Story from staff reports. Photos from Gracious Harvest and Cary’s Pocket Garden.

Cary, NC – The Heart of Cary Association will have its monthly meeting this Thursday, April 5 at 8 AM in the Cary Chamber. The topic will be community gardens in downtown Cary.

HoCA: Downtown Community Gardens

Two of the signature elements of the revival of downtown Cary are community gardens. One is behind First United Methodist Church (FUMC) and the other is a “pocket garden” on Dry Ave.

Both are tended by volunteers and make a mission of growing wholesome food for the community.

From HoCA President Doc Thorne:

HoCA member Lauren Schafer will update us on the progress of FUMC’s Gracious Harvest Garden she co-founded, and HoCA chair Keith Bliss will provide background and plans for his creation Cary’s Pocket Community Garden. Giving the renewed interest in home gardening and sustainability this promises to be both an informative and fun presentation.

Morning refreshments will be provided beforehand, while afterward Lauren and Keith have agreed to remain to answer your individual questions.

The meeting is open to everyone. So, why not invite a friend, neighbor or associate to attend with you?

Event Details

Heart of Cary Association
Downtown Community Gardens
Thursday, April 5th, 8AM

Cary Chamber of Commerce
307 N. Academy Street, across from Town Hall

Cost: Free

Story and photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – Cary musician Michael Pelz-Sherman works as a programmer but has a PhD in Music. Now he wants to make a jazz album and you can help.

Kickstarter

Kickstarter is an online platform where projects get funded and people can be patrons of the arts for just a few dollars.

Projects on Kickstarter run the gamut of human interests, but many are related to the arts.

Now you can help a dad in Cary fund his jazz record project.

Help Fund A Jazz Record

Kickstarter builds funding in any amount. You can give $1 or $1000. Mike’s offering some nice premiums (like a piano lesson) for different levels of funding.

Visit Dr. Mike’s Kickstarter project.

Here’s Michael’s Kickstarter video explaining his project. Give generously and be a patron of the arts!

Photos by Brooke Meyer.

Cary, NC- Saturday, Bond Park was the scene of Cary’s annual Kite Festival. You could bring a kite or make one and the perfect weather brought out a large crowd. Brooke Meyer was there to capture the fun for CaryCitizen.

The annual Kite festival is a free event held each year during March. For folks without their own kites, there was a kite-building station about a half hour before the 1:00pm official start of the event.

With Saturdays bright sunny weather and temps hitting the high 60′s the event had one of the best turn-outs ever.

An added bonus for the kids were the surprise appearances of team mascots from both the RailHawks Soccer team and the Cary Invasion, Cary’s Minor League basketball.

If you’ve never been to this family event, make your calendars for next year, or simply head over to the big grassy field at the heart of Bond Park any day of the week and Go Fly A Kite!

Story and t-shirt designs by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – Spring is in the air, and its time to show your Cary pride with our new line of Chickens ‘n Bees t-shirts. All offerings are available in the CaryCitizen Online Store.

Chicken ‘N Bees

“Chicken ‘N Bees” sounds disturbingly like a recipe story. But it’s not.

This is a story about Spring Apparel with a Cary message.

The message is: joy, pride, and have a little fun.

Home of the Honey Bee

Beekeeping in Cary has been in the news recently with Town Council considering action that would make it easier have a hive in Cary.

In response to an overwhelming call from citizens, we’ve produced this Home of the Honey Bee t-shirt for Spring 2012.

This shirt is safe for everyone, even if you’re allergic to bees.

Chicken: Pets or Dinner?

Meanwhile, Town Council is also considering action on the Chicken front. No, it’s not (yet) legal to have backyard chickens in Cary, but this shirt violates no national, state, local or HOA laws.

Our Chicken Series includes three shirts:

• I Am Not a Nugget
• Chicken Dinner
• Original Home of the Chicken

Our Original Home of the Chicken t-shirt actually features a rooster. The ordinance under consideration would not allow you to keep roosters in your subdivision. Unless they’re on a t-shirt.

Respect for Agriculture

It’s good to see Town Council and the community interested in questions of agriculture.

