channing will lead a leisurely bike tour of several History Groves the Museum has helped shepherd over the years. We’ll go from Main St. to Durham Central Park to Oval Park to West End and end back at 500 W. Main St., covering almost 7 miles round trip.

11:30AM – 3PM, birthday cake will be served, as well as Soul Fresh Spring Rolls Food Truck on site. Live entertainment by Kidznotes All Star Trio, NCCU Jazz Ensemble, The Bouncing Bulldogs, and Durham Divas n’ Dude.

Sunday, October 28th at 1pm, the birthday celebration concludes with the dedication of a History Grove in the North West Entrance of Forest Hills Park, 1044 W. Forest Hills Blvd. The latest History Grove honors mother, activist, politician, and philanthropist Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, who was also the great-granddaughter of Washington Duke. Representatives from the Semans family, co-sponsor Forest Hills Neighborhood Association, and the Museum will be on hand.

The weekend of events is made possible with the generous support of the Durham Arts Council and NC Arts Council.