Carrboro Honors Elizabeth Cotten

• NC State Historical Marker – On Sept. 28, 2013, the dedication ceremony of North Carolina state historical marker G-129 was part of the Statewide Folklife Festival, held in Carrboro. The historical marker is located at the intersection of E. Main and Roberson streets. 
• Elizabeth Cotten Mural – This mural was painted on a building at 111 North Merritt Mill Road in Carrboro (on the border with Chapel Hill). It is a part of an ongoing series called the “North Carolina Musicians Murals Project,” which highlights famous musicians from North Carolina in their respective birthplaces. The mural was co-commissioned by the towns of Carrboro and Chapel Hill, located at the Cut Above Barber Shop located in the Midway, a historically Black business district that connects the towns. It is adjacent to the St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church. 
• Elizabeth Cotten Day – Each January 5th, the Town celebrates the birthday of their favorite daughter and proclaims Elizabeth Cotten Day. Banners are hung in downtown, the Mayor issues a proclamation, and the community comes out to celebrate. In 2025, the local celebration was exceptional as the town hosted the descendants of Ms. Cotten, who brought songs, stories and memories of their grandmother (and great-grandmother). Watch the video of the January 5, 2025 celebration.   
• Freight Train Blues Concerts – The Town of Carrboro partners with the Music Maker Foundation on a concert series of Freight Train Blues, which includes free evening concerts featured from May to June at Carrboro Town Commons, 301 W. Main St.  The concert series honors Cotten’s legacy in the world of roots music by emphasizing the cultural diversity, complexity, and vitality of her music and the music of many other artists local to her community and all over the country. 
• Libba Cotten Bikeway - The bikeway connects Carrboro's central business district to just west of the UNC campus in Chapel Hill. (Take Cameron Avenue to campus at the bikeway's southeast terminus.)