Editor’s Note: If like knowing about the history of Cary, you’ll enjoy this free program on Tuesday, January 24, from The Friends of Page-Walker:

Where will you find a mural depicting the Town of Cary and its citizens both past and present? Join the Friends of the Page-Walker in welcoming local artist, Val Fox, who will solve this mystery and share her story of creating the “Cary Then and Now” mural.

Val will take us on a journey of the local places and people depicted in the famous mural and share the role each has played in our Town’s history.

This free program is offered as part of the Friends of the Page-Walker’s Historic Preservation Series.

• Preservation Speaker Series: “Who Is That Guy? The Story Behind the Cary Mural”
• Page-Walker Arts & History Center, Main Gallery
• Date: Tuesday, 24 Jan 2012 7:30 PM

More information and online registration: Preservation Speaker Series: “Who Is That Guy? The Story Behind the Cary Mural”

story and photos by Brooke Meyer.

Cary, NC - The intimate setting of the Winter Concert Series at Page Walker Hotel provides a real treat for audiences. Last Sunday’s sold out performance by Brazilian Soul was another example. 

The performance had the ease, energy and richness of three versatile pro’s fusing Rock, Reggae, Folk, Salsa, Samba and Jazz.  Percussionist Beverly Botsford provided the foundation while David Maxwell alternated on Sax, Clarinet and Flute and leader Paolo Lopes sang vocals and played guitar.  ( Beverly will be back in Cary soon with Nnenna Freelon at the Cary Arts Center on January 28th. )

About Brazilian Soul

Upcoming Concerts

Story by Lindsey Chester. Illustration by Jerry Miller.

Cary,NC – Are you a long time Cary resident? By that I mean, have you lived here longer than 30 years? If so you may have some documents that could be of interest to the Town of Cary and the Friends of Page-Walker.

The Friends of Page-Walker Preservation Committee, in partnership with the Town of Cary, is hunting for plans and architectural drawings of subdivisions and homes from the 1950′s and 1960′s. That’s a time when Cary counted our residents at less than 10,000!

In particular they seek plans drawn by the hand of long time resident Jerry Miller (story). Miller is known to have designed homes in the Greenwood, Pine Valley and Meadowmont subdivisions, among others.

Town Funded Project

These plans and drawings will become part of the inventory collected for the Town of Cary-funded Historic Resources Survey and Inventory Update project. Thirty thousand dollars has been allocated to complete this project.

The project goals are to 1) update information about Cary properties listed in the existing Wake County Architectural and Historic Inventory, and 2) add additional Cary properties to the Inventory by surveying and identifying important properties throughout the town that are over 50 years old and have never been documented.

Basically, the Preservation Committee is looking to identify properties that may be of historical or architectural importance. These will be added to the Town’s Historic Preservation Master Plan which provides a road map for preservation policies and activities over the next 10 years through a series of goals, objectives and recommended actions.

The project began in August 2011 and will be completed in late spring of 2012. The Town has retained Circa, Inc., a Raleigh cultural resources consulting firm, to perform the survey and inventory update.

Who to Contact

Citizens who have or know about the requested plans and drawings can contact:

Ellen Turco at Circa, Inc. at
(919) 219-1489
eturco@circa-inc.com.

Now, go search through your attics and closets to see if you possess any of these antique treasures!

The CaryCitizen Calendar of Events is edited by Lindsey Chester. Photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – The holiday spirit is in full swing this weekend in Cary with a stocking stuffed full of events on the CaryCitizen Calendar.

Thursday December 15

Business of Women Luncheon – Presented by the Cary Chamber of Commerce at Prestonwood Country Club, 12-1:30 pm. Members $15, non-members $20. More info.

Champagne & Cavier – Umstead Hotel 6-8 PM. $65 pp. Call (919) 447-4200.

African American Book Club – Barnes & Noble on Maynard, 7-8 pm. Free.

Friday December 16

International Ballet Academy Holiday Suite – Featuring excerpts from the Nutcracker and Raymonda. Cary Academy, Friday & Saturday. $12 adults, $10 kids. Call (919) 303-7200.

