Cary is collecting crucial input for a new Open Space Plan and an updated Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources Master Plan as part its Imagine Cary update. Mailings went out in January 2023 to randomly selected citizens to participate in an important survey, and a link for a survey was provided to the general public to provide their input on the future of Cary's open space, parks, greenways, recreation, and cultural resources. This is the first step in a process that will guide recommendations for years to come, and additional public input will be sought over the coming months. 

The numbers are in, and the North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival again set new records. This year the event welcomed more than 216,000 visitors and generated more than $7.36 million in direct economic impact, according to figures released by the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau. For a seventh year, Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre was home to the festival, which was open daily from Nov. 18, 2022, to Jan. 8, 2023. The festival drew visitors from all 100 counties in North Carolina, plus from 50 U.S. states and territories and six foreign countries. 

Cary celebrated the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday with a weekend filled with programs to honor his legacy, focus on the issue of civil rights, and provide opportunities for community service. The celebration included an interfaith prayer service, film screenings at The Cary Theater, and the main Dreamfest program at the Cary Arts Center. Former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley and Councilmember Carissa Kohn-Johnson attended the event, and the keynote address was presented by Dr. Harry L. White Jr., pastor of Watts Chapel Baptist Church. Pure Life Theater Company and the North Carolina Central University Repertory Dance Company gave soul-stirring performances. The Sigma Rho Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. conducted a winter clothing and backpack drive for Reedy Creek Magnet Middle School students. Additionally, more than 200 volunteers gathered at Good Hope Farm for an annual day of service. In the spirit of building food security, the event also acted as a host site for the Dreamfest Food Drive, inspiring volunteers to donate 500 pounds of canned food to Dorcas Ministries.

On Feb. 22, the Cary Senior Center hosted its second annual “Taste of Black History” luncheon. People of African descent have played a significant role in shaping a unique American style of eating. “A Taste of Black History” merges African American history with African American inspired cuisine and staple menu items. More than 60 attended and discussed the background of some of their favorite foods, enjoyed traditional soul food, and were challenged with trivia that focused on modern-day contributions of African Americans. 

On March 12, the Cary Arts Center came alive with Hum Sub’s annual Basant Bahar celebration. The focus of Basant Bahar is showcasing classical Indian traditions in music and dance. Mayor Harold Weinbrecht, Apex Mayor Jacques Gilbert, and Morrisville Mayor T.J. Cawley, along with several Councilmembers, attended. This year the event was marked by a choral collaboration with the Concert Singers of Cary and the Hum Sub orchestra, who together performed “Sadbhavana,” a tribute to peace and harmony. In the second part of the show, four dance schools performed a variety of ancient and more modern adaptations of classical Indian dance dramas based on stories from Indian mythology. In all, more than 200 performers demonstrated their unique and artistic talents for the more than 400 attendees. 

Early this year, nearly 3,800 people weighed in via an online survey on the future of Cary’s two proposed community centers. Cary also conducted three public meetings and presented to Cary’s boards and commissions. To wrap up this phase, 250 teens from Cary Teen Council participated in a dot exercise to gather their feedback. Next steps will be developing scenarios based on the feedback. 

For the second year in a row, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference hosted its tennis roundup event at Cary Tennis Park. The roundup took place March 16–18. The MEAC is a Division I athletic conference made up of eight historically black institutions located along the Atlantic coast from South Carolina to Delaware. Teams play regular-season conference matches over the three days of the event to help cut down on extra travel between the schools in the conference.

Herb Young Community Center and staff hosted the Veterans Benefits Live Event in March. A willingness by Cary staff to put in long hours and jump in and help where needed certainly helped make this three-day event run smoothly to serve 1,006 total veterans.

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the country, and Cary has seen massive growth at indoor and outdoor locations over the past year. With the help of Cary’s Marga Beasley, Wake County Pickleball Ambassador, and Heather Jackson, an international pickleball teaching professional, Cary has facilitated four “Intro to Pickleball” clinics. These clinics introduce citizens to the game and help those new to the sport learn techniques to take their game to the next level. Each session of the exciting new programs filled quickly. With the support of these two amazing instructors, Cary continues to add additional clinics to meet the demand.

The Bond Park Challenge Course experienced a busy winter season, providing adventure and leadership development programs despite the weather. Cary is excited to continue collaborating with corporations, schools, and youth development programs to share Cary’s passion for leadership. 

