Good morning, Hickory.

Food lovers can support local restaurants and area farmers during Hickory Farmers Market’s Restaurant Week fundraiser running from July 17 through July 24; eight local businesses will offer special menu items made with fresh, locally grown ingredients and donate 15% of sales to benefit the market.

CNBC's 2026 America's Top States for Business report ranks North Carolina in the top two for the sixth year, with Ohio edging it by nine points.

The state earned strong scores for its economy, workforce, and innovation but saw lower marks for cost of living + quality of life.

The 23rd Annual Blackberry Festival begins today in downtown Lenoir at 5:00 pm.

The event offers live music & includes a Kid Zone, blackberry eating contest and Cobbler Parade with free cobbler samples starting Saturday.

Newton's Catawba County History Museum will host the traveling Revolutionary War exhibit 'People of Colonial North Carolina' from Aug.

5 to Aug. 28; the exhibit, created by the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, highlights everyday revolutionary stories through maps, documents, and illustrations (admission is free).

Historical Association of Catawba County is offering a market basket weaving class on Saturday, July 25 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Murray’s Mill (1489 Murray’s Mill Road in Catawba) for $50 per person; registration closes on July 15.

Catawba County officials submitted a plan on July 9 to merge three public school systems to the State Board of Education (Catawba, Hickory and Newton-Conover) to address growing enrollment and infrastructure challenges.

The proposal is under review amid notable community opposition voiced in April.

The Hickory Crawdads lost a four-run lead as Augusta GreenJackets rallied with seven unanswered runs to win 7-5 Thursday night at SRP Park (the loss dropped the Crawdads to 46-36 overall) and the teams will meet again Friday night.

Blakgraz Live Concert

7-10 p.m. — City Walk Brewery & Distillery — Cost Info not listed — Enjoy an evening of live music with 112+ original songs from Blakgraz.