The region’s rich manufacturing past is making way for modern pursuits. Once home to one of the world’s largest cigarette-manufacturing complexes, Innovation Quarter in downtown Winston-Salem is now a hub for technology and education. About $400 million in projects are underway in downtown Greensboro, including the new Tanger Center for the Performing Arts, slated to open in 2019. Buoyed by the growth of High Point University, the city known as the “Furniture Capital of the World” also plans a $140 million revitalization.

ATTRACTIONS

• North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro
• International Civil Rights Center & Museum, Greensboro
• Old Salem Museum & Gardens, Winston-Salem
• Greensboro Science Center, Greensboro

EVENTS

• Wyndham Championship golf tournament, Greensboro, August
• Winston-Salem Open tennis tournament, August
• Mayberry Days, Mount Airy, September-October
• Annual Barbecue Festival, Lexington, October
• Dixie Classic Fair, Winston-Salem, October
• Autumn Leaves Festival, Mount Airy, October
• Seagrove Pottery Festival Weekend, Seagrove, November

COUNTIES

Alamance, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin

INDUSTRIES

• Aerospace and defense
• Furniture
• Finance
• Insurance
• Textiles
• Winemaking