Tar Heel Travels Wilmington Cure your cabin fever with a walk on the waterfront By Bill F. Hensley Right: the restored Burgwin-Wright Museum and Gardens graces downtown Wilmington

Many people develop cabin fever this time of year and yearn for a day outdoors. While it may still be chilly where you are, remember that it’s always warmer at the beach, which means now may be the perfect time to visit Wilmington. The usual throngs are absent now but the fish are biting offshore and the golf courses are open and uncrowded. And a sunny day in the 60s is a perfect time for collecting shells on the beach.

Founded in 1732, Wilmington has Old World charm and an aura of elegance. It proudly displays its stately Victorian homes on quiet streets, colorfully surrounded with azaleas, oleander and tall, moss-covered trees. The town reeks with peacefulness, and life seems to take on a slower pace along the coast. Yet the city of 92,000 is as modern as tomorrow and can be as lively as a marching band.

 Nestled in a unique, picturesque setting between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean, Wilmington is an important port as well as a popular playground. The lifestyle here centers on a variety of water-related activities with the ocean, the river and an historic waterfront playing key roles. There are almost as many boats as automobiles — and as many marinas as service stations — in this thriving New Hanover County community. The resident family that doesn’t have a closet full of fishing gear — for saltwater, piers, and lakes — is rare indeed.

This is a dramatic yet relaxing area that is rich in the heritage and traditions of the Old South. But it is also quick to adopt new ideas and new techniques that might provide a better life for its people. As the late Gilliam Horton, an avid Wilmington promoter, used to say, “We are proud of our distinguished past, and we look back often to that glorious era. But we never take our eye off the future.”

The city’s assets are many. Wilmington is home to a growing state university, a time-honored festival that celebrates a beautiful flower, enough small bed and breakfast inns and chain motels to house a steady stream of discerning visitors, a legendary battleship, a foot-stomping jazz festival, a bevy of interesting museums and attractions, an exciting array of restaurants and shops, and nearby beaches with enough sand, surf and sun for everyone.

What’s more, in the past two decades Wilmington has become “the Hollywood of the East,” with numerous movies and TV shows being filmed on location and in its studios. Town folks can relate countless yarns of movie stars and celebrities.

In Wilmington there are many splendors. Take the barrier island beaches, for instance. There is Wrightsville, Carolina and Kure for swimming, tanning, walking, finding seashells and fishing, not to mention a plethora of restaurants — with seafood a specialty — to satisfy a swarm of summer guests. Since its retirement from active service, the Battleship North Carolina has been berthed along the shores of the Cape Fear River, just opposite the downtown waterfront area. A hero of World War II, the ship welcomes visitors throughout the year and is one of the city’s most popular attractions, along with Greenfield and Airlie Gardens, the Azalea Festival (the 57th annual event is April 1-4), the riverfront walk, impressive antebellum homes, and the brick and cobblestone streets of a unique and timeless downtown area.

Don’t miss a stroll along Water, Front, Third and Market streets. There are stately churches on every corner, intimate coffee shops and taverns, antique shops, galleries and a variety of interesting stores and restaurants. The turn-of-the-century setting provides a nostalgic glimpse of a time gone by.

There are numerous tours of the rich historic area, and visitors can relive the past by trolley, horse-drawn carriages, riverboats, or by foot. And while you are on the go, take in the Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum, the Children’s Museum, the Latimer House Museum, the Railroad Museum, the Bellamy Mansion Museum of History and Design Arts, the Burgwin-Wright Museum House and Gardens, the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher, the Fort Fisher Historic Site (a Civil War battlefield), a state park where the rare Venus Flytrap grows wild, or tour a movie studio.

More attractions continue to appear. New this year is the Serpentarium, and the tallship Nighthawk, an 82-foot gaff-rigged schooner that operates as a pirate ship. The Tregembo Animal Park, formerly the Tote-Em-In Zoo, will reopen in the spring when renovations are completed. Jungle Rapids continues as a popular attraction for families.

Thalian Hall, a restored building downtown that dates to 1858, is the center of a diverse offering of musical and theatrical productions, including a popular jazz festival each February. Featuring the top songs from the Golden Age from the 1930s to the 1950s, some of the nation’s top musicians enliven the town for two days with delightful renditions of jazz classics.

Regardless of the month, look to Wilmington for your next outing. Enjoy a seafood platter, chowder or a hot clam dip at Elijah’s on Chandler’s Wharf, Caprice Bistro, or Circa 1972; shop at Lumina Station; sightsee in the historic waterfront; stroll on pristine beaches; and catch a sea trout or a puppy drum that you can brag about back home. For further information, call the Cape Fear Convention and Visitors Bureau at 800-222-4757 or visit www.cape-fear.nc.us.