A few notable groups include:

• Relias Data Leadership Executive Team
• Relias Leadership Development Teams 
• North Carolina State University Poole College of Management
• North Carolina State University Outdoor Leadership Department
• WithersRavenel Corp.
• Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts groups
• High school athletic teams
• Homeschool Adventure Program Series
• Cary Specialized Recreation & Inclusion
• Cary Track Out Camps
• Adventure Course Family Days
• Couples Adventure Day

Cary Archery, a USA Archery-registered Olympic Development Archery Team of participants ages 7 to 67, continues to impress on the national stage. Eight of Cary’s stunning shooters traveled to Harrisonburg, Va., for a weekend of fierce competition, podium finishes, and personal bests at the USA Archery Indoor Nationals. They left the competition claiming both gold and silver medals. One young archer thrived while competing against shooters several years her senior. Another earned his black Junior Olympic Archery Development pin, an impressive feat at any age, at just 7 years old. 

Annual results are in, and staff are excited to report that 1,820 people participated in Spruce program activities last calendar year. Serving a grand total of 4,234 hours, volunteers performed 136 projects planting native plants, removing invasive species, and collecting almost 18,000 pounds of litter. Community engagement continues to shine, as 444 volunteers already signed up and served in the first quarter of 2023. 

Year after year, program interest grows in part due to Cary’s annual call to action that invites the community to “March into Earth Day” with dozens of environmental events and workshops. A highlight of the outreach campaign, the annual Arbor Day event brought 800 people together to celebrate Cary’s 40th year as a Tree City USA community. Mayor Pro Tem Don Frantz and Councilmembers Ryan Eades and Carissa Kohn-Johnson commemorated this milestone with a ceremony that also honored Hometown Spirit Award winners with the annual Arbor Day Tree. Guests enjoyed free tree saplings distributed from the Ask an Arborist booth and additional environmental engagement via 24 education stations covering topics such as composting native plants, and climate action.

As composting interest continues to grow in Cary, more than 200 residents participated in the biannual Compost Giveaway Workshops this quarter. Participants were able to see how the scraps they take to the Food Waste Recycling Drop-off site contribute to the soil regeneration at Good Hope Farm and learned more about creating compost at home in their own backyard bins.

In addition to Arbor Day festivities, March featured the soft launch of Count Me In, Cary! Stewardship Strategies for a Sustainable Future. This campaign will guide Cary and its community partners toward equitable collective action for a sustainable and resilient future. Staff, consultants, and volunteers continue to elevate feedback and engagement efforts that will culminate and be ready to fly at Cary’s Spring Daze Earth Day celebration and beyond. Keep an eye out, as the coming six months will feature topics to learn about and engage with, including community resilience, energy, water infrastructure, transportation and mobility, solid waste, and natural resources.

Cary is making strides to restore and support native ecosystems across town with continued citizen and staff assistance. While opportunities and projects will continue to grow throughout spring, work performed this winter at locations like Jack Smith Park, Bond Park, Ritter Park, and Good Hope Farm set the stage for regeneration. In addition to 2022 plantings, Jack Smith Park now features more oaks, cypress, gingko, native holly bushes, blueberries, and another round of sunflowers already popping up. At Bond Lake, staff recently added multiple varieties of native grasses to stabilize areas near the water’s edge in addition to a new generation of native trees and shrubs, including hibiscus, swamp cyrilla, button bush, and bald cypress. Ritter Park will see new blooms this spring from the recent plantings of heliopsis (false sunflower), sage, rosemary, coneflowers, native grasses, yarrows, silver Artemisia, and more.

Last, but not least, this quarter welcomed more than 100 volunteers to plant native wildflowers and grasses at Cary’s Good Hope Farm, with an additional 200 volunteers joining the MLK Day of Service to restore soil health by adding over 20 cubic yards of municipally sourced leaf mulch and compost. While this work supports biological partnerships, regional partnerships were also maintained as the volunteers consisted of citizens, local experts, and even college students from the University of Georgia, who temporarily joined the community as a part of their Alternative Spring Break
Service Project.

Cary continues to support food security in the region through community gardens, urban agriculture programs, and innovative facility upgrades. In an effort to increase awareness and education about the interconnectedness of food, flowers, and beneficial insects, staff launched a honeybee hive trial at select fire stations this quarter. Staff and citizen beekeepers are buzzing with excitement as they work collaboratively to better understand the important role bees can play at established fire station gardens as well as how they contribute to urban regenerative agriculture programs and healthy ecosystems. Another exciting area of growth for food security in Cary has been the completion of the Carpenter Park Community Garden renovation. Not only does the new design accommodate more families in the annual plot rental program, the site now includes innovative educational eco features such as a rain garden that will assist with stormwater mitigation and be utilized as a teaching tool for homeowners. This year, 53 families are excited to break ground on their plots April 1 to grow food for their households, 11 more families than were served in 2022.