Cary is preparing to build two modern, multigenerational community centers. One of the community centers will be constructed in western Cary at Mills Park, and one will be located in eastern Cary as part of the regional sports and entertainment venue in the redeveloped South Hills. Cary’s goal is to make these new centers integral spaces for the community and to play a key role in promoting community health. This quarter, Cary identified these sites and hired the consultant teams for the master plans and public engagement, including an online survey and public meetings in January.

This quarter, the Swift Creek Loop Trail at Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve closed for boardwalk repairs. Five wooden structures along the lower loop of this trail allow visitors to traverse the wetland areas with minimal impact to the sensitive habitat. Updates will address needed repairs, add handrails, and enable these structures to bear the weight of a small motorized vehicle if needed.  

Cary received the 2022 Arts and Humanities Award from the North Carolina Recreation and Parks Association for its community residency with artist Patrick Dougherty and the resulting sculpture called Fly Away Home. For more than three weeks, 135 volunteers, including some from Cary’s Spruce program, came together to work side by side with the artist to build one of his monumental willow sculptures at Carpenter Park. 

In November, AARP presented the Cary Town Council with a designation naming Cary the newest member of its Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities. This designation will give Cary the tools to complete a comprehensive self-assessment and the ability to collaborate with other like-minded communities in addressing the unique challenges facing an aging population.

This quarter, state and local organizations recognized two Cary Tennis Park employees: Reid Kinlaw, head tennis professional of community tennis, and Bill Reynolds, tennis program specialist. Buster and Karen Brown through the North Carolina Tennis Association gave Kinlaw the N.C. Educational Merit Award. This award recognizes an individual who has developed an outstanding tennis initiative that provides leadership and inspiration in junior programming for schools, colleges, parks, and playgrounds and benefits the growth of tennis. Kinlaw previously won the Education Merit award from the Southern Tennis Association for his work with Cary’s wheelchair tennis and abilities tennis programs. 

Reynolds received the Community Spotlight from the Western Wake Tennis Association. Reynolds is the WWTA Junior Team Tennis Co-Local League Coordinator. He oversees Junior Team Tennis, supervises teaching staff and stringers, coordinates the schedule and sanctioning for U.S. Tennis Association tournaments at Cary Tennis Park, and provides leadership for USTA events around the state. 

The GLOW outdoor exhibition returned this year with a series of community lantern-making workshops and a parade experience. From October to December, participants learned how to make three lantern structures using sustainable materials, and Cary held a special professional development workshop for Wake County teachers. The experience will culminate in a celebration of light with a downtown parade scheduled for January. 

On consecutive weeks in December at WakeMed Soccer Park, the 2022 NCAA Women’s and Men’s College Cups took place for nearly 34,000 spectators across six matches. This year marked the first time in history both events were held in the same year at the same location. The women’s event ended in a most exciting fashion with UCLA defeating UNC-Chapel Hill in overtime in front of a record Cary finals crowd of 9,510 and a large ESPN audience. The following weekend Syracuse bested Indiana during the men’s event. 

In November, schools from North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and New York played in the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s and women’s soccer championships for 8,755 spectators at WakeMed Soccer Park. The stadium was wrapped with signage from the ACC and provided the perfect backdrop
for Cary’s new brand. Fans traveled from all over the East Coast to explore Cary and experience one of the nation’s soccer treasures. 

Disc golfers, both local and from around the state, had a great time at the 2022 Downtown Urban Open (DUO) disc golf tournament Thanksgiving weekend. This year, more than 400 participants and spectators helped raise more than $5,000 for Cary’s Play It Forward scholarship fund. Since its inception, DUO has raised more than $27,000 to provide program opportunities for underserved populations.

Herbert’s Haunted House returned to Herb Young Community Center for two nights this October and broke last year’s attendance record with a cumulative 1,116 attendees. More than 250 members of Cary Teen Council helped create the Herbert’s Haunted House experience by helping plan and manage the event, setting up, selling tickets, serving as event guides, and doing the scaring. 

Cary held its 28th annual Cary Kwanzaa Celebration at the Cary Arts Center in December. The celebration included an African dance performance by the Magic of African Rhythm, a musical performance by the Fruits of Labor, and an interactive drumming workshop. Cary Kwanzaa is a communal, cultural celebration that honors African-American people and their heritage. The Kwanzaa Celebration is produced in partnership with the Ujima Group.

In honor of Halloween, The Cary Theater showcased two fun-filled screenings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Nearly 200 die-hard fans filled the theater to sing along to their favorite musical, dance to the Time Warp, and dress up like their favorite character. It was wonderful to see patrons of all ages enjoying this film together. In fact, one attendee was proud to announce that he had seen “Rocky Horror” an astonishing 322 times.

The Cary Theater’s signature holiday event returned for five fun-filled shows in December. This annual event clearly resonates with the community. With three sold-out shows and nearly  700 attendees, the White Christmas sing-along continues to be a hit. A special snowflake projection light temporarily installed in the theater was timed to create a snowfall effect during the song ”Snow” and the final rendition of ”White Christmas.”

The second annual Harvest Fest attracted more than 1,000 guests to Good Hope Farm for produce sales, farm tours, and a Q&A with dozens of environmental experts from across the region. Environmental education focuses included wildflowers, songbirds, pollinators, tree care, compost, solar energy, healthy soils, and more. Other festival highlights included free pop-up ”make and take” pickling workshops, guided historic trolley tours, and a bonsai pepper pruning class. In keeping with Good Hope Farm’s mission to marry Cary’s agricultural past with an innovative future, the Harvest Fest showcases Cary’s commitment to sustainability and community engagement.