Are We There Yet? North Carolina’s Variety Vacationland, 1930s-1970s

This traveling paneled photography exhibit, on loan from the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, “looks back at an era when tourism boomed thanks largely to a state-run marketing effort called “Variety Vacationland.” The Variety Vacationland campaign was successful in creating a unified tourism industry in North Carolina from the 1930s to the 1970s by depicting our state as both modern and progressive, but with strong ties to its past.  However, true to the Jim Crow era, most sites promoted were marketed (and accessible) to White tourists only; people of color were neglected and even exploited at times, an attitude this exhibit attempts to point out where possible.”

“During the Great Depression of the 1930s, politicians and business leaders began efforts to boost North Carolina’s economy by lobbying for a statewide campaign to showcase tourism attractions.  This eventually led to a full-color tourist guide titled North Carolina, a Variety Vacationland first printed in 1937.  It was soon followed by billboards, postcards, movies, television programs, and even a jingle!” 

“This was a difficult exhibit to pull together during the COVID-19 pandemic,” says the exhibit’s curator, Katie Edwards, also curator of popular culture at the NC Museum of History.  “I had to seek out photos of amazing vacation spots throughout the state – at a time when traveling and visiting locations was impossible.”   

“While the exhibit showcases many of the popular sites promoted by the Variety Vacationland campaign, I also wanted to highlight where people of color were able to vacation during this era; while more sites existed, a few that I located – which the campaign failed to mention – are documented with several photos.”   

Northeastern North Carolina highlights include Lake Mattamuskeet, the Lost Colony play, Fort Raleigh, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Elizabeth City Potato Festival, and the segregated beaches Chowan Beach, Bias Shores/Hargraves Beach, and Bogues Beach.