Visit Hillsborough, NC

CLIMATE CHALLENGE: COMMUNITY CENTER PLANTING | DESAFÍO CLIMÁTICO: SEMBRADO EN EL CENTRO COMUNITARIO
2026-04-18 09:30 - 12:30 (America/New_York) | Dorothy N Johnson Community Center, 501 Rainey Avenue, Hillsborough, NC, 27278, United States
🌸🌿Join us in Fairview for workshops and community service days as we celebrate Creek Week, the Climate Challenge, and Pollinator Week, all aimed at improving Fairview’s environment! Families and children are welcome!
🌸🌿¡Únase a nosotros para mejorar el medio ambiente de Fairview! Participe en talleres y actividades de servicio comunitario dirigidas a la Semana del Arroyo, el Desafío Climático y la Semana de los Polinizadores. ¡Las familias y los niños son bienvenidos!

Historic Hillsborough Guided Tours 2026
2026-04-18 10:30 - 12:30, 2026-04-25 10:30 - 12:30, 2026-05-02 10:30 - 12:30, 2026-05-09 10:30 - 12:30, 2026-05-16 10:30 - 12:30, 2026-05-23 10:30 - 12:30, 2026-05-30 10:30 - 12:30, 2026-06-13 10:30 - 12:30 and 7 more dates | Hillsborough Visitors Center, 150 E King Street, Hillsborough, NC, 27278, United States
Experience American history through the unique perspective of one of North Carolina’s oldest and most historically significant towns, with a guided walking tour of downtown Hillsborough. Established in 1754 as the seat of government for Orange County, Hillsborough’s colonial legacy and signs of its importance in North Carolina and American history can be seen everywhere.
The tour begins at the Hillsborough Visitors Center, located in the eighteenth century Alexander Dickson Farm House, and guides visitors to a variety of historic places from the site of a 1790s African American-owned distillery to the 1840s Orange County Courthouse and the grave of one of North Carolina’s signers of the Declaration of Independence.
This is an in-person walking tour that sometimes crosses uneven terrain. Please plan to be walking or standing for the duration of the event, wear comfortable walking shoes, and bring a water bottle (plus your curiosity)!
For groups that are concerned about the length, duration, or terrain of the tour. Please, contact The Alliance for Historic Hillsborough for other options, including bus tours.
Tickets: https://www.zeffy.com/ticketing/3277bebb-5a4c-48ec-9a1e-0c4e287138b5

Open House at Camp Chestnut Ridge
2026-04-19 13:00 - 17:00 | Camp Chestnut Ridge, 4300 Camp Chestnut Ridge Rd, Efland, NC, 27243, United States
Join us for a FREE afternoon of fun for the whole family!
Activities include:​​

Canoes

Zipline

Pony Rides

Campfire and S’mores

Self guided tour of camp

Archery

Meet the Director

Hayride to the Farm

​Come get a small taste of what camp is all about!

Body Practices for Eco-Grief
2026-04-21 15:45 - 16:45 | Confluence Natural Area, 4214 Highland Farm Road, Hillsborough, NC, 27278, United States
Join somatic practitioner and coach Emily Stewart where the west and east forks of the Eno River meet. We will explore body-based practices to be present to ‘eco-grief’ – the sense of loss or fear we feel for our rapidly changing climate. Where the waters converge is a beautiful place to move this fear through the body. Together, we will share what sustains us in these turbulent times, what we are grieving, and what brings us joy or hope. Come open to connecting with your body, one another, and the earth. Parents of young children are especially welcome. Emily’s 9- year-old will be there with snacks and games to keep the kids engaged while the adults practice.

Last Fridays & the Art Walk
2026-04-24 17:30 - 21:00, 2026-05-29 17:30 - 21:00, 2026-06-26 17:30 - 21:00, 2026-07-31 17:30 - 21:00, 2026-08-28 17:30 - 21:00 | Historic County Courthouse Lawn, 104 E King Street, Hillsborough, NC, 27278, United States
FREE monthly events celebrating ART, CULTURE, and COMMUNITY in Hillsborough, NC, featuring:
⭐ The Art Walk (Year-Round) – 19 participating venues offer monthly artist receptions, demonstrations, free crafts, live music, and more.
⭐ Last Fridays Makers Markets (May – October) – Local artists, community groups, and family-friendly activities at the Old Orange County Courthouse North Lawn.
⭐ Live on the Lawn Performance Series (April-October) – Live performances ranging from dance to drums, fashion, puppets, singer-songwriters, local bands, and more on the Old Orange County Courthouse South Lawn.

Applications to become an Approved Vendor for 2026 Last Fridays Makers Markets are NOW OPEN. Local artists are encouraged to apply.
Learn about each monthly lineup, download the itinerary, and CHOOSE YOUR LAST FRIDAYS ADVENTURE at www.lastfridays.org*!
*Details on this page are generally finalized the week before each Last Friday event.

Operating support provided by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, and the Orange County Arts Commission. Additional support provided by the Tourism Board and the Town of Hillsborough.

