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 Takes Shape 

This quarter, permits were issued for buildings and elevated structures in the Downtown Cary Park, including the Bark Bar, Academy Plaza, Gathering House, Performance Pavilion, Academy Pavilion, Canopy Walk, and Nest Bridge. The Bark Bar is the first structure to be erected, with walls going up in August 2021. The next structures to be constructed are the Academy Plaza building and the Pavilion. 

Penny Road Elementary School Park Renovations Complete 

In August, Cary completed renovations of the Penny Road Elementary School Park under budget. These bond-funded project renovations included a lighted baseball field, a multi-purpose field, playgrounds, a pond with outdoor classroom, bathrooms, picnic shelter, and walking trails. Youth baseball leagues began playing at the park in September.

 

Improvements at Annie Jones Park 

The Annie Jones Park is about to look a little different when it gets new tennis courts and other upgrades. Demolition of existing tennis courts began in August. Other renovations to come include play equipment replacement and restroom replacement. All of the improvements are expected to be complete by summer 2022.

The 45th annual Lazy Daze Arts and Crafts Festival returned to downtown Cary this quarter. After being canceled in 2020 for only the second time in its history, Lazy Daze welcomed more than 200 vendors and an estimated 25,000 attendees to Town Hall campus on Aug. 28 and 29. This year’s event was scaled down compared with past festivals by eliminating indoor programming and spacing out the booths to provide for social distancing. Although attendance was about half of normal years, attendee feedback was overwhelmingly positive: 92% of participating artists reported being satisfied with the event, with many reporting brisk sales. An artist from Wilmington reported having her best sales in six appearances at the festival. 

Over two weekends in July, Cary hosted “Celebrate Cary,” a family-friendly outdoor celebration marking the Town’s sesquicentennial. Thousands of people attended these downtown events, which featured music, food trucks, local breweries, lawn games, street performers, cultural arts performances, and more. Each evening was capped off by a 10-minute, large-scale outdoor light show projected onto the facade of the Cary Arts Center. In addition, Kindervillage and Cary hosted a birthday party for Cary on Sept. 12 at Sertoma Amphitheater. Families in attendance enjoyed singing, birthday treats, and an original birthday song.

Patriotic music and fireworks have never been sweeter. With 10,000 people passing through the gates of Koka Booth Amphitheatre and thousands more lining the adjacent streets and parking lots, 2021’s Independence Day celebration marked Cary’s largest in-person event in nearly two years. A cross-departmental team serving as unified command provided support to the operations team on the ground. Cary tested its new SMS text option, providing revelers with real-time event alerts, and Old North State Medical Society was on-site administering COVID-19 vaccines. Mayor Weinbrecht provided a warm welcome, while Council members Jennifer Robinson, Jack Smith, and Ya Liu attended with family and friends, including N.C. Rep. Gale Adcock and U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross. 

On Sept. 25, Council member Ya Liu, Council member Jennifer Robinson, and others celebrated the dedication of the Diavolo @ New Hope Disc Golf Course. The course opened in October 2020 and has been recognized by industry website Udisc.com as one of the best public disc golf courses in the world. The dedication was one of several events held as part of the Diavolo Disc Golf Festival, including Glow Doubles, a putting tournament, and the Devil’s Challenge, touted as the “longest hole in the world,” extending across the farthest two points on the course. 

In addition, two new pieces of art by John Merigian are now on permanent display as part of the disc golf course. The sculptures are made of weathering steel, and their patina will change over time to a rusty red, like their companion sculptures across the street at New Hope Trailhead Park adjacent to the American Tobacco Trail. The sculptures help tell the story of the history of the ATT, as they are reminiscent of the train rails that once lay beside the new park. 

USA Baseball wrapped up its 15th season in Cary in early September. The season consisted of 14 major USA Baseball events, including the first Major League Draft Combine. A total of 3,380 participants called the National Training Complex home this summer, competing in USA Baseball events that provided an estimated $6.5 million in economic impact. 

In July, the U.S. Olympic Team played three exhibition games against the Collegiate National Team before heading to Tokyo to compete in the Olympic baseball competition. The teams played two of those exhibition games at the USA Baseball National Training Complex at Thomas Brooks Park. The game on July 18 featured a military recognition and an Apache helicopter. Cary’s Mayor Harold Weinbrecht threw out the first pitch before an exciting 8-3 win by Team USA in front of 2,217 fans. 

The Atlantic Tire Championships returned to Cary Tennis Park with men’s professional tennis tournaments in July and September. The Association of Tennis Professionals events feature the rising stars of tennis and showcase players ranked just outside the top 50 in the world. It was the seventh year Cary hosted the September event and the first time hosting the July event. The United States Tennis Association asked Cary Tennis Park to host the July event based on its success hosting its previous professional tournaments, and the new tournament posted record ticket sales and attendance. Mitchell Krueger made tournament history by capturing back-to-back titles. Krueger commented on the beautiful facility and attentive staff and remarked that playing in Cary feels like home.

Full day summer camps concluded this quarter after 10 weeks at Bond Park Community Center and Herb Young Community Center. About 375 participants ages 5 to 11 participated in more than 9,000 hours of summer camp activities. The camps generated $128,000 in program fees. Campers participated in a variety of unique experiences, such as history tours, riding scooters around Town Hall campus, outdoor recreation, nature hikes, drums, art, sports, and more. One parent commented that what they liked the most about sending their child to camp this summer was the “attention to detail, organization, and care/concern for my daughter and her experience.” Another parent said, “My kids had fun and didn’t want to leave.”

The farmers at Good Hope Farm offer an annual summer produce box service, commonly known as a community-supported agriculture program. The 2021 program fed 25 families through subscriptions that generated $6,140 in revenue. It also fed about 40 families with 381 pounds of produce donated to Dorcas Ministries. The Good Hope Farm program provides community members picking up their weekly produce boxes with a unique opportunity to visit the historic farm and to connect with the farmers and the land that produced their food. 

“Speak Out!” is an outreach partnership created as an out of the box way to serve the community during the pandemic and beyond. The program was designed with Dorcas Ministries as a public-speaking class for adults that could also provide connection and friendships after a year of isolation. “Speak Out” uses improv, scene work, and breathing and voice exercises to help participants gain confidence when speaking out around others and to build connection in a trust-based, laid-back environment. Applause! hosted the first classes in September. 

Many volunteer programs, including Adopt a Spot, Spruce, and more have relaunched since Cary restarted in-person programming this summer. With the help of 259 volunteers who logged 574 hours performing a variety of environmental efforts, staff completed 35 projects and removed more than 1,760 pounds of litter from Cary parks, streets, and trails. Cary Teen Council also returned to group volunteering for the first time in 18 months, assisting at Lazy Daze, Bond Park, local races, and many other outdoor events.  

The Cary It Green Facebook group continues to educate and engage the community about important  environmental topics and meaningful opportunities for citizens to get involved with protecting and preserving our natural resources. In the first quarter of FY 2022, Cary It Green posts reached more than 43,000 people about volunteer work days, tips for waste reduction, compost education, opportunities for free native trees, and more.