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 Groundbreaking 

A groundbreaking ceremony on June 26 officially marked the beginning of Downtown Cary Park construction. Celebrations leading up to the ceremony included samples of Cary programming and an outline of future park amenities with luminarias. At the groundbreaking ceremony, Mayor Pro Tem Don Frantz announced that the official name of the park will be Downtown Cary Park and unveiled the new logo that will be used to brand the park. The logo features the birds that will be a signature element of the park, a “C” for Cary, and a “D” for Downtown. All the elements flow together to provide a comprehensive visual story of the park. 

Thanks to a collaborative effort between Cary and Wake County staff, rooms in the Cary Regional Library have been named after three individuals from Cary’s history: Ruth Cathey Fox, John William Meadows, and Walter Hines Page. These individuals were selected to correspond with each room in a meaningful way. The Children’s Programming Room is named after Fox, who served as the first female principal of Briarcliff Elementary School during desegregation. The Quiet Study is named after Meadows, a leader in Cary’s African American community, who served as an educator and circuit preacher. Page’s name is associated with the Adult Programming Room, as he is known for serving as the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom and a partner of major book publisher Doubleday, Page & Company. Library visitors will find brief biographies of these honorees on plaques outside of each room. Cary appreciates Wake County’s partnership and support in recognizing these individuals for their contributions to Cary’s history.

The White Oak Creek Greenway is part of the spine of Cary’s greenway system, linking Umstead State Park and Lake Crabtree to the American Tobacco Trail via Bond Park. Last year, Cary began working with mural artist Lisa Gaither to create designs for the headwalls at a new greenway tunnel along White Oak Creek Greenway near Davis Drive Park. Work on the mural wrapped up this quarter, providing a unique and engaging visual along one of Cary’s key greenways. The artist drew her inspiration from the flora and fauna found along Cary greenways, adding in silhouettes of a biker and runners.

Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resources indoor facilities opened to the public on June 14. These indoor facilities join several sports venues that have been open during most of the pandemic. Indoor, outdoor, and virtual programming will continue to increase throughout the summer. Visit townofcary.org for updated facility hours. 

Summer camps kicked off on June 14, and 30 staff members at Bond Park and Herb Young community centers welcomed 105 kids ages 6 to 11 to the first week of camp. “Both of my children love Town of Cary summer camps! They’ve participated in Bond Park and are at Herbert Young this summer, and the counselors are extremely kind and inclusive!” one parent shared. Thirty-one adult softball teams, 208 senior softball players, and 1,061 youth baseball and softball players also got back on the field for the first time in more than a year. With a modified schedule and the health and safety of players and staff a priority, the season will conclude in late July.

Modified from the usual one-day street festival, the 2021 Pimento Cheese Festival took place at 11 local restaurants over 10 days. The restaurants incorporated pimento cheese into their regular menu, and every time someone purchased a pimento cheese dish, they received a Taste of Pimento Cheese collector pin. In addition to visiting the restaurants, citizens could purchase pimento cheese charcuterie boxes at one of the local Cary breweries or the Downtown Cary Farmers Market. 

On Saturdays in May, Cary held the Spring Daze Arts Market series at the Fidelity Bank Plaza downtown. Traditionally a one-day festival drawing more than 15,000 citizens and 170 artisans, the reimagined arts market series featured 20 to 25 North Carolina artisans and welcomed an average of 1,400 citizens per week. Moving Spring Daze from Bond Park added to the vibrancy of downtown, seamlessly connecting to the Cary’s Downtown Farmers Market and positively impacting businesses.  

More than 200 citizens attended Cary’s Memorial Day Remembrance at the Page-Walker Arts & History Center garden on May 31. Council member and veteran Jack Smith served as the emcee, and Mayor Pro Tem Don Frantz read the proclamation. The guest speaker was USO Advisory Board member Maulin Shah, who served in the National Guard in Iraq and in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. In addition to the in-person remembrance ceremony, more than 1,000 flags were installed at Veterans Freedom Park to create a unique Field of Flags experience, and another 500 flags were used to make a 60-by-40-foot American flag in the open field in front of the monument.

Additionally, Smith shared remarks at a separate Memorial Day event at Hillcrest Cemetery held by American Legion Post 67. Frantz and Council member Jennifer Robinson also attended to honor the brave men and women who sacrificed everything in service of this country.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month commemorates the events of June 1969 in New York, known as the Stonewall Uprising, that sparked a liberation movement in the United States. Throughout June, the Cary Theater hosted virtual screenings of the film “Ahead of the Curve,” which follows Franco Stevens’ founding of the first lesbian magazine in the country. On June 28, the Cary Theater hosted an in-person screening of “Gay Chorus Deep South,” a film that follows the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus on a tour of the American South to promote unity and acceptance. In addition, award-winning artist Lisa Gaither created a Pride-inspired chalk mural on the side of the theater, and June 28–30, Cary lit the exterior columns of the Cary Arts Center with the colors of Pride.

Cary’s observance of the recently adopted holiday Juneteenth kicked off June 16 with a virtual program called Juneteenth Voices. Hosted by the Applause! Cary Youth Theatre, the program invited participants to imagine, create, and collaborate on scenes based on the book “All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First Day of Freedom” by Angela Johnson. The observance continued at the Juneteenth, Celebrate Freedom event at the Sertoma Amphitheater in Bond Park on June 19. Council member Ya Liu read the proclamation recognizing Juneteenth as an official Cary holiday and was joined by historians, musicians, and storytellers who creatively expressed the meaning of Juneteenth. More than 400 citizens attended the event. The 2021 celebration concluded with the lighting of the Cary Arts Center columns in red, green, and yellow.

In May, Cary and ASM Global announced the appointment of Jamie Curtis as the general manager of Koka Booth Amphitheatre. Curtis brings more than 25 years of experience to the role with a variety of entertainment venues, record labels, and more. Most recently, she served as the director of marketing and sales for the ASM Global-managed Wintrust Arena and Arie Crown Theater in Chicago. Curtis’s first day on the job was June 1.

On May 17, teams competed at WakeMed Soccer Park to be crowned the NCAA women’s and men’s College Cup soccer champions. The televised matches were played in front of a sellout crowd of about 5,000, and it was the first time in NCAA history that the men’s and women’s championships were held at the same time and place. Marshall University’s men won their first national championship, and Santa Clara took home the women’s national championship after a game that went to penalty kicks. The West Virginia team brought the most fans to the championship matches, and Mayor Harold Weinbrecht and Mayor Pro Tem Don Frantz welcomed West Virginia Governor Jim Justice to Cary.

The North Carolina Recreation and Park Association partnered with Mission Control to offer the first ever North Carolina Esports State Championship. Seventy-two gamers representing seven communities across the state competed for the title of 2021 North Carolina Esports State Champion. Of the six tournament games hosted by NCRPA, the Cary Esports team brought home four gold medals and one bronze. Cary’s Esports program continues to grow, serving more than 130 gamers and partnering with local businesses Bull City Gaming and Contender Esports for tournament play.