MOUNT GILEAD–A crisp autumn evening, a movie under starry skies, and a meteor shower await participants of the “Shooting Stars Sleepover” Town Creek Indian Mound on Saturday, Oct. 20.
“Get your tent, camping chairs and blankets for what may be the best meteor shower of 2012,” advises Town Creek Site Manager Rich Thompson. “Come enjoy some great family fun under the stars.”
The evening starts at 7 p.m. with a short astronomy presentation on the Orionid Meteor Shower, which will peak after midnight. The moving drama “Voices in the Wind” will be shown at 7:30 p.m. The movie is based on Cherokee legends and offers an authentic and moving portrait of American Indian life on the brink of momentous change. Afterwards visitors return to one of two available campsites to stare at the heavens. Town Creek offers one of the last great dark-sky sites for star gazing in piedmont North Carolina.
Registration is required and there is a fee of $30 for the reconstructed village or $15 for the field camp to participate. Campers need to arrive before 6:30 p.m. There will be a community campfire at the village site between 5:30 and 9:30 p.m, but no individual campfires or other open flames will be allowed. Contact Town Creek by email or by phone at (910) 439-6802 for registration information.
For more than 1,000 years, American Indians farmed lands later known as North Carolina. Around A.D. 1000, a new cultural tradition arrived in the Pee Dee River Valley. Throughout Georgia, South Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and western and southern Piedmont North Carolina, inhabitants built earthen mounds for their leaders, engaged in widespread trade, supported craftspeople, and celebrated a new religion.
The mission of Town Creek is to interpret the history of the American Indians who once lived here. The visitor center features interpretive exhibits and audiovisual displays. A national historic landmark, Town Creek Indian Mound State Historic Site is North Carolina’s only state historic site dedicated to American Indian heritage. Tour groups are welcome and encouraged. The site is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. It is closed to the public Mondays and most major holidays.
The historic site is within the Division of State Historic Sites and is located at 509 Town Creek Mound Road in Mount Gilead. Visit Town Creek online for more information.
Town Creek Indian Mound and the other 26 state historic sites are part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. For more on North Carolina arts, culture and history, visit Cultural Resources online.