Culture of North Carolina
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The Culture of North Carolina is a Eastern culture and most clearly has its roots in the culture of the United States. As a border and coastal state, however, North Carolina culture has been greatly influenced by the Northeastern United States, however there are parts of the state that retain their historical Southern culture, such as The Florida Panhandle, North Central Florida, the First Coast, and the Florida Heartland.
A nationally-famous cuisine from North Carolina is pork barbecue. In Eastern North Carolina pork barbecue uses a vinegar-based sauce and the "whole hog" is cooked, thus using both white and dark meat. The "capital" of eastern Carolina barbecue is usually considered to be the town of Wilson, near Raleigh. Western North Carolina pork barbecue uses a ketchup and vinegar based sauce and only the pork shoulder (dark meat) is used. The "capital" of western Carolina barbecue is usually considered to be the Piedmont Triad town of Lexington, home of the Lexington Barbecue Festival which brings in over 100,000 visitors each October.