Farming has historically been a part of Cary. But does it fit in a highly-educated, high-tech community?

Pick your t-shirt and celebrate a town that’s not afraid to take on the big questions.

Story by Lindsey Chester. Photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC- On April 7, Downtown Cary will again have its farmer’s market.After a couple years, when the market had to move to Chatham Square Shopping Center from its former spot at the Amtrak train depot, the  Cary Downtown Farmer’s Market will once again call downtown home.

New Location

After sorting through a lot of speculation, market manager Michele Blackley confirmed the new location will be at the corner of Park and Academy Streets.

The kick off on Saturday April 7, 2012 will include the Town’s new portable stage for some entertainment, local produce vendors and activities for kids. Michele confirmed the market has signed up 22 vendors! Look for signage at the new site.

From the Market:

Our vendors will be selling produce, baked goods, plants, jewelry, mushrooms, coffee,custom made clothing just to name a few! We plan to have entertainment and special events with the help of volunteers from the community. We are very appreciative to the Carying Place for sharing this space with us on Saturdays and Tuesdays.

Civic Partnerships

The move to the new spot has been accomplished through civic partnerships. Doc Thorne, president of the Heart of Cary Association (HoCA), said his group will be providing support with publicity. Ed Gawf, Downtown Development Manager and Mike Bajorek, Assistant Town Manager both worked closely with the group to finalize a location. Lyman Collins, Cary’s Cultural Arts manager, is committed to having activities happening Downtown on the weekends.

If Cary’s market is like others we’ve visited across the nation, it will help spur lively weekend activity in the Heart of Cary.

Downtown Cary Farmer’s Market

Kickoff: Saturday April 7, 2012
8:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Corner of Park and Academy Streets
Cary, NC

Story from staff reports. Photo by Michael Mazengarb.

Cary, NC – Dorcas Ministries in Cary is all set to get free energy, and cash, from some unused rooftop space. Welcome to the green economy.

Solar Partnership

Dorcas Ministries, a Cary-based non-profit, will install 845 solar panels on 50,000 square feet of unused rooftop space.

The initiative is a partnership with Yes! Solar Solutions of Cary and Argand Energy Solutions of Durham. The installation will be the largest non-profit solar energy system in Wake County and one of the largest non-profit installations in the state of North Carolina.

Yes Solar and Argand will work side-by-side on the installation. Once operating, the system will produce 236.5 kilowatts of energy, enough juice to power approximately 28 small homes each year.

Free Energy and Cash to Burn

Under an innovative solar financing model, Argand Energy will own and operate the system and Dorcas Ministries will be able to use the solar-generated energy with no out-of-pocket expenses. The non-profit will receive lease payments for the otherwise unusable rooftop space. Energy from the system will be sold to Progress Energy.

Construction on the project is slated to begin immediately.

Story and photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – Want to know how to make social media work for your business? Check out this example using dessert as a catalyst for social media.

Social Media (Can Be) Free

Social media works best when it is social – that is, people talking about me, not me talking about myself.

Using Dessert as a Social Media Driver

In this example, I’m imaging a restaurant.

I want to encourage people to talk about me on Twitter.

So I put table tent (small ad in a frame) on all the tables in my cafe or saloon.

The table tent reads:

Tweet Me

Get 50% off Dessert

In the small type, you set some simple rules:

• Use @CafeHal
• Use these two hashtags: #food #triangle
• Say something nice about your experience. Whatever you liked best.
• Show the tweet to your waiter to get 50% off your dessert

Now, you’ve got other people talking about you. And, you didn’t have to pay hard cash to a smart aleck like me.

That’s how you use dessert as a social media driver.

What’s your innovative idea for social media?

Story and photos by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – In my guise as a commercial photographer (FotoHal.com), I’ve recently visited two local shopping areas with lots of “Help Wanted” signs. The jobs are restaurant/retail, but might be a good opportunity for high school and college kids or anyone looking for a little extra cash..

Help Wanted: Where the Jobs Are

The profusion of Help Wanted signs struck me at two shopping centers that are either under construction or undergoing renovation:

• Waverly Place
• Park West

Both have new stores and restaurants opening this spring.