Cary Ballet Company Very Cary Christmas – Cary Arts Center, Friday & Saturday. Tickets: $15 Adults, $12 Children. For more, (919) 481-6509 or www. caryballetconservatory.com. 

Saturday December 17

Auditions for Briar Patch Youth Improv – F.A.T.E. Free Association Theatre is looking for three new members of their youth troupe. Ages 10 and up. Auditions are from 1-4 pm and by registration only. To register, please email FATEinfo@gmail.com.

IBA Holiday Suite – see above. Two shows on Saturday.

CBC Very Cary Christmas – see above. Two shows on Saturday.

Sunday December 18

Kings Tavern Madrigal at Page Walker – It’s a Renaissance holiday with music, wit, costumes and fun. 4-6 pm. Presented by The Friends of Page Walker. Tickets $15. Purchase tickets online at eTix.com, by phone at 1-800-514.3849 or at the Cary Arts Center box office.

Lochmere Christmas Flotilla – It’s a parade of boats, decorated for Christmas, circling the lake and singing Christmas carols. Spectators can watch from Lake Lochmere dam. 6-8 pm. Free.

More Weekend Fun in Cary

Visit the CaryCitizen Calendar of Events.

Story by Lindsey Chester. Photo by Brooke Meyer

Page Walker Arts & History Center hosts an annual Winter Concert Series. Sunday last was the season’s first,  “Classical Interlude“.  

The evening featured Erik Dyke, double bassist for the North Carolina Symphony who performed three dances:  Bottesini Tarantella, Brahms Hungarian Dance #6 and Montagues and Capulets from Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev.  (This was Erik’s second appearance at the Winter Concert Series.)

Other performances included Anne Dyke, a flute soloist, Andrew McAfee on horn (formerly Principal Horn of the North Carolina Symphony), Nancy Whelan, piano soloist.

A late program addition was a young violinist, Ms. Christin Danchi.  A UNC Junior, she is also Co-Concert Master of the UNC Symphony.  Listening to her play, I felt lucky to be there.  The standing ovation she received was well deserved.

Story by Lindsey Chester. Photos by Hal Goodtree. 

Cary, NC- The Ritmo Latino Festival in Cary, presented by Diamante, showcases the food, music, dancing and fun of Latino culture. Its free to everyone next Sunday, August 7th in Bond Park.

For the seventh year in a row, Diamante has partnered with the Town of Cary Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department to host Ritmo Latino.

Diamante President David Flores emphasized that the festival is a good time for everyone. Flores noted that attendees come from as far away as Fayetteville and Charlotte and one of the artists travels all the way from Asheville.

Uniting Latinos through Art and Culture

That phrase is at the top of the Diamante website. But more than that, this event aims to encourage understanding and appreciation of Latino culture by non-Latinos. Flores was quick to point out the statistics about the growing Latino population in our state and the nation. Today Latinos comprise about 16% of the US population.  It is projected that by 2050 that number will grow to 42%.

They are a diverse group, with backgrounds in Central America, Europe, the Caribbean and Mexico. Not one style of music or dance or food.

Fun for the Kids

The Carolina RailHawks are a sponsor of the festival. They will hold 2 soccer clinics for children (boys and girls) ages 5-13. Their mascot, Swoops will interact with the kids.

A children’s’ area will include face painting, a game truck with video games, a booth from Be Active, and paintball retooled with foam balls.

For the second year, the Ritmo Lounge will be set up where festival goers can help paint a moveable mural on canvas. Flores mentioned that at the Diamante office they have 6 of these murals on display.

Radio station and event sponsor, Jefa,  will be broadcasting live from the festival during the day.

Triangle Salsa All Stars perform at Ritmo Latino 2010

Music and More

Musical and dance groups will perform throughout the day.

Four bands will grace the stage at Sertoma Amphitheater encompassing island music, salsa and traditional Mexican music. And you can’t have a Latin festival without a little Salsa! Visitors will get a lessons in salsa and zumba.

Preview

On August 5th,  Mickey Mills & Tropic Orchestra, two of the festival bands,  will perform in the last concert of the Starlight Concert Series at Page-Walker Arts and History Center. 

