You might have first come across Kerry in 2019 talking about the Tar Heel State’s storied past for the NC Museum of History on Instagram. Now, with nearly 75,000 Instagram followers as @NorthCarolinaKerry, he’s expanded his reach to everything from Cookout orders to odd local customs. We sat down with Kerry to learn about his work and talk all things North Carolina.
Kerry covers every facet of the North Carolina experience, including history; ubiquitous state brands like Cheerwine, Bojangles, and Food Lion; hard-to-pronounce town names; and state-specific conventions, like leaving a white sock or T-shirt in the window of an abandoned vehicle or the 12 seasons of NC.
Kerry started working at the NC Museum of History in 2016 and began making funny — yet informative — Instagram Reels inspired by other historical videos infused with comedy. After becoming a father, Kerry left the museum and began making his own Reels.
As his platform has grown, Kerry’s videos have reached beyond the North Carolina border and onto the screens of those who are considering relocating to NC.
“They say ‘Your stuff started coming up, maybe because I was looking into North Carolina things and my algorithm picked up on that. I’ve learned a lot of like tips, pronunciations, towns and customs. That’s been helpful for when I move here,’” Kerry told RALtoday.
Because of his work promoting and uplifting the state, Kerry was recently awarded the Charles Kuralt Award from the NC Travel Industry Association.
“It’s very humbling,” Kerry said about receiving the award. “To get something like that was like, wow, this has become something that I want. It invigorates me to keep going and continue to grow it.”
