The initial phase of the Cary Parks and Open Space Plan update was completed this quarter. Along with an online survey, staff and consultants collected feedback using flags on a Cary map at Spring Daze. Ideas ranged from big slides and zip lines to connecting greenway gaps and preserving open space. The next step is to complete analysis and bring back ideas. 

 

Cary hosted The Soccer Tournament June 1–4. The event created a lot of buzz around the sport of soccer and elevated Cary to the international stage. About 35,000 tickets were sold across the sessions, and thousands of people visited Cary and WakeMed Soccer Park. Peacock, YouTube, CNBC, and NBC broadcasted the event. The Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates a $1.7 million economic impact to Cary and Wake County.

Cary hosted its first pickleball league this quarter. Comprising 68 players on eight teams, the league ran for 10 weeks and was divided into two skill divisions, Dinkers and Drivers. Teams competed using a modified scoring system borrowed from Major League Pickleball. Congratulations to “The Big Dills” for winning the Dinkers division and “Kelly Kompetitors” for winning the Drivers division. 

 

On April 29, Cary welcomed more than 15,000 visitors to Bond Park for its 30th annual Spring Daze Arts and Crafts Festival. The event featured a mix of over 150 North Carolina artists in addition to local entertainment, food, and beverage options and a wide range of activities like boat rentals and zip lines. While strolling down Earth Day Lane, visitors were offered free trees, a compost bin giveaway, recycling tips, garden ideas, greenway maps, and other advice about living green in Cary.  

 

In April, Cary Tennis Park hosted the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tennis championships. In the ACC championship, N.C. State University upset UNC-Chapel Hill in the women’s final to receive the first ACC championship title for the Wolfpack women’s team. In the men’s final, the University of Virginia defeated Duke University for its third straight ACC championship title. More than 3,000 people attended the event, with ticket sales nearly doubling since the ACC championships in Cary in 2019. The new collegiate seating was a big hit with spectators and teams, and the ACC tennis championships will be back at Cary Tennis Park in 2024. 

During the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships, seven schools from South Carolina to Delaware competed. South Carolina State University took home both the men’s and women’s conference championships. 

 

Cary, the University of Mount Olive, and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance hosted the June NCAA Division II Baseball National Championship for the 13th time in the past 15 years. This year, before a crowd of about 2,000 fans, Angelo State beat Rollins College 6-5 to win its first national championship.

A few highlights:

• Assistant Town Manager Dan Ault and Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources Director John Collins threw out ceremonial first pitches.
• Teams totaled 22 home runs over the weekend, one of which was hit by Angelo State.
• The longest home run this year was hit 429 feet, according to Cary’s TrackMan system.

 

On June 10, more than 10,000 cheese lovers filled downtown for the annual Pimento Cheese Festival. About 25 food trucks served their regular menu and at least two items featuring pimento cheese. Ten local restaurants joined the fun in the Pimento Cheese Marketplace and gave away free samples and sold tubs of pimento cheese. Once In A Blue Moon Bakery was crowned the winner of best pimento cheese for the second year in a row. In addition to all the food, the festival also featured the return of “the Cheese Lady” Sarah Kaufmann, who transformed a 40-pound block of cheese into a work of art. 

On May 29, hundreds of citizens gathered at Veterans Freedom Park to remember and honor the U.S. military personnel who died serving in the line of duty. Mayor Harold Weinbrecht read the proclamation, and Mayor Pro Tem Don Frantz, Rep. Deborah Ross, and Rep. Wiley Nickel provided remarks. Unique to Monday's event was the formal dedication of a Blue Star Memorial plaque at the park.  

 

The Juneteenth: Celebrate Freedom event took place at Sertoma Amphitheatre at Bond Park on June 17. It was a day marked by celebrations and reflections commemorating African American freedom and emphasizing education and achievement. The celebration included an African dance performance, music performances, and poetry in addition to powerful historical discussions about Juneteenth. The event was curated by local cultural historian Darrell Stover.

In recognition of Pride Month, Cary offered a variety of activities in June for the community. These included lighting the façade of the Cary Arts Center in rainbow colors, LGBTQ+ films and discussions at The Cary Theater, a Family Bike Pride Ride in partnership with Trek Cary, a video story booth to gather and document LGBTQ+ stories, a historical art exhibition at the Cary Arts Center, and a special musical performance at The Cary Theater.  