2026 Piedmont Farm Tour
2026-04-25 14:00 - 18:00, 2026-04-26 14:00 - 18:00 | NC
Mark your calendar and buy your tour pass today: the 2026 Piedmont Farm Tour is happening Saturday, April 25th and Sunday, April 26th!
Event Website: https://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/piedmont-farm-tour/
Hosted by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association and Weaver Street Market for 29 years and counting, the Piedmont Farm Tour is a self-designed, family-friendly tour event inviting the public to experience and enjoy local, sustainable agriculture firsthand. This year, 30 small-scale farms, scattered across the beautiful landscape of Alamance, Chatham, Orange, Durham, and Person counties, will open their farm gates to visitors on April 25th & 26th for this beloved celebration of local food and farming.

Show some local love and get a little mud on the tires: fruit orchards, native plant gardens, milking parlors, u-pick berries, greenhouses, pasture-raised livestock, flower fields, beehives, and so much more are waiting to be discovered, just off the beaten path. The Piedmont Farm Tour is the perfect springtime outing for families, foodies, home gardeners, and locavores alike – just $35 buys a carload pass for the entire tour! Tour Details:

Saturday, April 25th & Sunday, April 26th; 2-6pm (select farms open at 12pm!); rain or shine!
$35/carload pass to visit as many farms as you like on both Saturday and Sunday! Discounts available for CFSA members and Weaver Street Market co-op owners.
Your Piedmont Farm Tour attendance directly supports CFSA’s capacity to provide education, technical assistance, and advocacy work for small-scale farms across the Carolinas.

Local Food. Local Farms. Local Fun. Something for everyone!
Buy your tour pass: https://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/piedmont-farm-tour/

PORCH Hillsborough Food Rescue: An Amazing Adventure
2026-05-02 14:00 - 16:30 | Downtown Historic Hillsborough, 101 S Churton Street, Hillsborough, NC, 27278
Oh No! Disaster has struck in Hillsborough…
The food meant for our next PORCH Hillsborough distribution was accidentally scattered all across Historic Downtown Hillsborough!
To help PORCH Hillsborough feed our neighbors facing hunger, we need a team of clever explorers, puzzle-solvers, and community heroes to help us gather it all up.
Welcome to PORCH Hillsborough Food Rescue: An Amazing Adventure, a scavenger hunt meets Amazing Race-style challenge through beautiful downtown Hillsborough.
Teams will complete fun challenges at locations around town, racing to recover the “lost food items” needed for our monthly distribution.
Along the way you’ll:
🏃 Race to locations around downtown
🧩 Complete challenges
🥫 Recover “food” items
❤️ Help fight hunger in Orange County
All proceeds support PORCH Hillsborough, which provides food to over 650 local families each month. That’s over 2,600 people experiencing food insecurity right here in Orange County.
The families we serve are counting on us. And now we’re counting on you.
Gather your friends, family, coworkers, or neighbors and join us for an afternoon of adventure, teamwork, and community impact.
Together, we can rescue the food and help feed our neighbors.
What to Expect:
The scavenger hunt route is approximately 1.5 miles along sidewalk, making it a fun and manageable adventure for most participants.
📍 Starting Location:
Visitor’s Center: 150 E. King Street, Hillsborough
⏰ Time:
Check-in: 2pm
Race Start: 2:30pm
Celebration + Awards: 4:30pm
👥 Team Size:
2–6 participants per team
👧 Recommended Age:
10+ for full participation

Opening Day of U-pick Flower Season at Firefly Farm
2026-05-09 08:00 - 18:00 | Firefly Farm, 4911 Hunt Rd, Hillsborough, NC, 27278, United States
Let’s celebrate! Flowers, flowers and flowers – opening day of Firefly Farm’s U-pick flower season occurs the Saturday before Mother’s day. Bring your family and pick flowers for (and with) Mom. Timed tickets for flower harvesting are available online here or at the farm the day of the event. We recommend that you reserve your spot as sessions are limited based on harvesting supplies. Before or after you pick flowers, wander the farm, pet the animals (donkeys, horses, goats and chickens), swing from the big oak trees and spend the day relaxing. Bring a picnic or buy lunch from vendors on site. Celebrate Mom with flowers, family and friends on Firefly Farm.

Outlandish Hillsborough Walking Tour
2026-05-16 10:30 - 12:30, 2026-08-22 10:30 - 12:30 | Hillsborough Visitors Center, 150 E King Street, Hillsborough, NC, 27278, United States
Beginning in the 4th book of the Outlander series and the 5th season of the hit TV show, Jamie and Claire Fraser settle in a fictional Scottish community in North Carolina. The story intertwines with that of the Regulator Uprising that took place in and around Hillsborough in the 1770s, making Hillsborough a natural location for this event.

The tour will begin at the Hillsborough Visitor Center and will take you along the Frasers’ footsteps to see many of the sites featured within the Outlander series relating to Hillsborough and the Regulator uprising prior to the Revolutionary War.

This is an in-person walking tour that sometimes crosses uneven terrain. Please plan to be walking or standing for the duration of the event, wear comfortable walking shoes, and bring a water bottle (plus your curiosity).
Tickets: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/outlandish-walking-tour–2026

Fireflies on the Farm
2026-06-05 18:00 - 22:00 | Firefly Farm, 4911 Hunt Rd, Hillsborough, NC, 27278, United States
Our Friday series returns each Friday in June as we gather to watch the magical lights of the fireflies. Buy one ticket for your carload of friends and family, pick flowers and then settle in with a picnic or snacks that you bring to watch the fireworks provided by the lightning bugs as they emerge.
