JAN. 3-MARCH 1 Pawleys Island, S.C.

At noon and 2:30 p.m. Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, Jan. 3-March 1, Brookgreen Gardens will again offer “Silent Cities” tours through the graveyards of plantation owners and former slaves. Tickets are $15 in addition to Brookgreen admission ($14; $12 for 65 and older; $7 for ages 4-12; 3 and younger, free. Reservations for “Silent Cities” are suggested (843-235-6042). Details: www.brookgreen.org.

JAN. 4 Raleigh

World ending (in movie) at museum

OK, the Mayan calendar apocalypse was a no-show. But to mark the non-event at its First Friday free-admission series, the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences and Nature Resource Center in Raleigh will be open 5-9 p.m. Jan. 4 and include a screening of “Five Million Years to Earth” a 1967 sci-fi flick filled with plenty of mayhem. Also that night, you can see the touring “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition” at a discount ($11; ordinarily $14 for adults).

Admission to the museum, at 11 W. Jones St., is free. Details: www.naturalsciences.org.

JAN. 18-20 Gaffney, S.C.

Revolution revisited at Cowpens site

To celebrate the 232nd anniversary of the decisive American victory over the British, Cowpens National Battlefield will host a weekend of special events, Jan. 18-20. There will be an encampment of more than 100 American and British re-enactors, a wreath-laying at the US monument, 18th-century musket-, rifle- and cannon-firing demonstrations, Revolutionary War cavalry demonstrations, ranger-led battlefield walks, author lectures, and children’s activities. The park is changing the annual Saturday evening lantern tours, making them 30-minute Twilight Walks beginning at 5:30 p.m. (For reservations for the free walk, call Erica Hass at 864-461-2828 beginning Jan. 2.)

Details on these and other anniversary weekend events: www.nps.gov/cowp.

JAN. 19 Kure Beach

Re-enacted battle to rage at Fort Fisher

Have you seen the “Lincoln”? The acclaimed 2012 movie about the last months of President Abraham Lincoln include scenes depicting the Battle of Fort Fisher, one of the largest land-sea battles of the Civil War. The fort, 29 miles south of Wilmington, was taken by federal forces Jan. 15, 1865. Its capture closed the last remaining fort of the Confederacy. The assault will be reenacted at the fort from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 19. The day will also feature re-enactors drilling and firing weapons, including the 32-pound cannon atop Sheppard’s Battery. Admission is free. Details: www.nchistoricsites.org/fisher/fisher.htm.

John Bordsen

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