In addition, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion hosted an LGBTQ+ educational program series for Cary staff to promote knowledge and awareness while providing skills to become more inclusive, informed, and supportive allies to the LGBTQ+ community. Workshops included LGBTQ+ Allyship 101 and Allyship 102 and Beyond. Internally and externally, Cary is committed to fostering a safe and respectful environment for all people to live, work, and play.

In April, the Chinese American Friendship Association of North Carolina hosted a Taste of China Food and Culture Festival in downtown Cary. Thousands turned out for this inaugural event, sampling cuisine from more than 45 food vendors and enjoying the various performances and cultural activities. Joining Councilmembers Lori Bush, Carissa Kohn-Johnson, and Ryan Eades were more than a dozen other elected officials from the state and Wake County, including Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and Rep. Ya Liu. The seed for this event was planted early in Liu's tenure on Cary's Council. After delays due to the pandemic, the event finally came to life this spring.

Cary held its 10th annual Wheels on Academy car show in  May. More than 100 vehicles participated with models ranging from 1904 to 2023. New this year, Wheels on Academy was held with the Antique Automobile Club of America NC Region Car Meet and showcased over 50 antique vehicles. Mayor Pro Tem Don Frantz handed out trophies to the Top 50. The Mayor's Best in Show Award went to a 1969 Dodge Charger. Popular among kids and adults alike was the Touch-a-Truck program featuring GoCary, police, fire, and sanitation vehicles.

 

Cary and the Capital Area Disc League hosted the 9th annual Airborne Open Charity Disc Golf tournament at the Diavolo at New Hope course over Memorial Day weekend. Despite rainy and windy conditions, athletes had a great time, and the tournament raised over $550 for the United Services Organization. Awards this year were provided by CADL, whose mascot is cattle.

In addition, Cary's Middle Creek Disc Golf course underwent upgrades in preparation for the 2024 Masters Disc Golf Championship to be held at Middle Creek and Diavolo at New Hope disc golf course. The upgrades included updated tee pads, adjustments to several hole layouts, additional practice baskets, and improved walking trails.

 

Applause! Cary Youth Theatre hosted its first mainstage theater production since 2019, “The Hundred Dresses.” More than 20 participants ages 9-16 acted and worked behind the scenes to tell the story about bullying, acting as a bystander, and the repercussions of these acts in 1930s small-town America.
The performances from March 31 through April 2 at the Cary Arts Center drew 322 total audience members.

 

This quarter marks the end of the first half of the Count me in, Cary! outreach and engagement. Between mid-April and the end of June, over 1,400 citizens shared across six surveys their thoughts, concerns, possible barriers, and level of willingness to partake in a variety of efforts to make Cary more adaptive and resilient in the face of climate change. Behind the scenes, staff and consultants will use this halfway point to process the information and pivot as needed to reach underrepresented populations. The surveys remain open until Sept. 1 and will be followed by analysis to aid the continued creation of Cary’s Sustainability and Climate Action Strategy.

In April and May, Cary Senior Center garden volunteers and staff gathered over multiple days to remove weeds and invasive plants and restore the soil with compost, organic amendments, and leaf mulch in an area of over 1,000 square feet. During this time, hundreds of native plants, shrubs, and grasses were added to support biodiversity. Overgrown plants like iris, day lilies, and roses were thinned, removed, potted, and sold at a senior-led plant sale, which contributed to shared garden funds. Outside the garden, native grasses were added to support an aesthetic habitat and address erosion and water-pooling concerns.

April also saw the improvement of the roundabout at the New Hope Church Road Trailhead with dozens of native plants that will show citizens how an arid, rough environment can still be pretty, support pollinators, and reduce maintenance. Finally, the South Cary Water Reclamation Facility’s meadow garden
has expanded 200 square feet, while the rainwater gardenwas revived with invasive species removal and additional pollinator plants.

Solarize the Triangle 2022 set a national record as the largest Solarize program in the country to date with 1,500 people signing up for free evaluations in a single campaign. As a result, 173 Triangle homeowners executed contracts to purchase new solar energy systems. Of these, Cary had 109 free evaluation sign-ups and 12 completed contracts. Based on the overall 2022 success, a second Solarize the Triangle program kicked off May 15, and enrollment for a free evaluation of homes, nonprofits, and small businesses ends Sept. 30. In its first 1.5 months, the 2023 program already has 265 sign-ups for
free home evaluations. Enrollees have until Dec. 31 to decide whether to sign a contract.