This section offers Cary citizens an update on the projects funded by the Shaping Cary’s Tomorrow Parks and Transportation Bonds overwhelmingly approved in a 2019 referendum.

Downtown Cary Park Update

One year into the Downtown Cary Park project, construction is 40% complete. Five of the six structures in the park are in progress with the remaining structure, the Gathering House, to go vertical this summer. Staff is working with consultants to finalize the furniture selections, and work on operational issues is also accelerating. Topics under consideration include full- and part-time staffing, security, rental protocol planning, technology integration, dog play area and food and beverage operations, budgeting, and maintenance. 

Carpenter Park 

New court lighting is operational at Carpenter Park’s one basketball and three pickleball courts. These lights will allow citizens extended hours of play at the facility. 

The N.C. Land and Water Fund awarded Cary a planning grant to inventory, evaluate, and create a management plan for 485 acres of conservation land along a 3-mile stretch of White Oak Creek between N.C. 55 and the American Tobacco Trail. This corridor abuts conservation land associated with Jordan Lake. The management plan will identify goals and guide maintenance and enhancement of the hydrologic and ecologic functions of this valuable corridor. It will also establish a name for this 500-acre conservation area, which will enhance educational opportunities and public awareness of its existence and value. Cary will partner with the Town of Apex and the Triangle Land Conservancy on the development of this plan, which will take place over the next 12 to 18 months. 

Cary announced in March that Koka Booth Amphitheatre will continue be home to the North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival through 2028. The festival, which began in 2015, has grown significantly in scope and attendance each year. This season, more than 200,000 visitors attended the event, setting a new attendance record compared with its 121,645 visitors in 2019. The festival generated more than $5.54 million in direct economic impact, according to the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau. This estimate is conservative and does not include spending from local attendees, nor does it include a multiplier of indirect or induced impacts.

Cary celebrated the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King over the MLK holiday weekend with its annual Dreamfest celebration. This year, the event highlighted the artistic and civil rights contributions of North Carolina singer Nina Simone, a world-renowned artist and champion of the civil rights movement. The celebration also featured a virtual presentation and discussion of the efforts to save Simone’s childhood home in Tryon, N.C. The planned performance was postponed to May 6 due to illness. Rounding out programming were three films illuminating different aspects of the civil rights struggle: “MLK/FBI,” “Selma,” and “I Am Not Your Negro.” The weekend concluded with a canned food drive in partnership with Dorcas Ministries and Good Hope Farm.

Black History Month, which celebrates the achievements of African Americans and recognizes their central role in U.S. history. Cary hosted several events to mark the occasion, including the kickoff event, called The Future of Black History: Accuracy, Authenticity & Action. This virtual event featured a keynote address by U.S. Bank Chief Diversity Officer Greg Cunningham. 

A signature event of the Black History Month observance is the annual African American Celebration. This year marked the 26th anniversary for the event. Held at the Cary Arts Center and co-sponsored by the Ujima Group, the event focused on the music of the civil rights era. The jazz quartet the McLaughlin Group brought unique interpretations to the songs and hymns that inspired the movement, while pianist Christian Foushee-Green provided historical context for the songs in his set. In addition, spoken word artist Nick Courmon brought a contemporary twist to the event’s theme. Other events Cary hosted included a curated film series at The Cary and a panel discussion of COVID-19 impacts on the state’s marginalized communities with area physicians serving as guest panelists.

Cary celebrated its 39th consecutive year as a Tree City USA community with an Arbor Day festival at Bond Park. Held in conjunction with the My Tree, Our Tree native tree distribution for the first time, this event included 20 educational booths from community organizations that engaged with guests about topics such as waste reduction, regenerative agriculture, renewable energy, ecosystem restoration, and urban forest management. Representatives from the North Carolina Forest Service attended to present Council with two awards from the Arbor Day Foundation for care and management of Cary’s urban forests. 

From March 17 to 20, Cary Tennis Park hosted the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) roundup. The MEAC is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities. The roundup was an opportunity for teams to play multiple conference matches without traveling. Six men’s teams and seven women’s teams participated in the event.

The 45th Lazy Daze Arts & Crafts Festival celebrated the return of Cary’s signature arts event and grants program after its cancellation in 2020 due to the pandemic. One goal of Lazy Daze is to return money to the local community in the form of grants to nonprofit organizations. The grants program focuses on arts programs or projects that benefit Cary and its citizens. On Feb. 22, Mayor Harold Weinbrecht and Council members Jack Smith, Ya Lu, and Ed Yerha distributed $40,000 to 20 nonprofit organizations. To date, the Festivals Committee has awarded more than $800,000 in grants to various nonprofit organizations.

Herb Young Community Center hosted AARP Tax-Aide February through tax day. More than 30 AARP volunteers worked three days a week greeting taxpayers, scheduling appointments with tax professionals, and coordinating the assignment of walk-ins to tax preparers. The tax counselors have filed more than 400 returns and helped prepare more than 200 others.

More than 1,000 people attended this year’s Veterans Benefit Live event, which is designed to help veterans with VA claims. Many of the veterans received their benefit ratings, which confirm claims, and more than $150,000 in claims were awarded. In addition to veterans from Wake County and North Carolina, veterans came from 17 other states, including as far as California. New services for this year’s event included support for homeless veterans and for female veterans who experienced mental trauma.

Cary continues to explore and expand compost education and learning opportunities for the community. This quarter, Council members broadened their interest and understanding of possibilities by touring North Carolina State University’s composting facility, a closed-loop system that helps manage campus food waste and returns it to their gardens and grounds.

Cary citizens also grew their food waste management skills by participating in compost giveaway workshops in March. In support of Cary’s waste diversion and stormwater mitigation goals, 220 residents received instruction on how to convert their fruit and vegetable scraps into compost to build soil health in their own lawns and gardens. Participants received gardening and composting guidebooks, tips for pollinator protection strategies, and a collective 660 cubic feet of compost. Each session concluded with a tour of Good Hope Farm to experience firsthand Cary’s commitment to food security, environmental conservation, and historical preservation.

Good Hope Farm wrapped up its fifth year of production in 2021 with record-breaking metrics, expanded operations, and increased community engagement. Thanks to a combination of grant funding, Town support, and project profits, the property underwent capital improvements to expand farming operations and create space for seven additional farmers in 2022. In 2021, farmers harvested 28,100 pounds of produce, generating $88,755 for the local green economy — an increase of 12,282 pounds compared with 2020. Produce from the farm reached community members’ kitchens through farmers markets, restaurants, food donation, and the annual summer produce box subscription service.