NC town celebrates underground history with fossil festival

AURORA, N.C. – A small North Carolina town is celebrating its underground history with its 25th annual fossil festival.

Multiple news outlets report the 25th annual Aurora Fossil Festival is being held in the town of Aurora, located about 140 miles (225 kilometres) southeast of Raleigh.

The Aurora Fossil Museum is hosting the event, which began Friday and continues Saturday. Museum executive director Cynthia Crane says she expects the 500-person town to swell to about 15,000 people during the festival.

The museum has Miocene and Pliocene marine fossils with most displays showcasing specimens collected from the neighbouring Nutrien Phosphate Mine.

Visitors are invited to dig for their own fossils, and the festival includes educational experts from the United States Geological Survey and Osearch, a global non-profit for research on great white sharks.