new schools, and business parks. Rural culture While there are several urban centers across the state, much of North Carolina is also rural. Dense forests cover much of the mountainous region of Western North Carolina, while Eastern North Carolina has many areas of large farmland used for agricultural purposes. Rural North Carolina tends to lean towards traditional Southern culture. Common recreational activities in rural North Carolina include horseback riding, hiking, swimming in rivers and lakes, fishing, target shooting and hunting, riding trails on ATVs/modified trucks (also called off-roading), and extensive gardening (many families operate small scale farms). Food A nationally famous cuisine from North Carolina is pork barbecue and bacon. In Eastern North Carolina, pork barbecue uses a vinegar-based sauce and the "whole hog" is cooked, using both white and dark meat. While there is not one town in Eastern North Carolina that can claim to be the indisputable "capital" of Eastern Carolina barbecue, the medium-sized cities of Greenville and Goldsboro, and their surrounding communities boast the highest concentrations of highly ranked establishments. The annual Newport Pig Pickin' (the largest whole pig cooking contest in North Carolina) is held featuring primarily eastern-style barbecue. Central and Western North Carolina pork barbecue uses a tomato and vinegar based sauce, and only the pork shoulder (dark meat) is used. The "capital" of Central and Western Carolina barbecue is the Piedmont Triad town of Lexington, home of the Lexington Barbecue Festival, which brings in over 100,000 visitors each October. Arts Literature Music North Carolina is known particularly for its history of old-time music. Many recordings were made in the early 20th century by folk song collector Bascom Lamar Lunsford. Influential North Carolina country musicians like the North Carolina Ramblers and Al Hopkins helped solidify the sound of country music in the late 1920s. Other influential bluegrass musicians such as Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson and Del McCoury are also from North Carolina. Arthur Smith is a notable North Carolina musician/entertainer who had the first nationally syndicated television program which featured country music. Smith composed "Guitar Boogie", the all-time best selling guitar instrumental, and "Dueling Banjos", the all-time best selling banjo composition. Country artist Eric Church from the Hickory area, has had multiple #1 albums on the Billboard 200, including Chief in 2011. Both North and South Carolina are a hotbed for traditional country blues, especially the style known as the Piedmont blues. Elizabeth Cotten, from