page_title: Rocky Mount, North Carolina
section_title: Arts and Culture
hierarchical_section_title: Rocky Mount, North Carolina / Arts and Culture
caption_attribution_description: English: Imperial Centre for the Arts in Rocky Mount, NC
context_page_description: Rocky Mount is a city in Edgecombe and Nash counties in the Atlantic coastal plain region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The city's population is estimated to be 53,922 as of 2019. It is the principal city of the Rocky Mount metropolitan area, often called the "Twin Counties", which had an estimated population of 146,021 in 2018. Rocky Mount is also an anchor city of the Rocky Mount-Wilson-Roanoke Rapids Combined Statistical Area in northeast North Carolina with a total population of 297,726 as of 2018.
  Incorporated in 1867, the community at the falls of the Tar River that became the city of Rocky Mount dates from the middle of the 1700s. Historically strong in rail transportation, textiles, and agriculture, the economy of Rocky Mount has diversified into biomedical pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and logistics. Forbes ranked the city as No. 6 for cost of doing business on its list of "Best Small Places For Business And Careers" in 2018. Rocky Mount has also twice received the All-America City Award from the National Civic League in 1969 and 1999.
context_section_description: The city is home to multiple venues for the performing arts. The Imperial Centre for the Arts and Sciences hosts the Maria V. Howard Arts Center, a Children's Museum and Science Center, and a community theater. The Dunn Center for the Performing Arts at Wesleyan College regularly has college arts performances and touring acts, and is also the home of the Tar River Orchestra and Chorus. Most recently, the Rocky Mount Event Center opened in downtown with space to hold up to 5,000 seats for entertainment and sporting events.
  Rocky Mount Mills is a craft brewery incubator, the first of its kind on North Carolina, that is now home to many up-and-coming breweries and restaurants. In addition, the mill hosts summer music festivals and other events throughout the year. It has been in the process of redevelopment since 2014 by Capitol Broadcasting Company, which also owns the popular American Tobacco campus in downtown Durham, North Carolina. Nearby are dozens of historical homes for rent in the Rocky Mount Mills Village. The next phase of development is Goat Island on the Tar River, which will offer public access to hiking trails, sandy beaches, and rafting/canoeing.
  A Rocky Mount Railroad Museum has been in the planning stages for a number of years given the cultural significance of the railroad on the city—in the early to mid-1900s the Emerson Shops alone of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad employed over 2,000 people—but is currently without a facility. It has been proposed to be located inside the train station.
caption: Imperial Centre for the Arts and Sciences in downtown Rocky Mount
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