Join PBS NC for a festive celebration of Independence Day! NC Weekend features their favorite episodes, full of summertime activities in a marathon on PBS NC. Then, cap the evening off with the 43rd annual A Capitol Fourth, hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro, and featuring performances from Chicago, Boyz II Men, Belinda Carlisle, Renée Fleming, Elmo and Cookie Monster from Sesame Street and more!
Preview our Independence Day lineup below, and watch clips from PBS shows exploring the history of Independence Day and our modern traditions.
Celebrate America's 247th birthday with a star-studded musical celebration, plus a special tribute to our military heroes and their families.
The 43rd annual edition of A Capitol Fourth, America's longest-running live national Independence Day TV tradition, returns from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. Viewers are front and center for our country's biggest birthday party, featuring performances by top stars from pop, country, R&B, classical and Broadway with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of premier pops conductor Jack Everly, capped off with patriotic classics and a spectacular fireworks display over our nation's iconic skyline.
Watch A Capitol Fourth Tuesday, 7/4 at 8 PM & 9:30 PM on PBS NC and the PBS App.
Join host Alfonso Ribeiro for A Capitol Fourth on Tuesday, July 4 at 8 PM on PBS NC.
On Tuesday, 7/4, we're bringing back your favorite NC Weekend episodes! Watch on PBS NC from 2-8 PM and streaming now online and on the free PBS App.
Whether you're a fan of bluegrass or jazz, an experienced hiker looking for a new trail to conquer or a family planning their next vacation, NC Weekend brings our state's must-see places and events right into your home. Join host Deborah Holt Noel as she shares the best things to see and do across the state each weekend!
North Carolina Weekend visits the Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield.
The Declaration of Independence's words are timeless: "we hold these truths to be self-evident." But in this time of stark divisions, is it self-evident what it means to be American? Ahead of the Fourth of July holiday in 2022, PBS NewsHour reached out to Americans, some they met on the National Mall in Washington D.C. and others who spoke from their homes, to talk about how we see ourselves.
It may seem obvious, but only 40-45% of colonists supported the cause. It's not as simple as it may appear! Learn more from Origin of Everything.
After reading Thomas Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration of Independence, Franklin offered only a few edits, but one of them was pivotal. In his draft, Jefferson’s most important sentence began, “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable, that all men are created equal…” Franklin crossed out “sacred and undeniable” and wrote in “self-evident.”
Watch Ken Burns's Benjamin Franklin, streaming now only with PBS NC Passport.
Pulitzer Prize finalist H.W. Brands examines the deep-seated divisions that made up the American Revolution before the war—between Loyalists and Patriots, families, friends, and neighbors.
Join Anthony Marx, President and CEO of the New York Public Library, as he showcases Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence and its historical significance. This copy is now a part of the NYPL’s Polonsky Exhibition.
After the American Revolution, the new United States of America needed to form a permanent government of its own. Why did the Articles of Confederation fail, and how did the U.S. Constitution come to be?
