Travel west through the North Carolina mountains on Highway 74 and you’ll enter the Qualla Boundary, the 100 square mile home of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. You’re welcome there. In fact, the Tribe is hoping you’ll stop by. This community is betting on more than gaming to grow the local economy. They’re counting on tourism.

Doug Cole is a Strategic Planner for the Eastern Band of Cherokee. He says, “Right now Cherokee is at a transition point for development.” Cole adds, “Since the mid 90’s we’ve been more a destination for gaming and I think the challenge is reaching a balance between the gaming and tourism.” The goal either way is to keep more money in Cherokee.

There are many things that lure people to a destination. In Halifax County, it’s the birds that have visitors flocking to the area. The Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park and Eco-Center boasts it has the largest waterfowl collection in the world.

With colors so vibrant and sound so unique, it would be easy for visitors to imagine they’re in some exotic location. But, Sylvan Heights’ nine acre facility is in Scotland Neck, North Carolina. The park is home to more than 1000 birds, 170 different species. It started out as a breeding center for zoos all over the world. The Lubbocks have tended the birds and the family business for 40 years.

There are many things that lure people to a destination. In Halifax County, it’s the birds that have visitors flocking to the area. The Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park and Eco-Center boasts it has the largest waterfowl collection in the world.

With colors so vibrant and sound so unique, it would be easy for visitors to imagine they’re in some exotic location. But, Sylvan Heights’ nine acre facility is in Scotland Neck, North Carolina. The park is home to more than 1000 birds, 170 different species. It started out as a breeding center for zoos all over the world. The Lubbocks have tended the birds and the family business for 40 years.

An old ABC store is transformed into a doctor’s office. A dilapidated storefront is brought back to life. In a special North Carolina Now series, entitled North Carolina Rising, UNC-TV shows you how one rural community in Greene County is trying to reinvent itself and lure new residents to come see what Hookerton has to offer.

As part of an ongoing year-long series, North Carolina Now will highlight success stories like this one happening in North Carolina’s rural communities. In the summer of 2009, the series will conclude with an hour-long documentary and a series of topical town hall meetings.

An old ABC store is transformed into a doctor’s office. A dilapidated storefront is brought back to life. In a special North Carolina Now series, entitled North Carolina Rising, UNC-TV shows you how one rural community in Greene County is trying to reinvent itself and lure new residents to come see what Hookerton has to offer.

As part of an ongoing year-long series, North Carolina Now will highlight success stories like this one happening in North Carolina’s rural communities. In the summer of 2009, the series will conclude with an hour-long documentary and a series of topical town hall meetings.

Sometimes protecting the economic future means preserving your heritage. A group of more than 30 commercial fishermen found a way to buy the last remaining fish house on Ocracoke Island. A NC Rural Development Grant made it possible. See what this business means to the community and the tourist industry in this remote area.

As part of an ongoing year-long series, North Carolina Now will highlight success stories like this one happening in North Carolina’s rural communities. In the summer of 2009, the series will conclude with an hour-long documentary and a series of topical town hall meetings.

Sometimes protecting the economic future means preserving your heritage. A group of more than 30 commercial fishermen found a way to buy the last remaining fish house on Ocracoke Island. A NC Rural Development Grant made it possible. See what this business means to the community and the tourist industry in this remote area.

As part of an ongoing year-long series, North Carolina Now will highlight success stories like this one happening in North Carolina’s rural communities. In the summer of 2009, the series will conclude with an hour-long documentary and a series of topical town hall meetings.