A medium-sized restaurant can employ 70 people. All told, there might be several hundred jobs up for grabs right now.

Go Get the Jobs

The best way to get one of these open positions is to drive over to one or both of these shopping centers.

Needs vary daily and open jobs don’t stay open for long, so jump in your car, drive over, park where you see a Help Wanted sign and go inside and ask.

The shopping centers themselves don’t have jobs – you have to ask the individual merchants. Check back at both places frequently; newly Help Wanted signs are sprouting regularly.

As Woody Alen said, 80% of success is just showing up.

Waverly Place
corner of Tryon and Kildare Farms Roads

Park West
corner of Cary Parkway and Chapel Hill Road

Cary, NC – Guest article by attorney Jackie Bedard of Carolina Family Estate Planning. Photo by Michal Hrabovec.

I hear the same excuses over and over….

• I don’t have an “estate.”
• I have more debt than assets.
• The only thing I have is my home.

Excuses

As you may have guessed, these are excuses that people make for not preparing an estate plan.

These people are sadly misinformed. They think estate planning is only about money.

Estate planning does take care of financial issues, but the way I see it, the most important reason for doing an estate plan is for the benefit of the people that you leave behind.

Plan Ahead and Save Heartache

Estate planning is essential for senior citizens who are concerned about the well-being of their loved ones. No matter what your level of wealth happens to be, there are decisions that will have to be made if you become incapacitated or when you pass on.

If you don’t leave detailed instructions for the type of medical care you want or what to do with your things, you will be putting those you love most in the position of being a mind-reader. They will have to do their best to figure out what you would have wanted and then deal with the consequences such as unhappy family members who disagree with them. Do you really want to cause this type of stress for them at a time when they are already upset and mourning?  I doubt it.

Estate Planning Checklist for Everyone

I realize thinking about these things is not easy or fun, but approaching it in an organized manner may help. Here’s a list of things to consider when planning your estate:

1. Talk to close family members and let them know how you would like to handle the dispersal of your assets and sentimental items. Also, talk to them about the type of medical care you would like to receive should you become incapacitated. Chances are, if everyone knows your plans ahead of time, there will be fewer arguments and a lot less stress.
2. Prepare a list of all of your assets including your home, your financial accounts, insurance policies and any personal possessions.
3. Make a list of beneficiaries of your estate. You may also want to include organizations that are meaningful to you, such as charities, churches, schools or universities or civic organizations.
4. Plan for your pets- if something should happen to you, how will they be cared for?
5. Make a list of passwords, PIN numbers and other codes that someone might need and store them in a secure place (be sure someone know how to access).
6. Who you would like to put in charge of your medical care and who you would like to oversee the dispersal of your assets. You can appoint different people for these critical jobs.
7. Consult with an experienced estate planning attorney who can offer advice about how to arrange your estate so that the person you put in charge of your financial and medical decisions will have the fewest complications.

These steps alone will go a long way in reducing the stress that your loved ones will experience. Isn’t their well-being enough reason to do an estate plan?

Playlist by Hal Goodtree. Photo by Shandi-lee.

Cary, NC – Just for Valentine’s Day, here’s a video playlist of love songs for your listening pleasure.

Smoldering

There are lots of songs about love. But for Valentine’s Day, the quality I’m looking for is smoldering.

Imagine a candlelit room. Imagine champagne. Now crank up the Valentine’s Playlist and use your imagination to fill in the rest of the details.

Valentine’s Playlist

My playlist starts with Someone Like You from the Grammy-winning record of the year by Adele. Although it’s about a broken heart, it has that smoldering quality in spades.

Next up is Etta James with her classic version of At Last.

The third song on the playlist is She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5, covered here by Boyce Avenue with Tiffany Alvord. They do a beautiful job with this touching song (over 11 million views on YouTube).

Finally, one of my favorites – Madeleine Peyroux with Dance Me to the End of Love. Don’t know Madeleine Peyroux? The first time I heard her, I thought I was listening to Billie Holiday. She has that kind of voice.

If you can’t see the video here, you can view it on YouTube.