Trinidad native and Carrboro resident Mickey Mills has pounded out Caribbean sounds on his 55-gallon steel drum around the Triangle, opening up for acts like Kenny Chesney. His smooth reggae and positive lyrics make for a rousing family-oriented listening experience.

Tropic Orchestra is a Latin dance band comprised of veteran musicians from the United States, Puerto Rico, Colombia and Venezuela. Frontman Ricardo Diquez, known as “TNT”, will end the series with a high-tempo Latin bang!

This special event is made possible by the Friends of the Page-Walker Hotel, PineCone, Diamante, Inc. and the American Turkish Association-NC.

About Diamante

The Diamante Group is headquartered in downtown Cary in the Cooper building on N. Academy Street. Founded by Lisette Watko 17 years ago in her house and has grown tremendously.  Board members live throughout the Triangle, they chose Cary because of its central location.

Diamante also promotes higher education with 2 scholarships. The Diamante Awards gala is held in October, and for the 16th year, Diamante will announce awards for outstanding leaders in the community. The youth award is a monetary scholarship for 2 high school or college students.

The group hosts four events a year to help raise funding and awareness. In January, they hold The Star of Hope Campaign at the Herb Young Community Center. This event encompasses a tree lighting, charitable giving and a parade. In the Spring there is a book fair to promote literacy. In August there is Ritmo Latino festival and then in October the Diamante Awards.

Look for these events to be featured in CaryCitizen and in our Calendar of Events.

Event Info

Ritmo Latino
Saturday, August 7th
Noon- 6pm
Free to the public

Bond Park
801 High House Road
The Sertoma Amphitheater and Kiwanis Shelter areas

For this and other great Cary events, visit the CaryCitizen Calendar of events. If you would like us to post your Cary event, contact Lindsey Chester.

Story and pictures by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – Just a few pictures from Herbfest in case you couldn’t make it or just wanted to relive the glory.

2nd Annual Herbfest

This year’s Herbfest, presented by the Friends of Page Walker, was the second annual celebration of gardening, culinary plants and outdoor living.

There were crafts and food, garden tours and plein air painting for kids. I had a chance to chat with Kay Struffolino, Cary’s Hometown Spirit Award Winner, Ed Yerha and Brent Miller of the Friends, Peggy Von Scoyoc, CaryCitizen’s historian emeritus and our good friend Derek from the Meathouse. Derek was distributing grilled chicken the size of a lunch.

I saw people selling ceramics, our pals from Garden Supply, Paige Williams from Great Harvest Bread Company and lots of other interesting things.

This year’s Herbfest also featured street theater by Burning Coal Theatre Company and a cooking demonstration by chef Lucindy Willis.

If you missed Herbfest this year, put it on your radar for 2012.

The Calendar is edited by Lindsey Chester. Photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, N.C. – Following on the heels of Spring Daze, more than five dozen events dot the CaryCitizen Weekend Calendar.

Weekend Events, May 5-8

As usual, we take a liberal view of the weekend. This bulletin covers Thursday-Sunday, May 5-8. See the Calendar for more details.

Thursday Highlights

Thursday morning kicks off with a Heart of Cary Association meeting at the Cary Chamber. Mark Janas, General Manager of the Cary Invasion, the new CBL basketball team in town will be there to offer a few remarks. Gale Adcock, member of the Town Council, will be the featured speaker. Open to all.

Thursday also features “Cooking with Herbs,” a demonstration and tasting with Chef Lucindy Willis of Yancey House. It’s part of Herbfest, presented by The Friends of Page-Walker. More info: FriendsofPageWalker.org.

The first performance of Puss in Boots, a production of the Cary Players, will be Thursday night at Herb Young Community Center. It’s Pay-What-You-Can-and-Bring-a-Can Night to support Cat Angels Pet Adoptions.

Friday Highlights

Friday’s lineup includes three performances of A Walk Through the Pages of History, ten scenes from Cary’s history, performed in the places they actually happened. Performances start at Page-Walker at 6:30, 6:50 and 7:20.

Also Friday: A celebration of polka with the music of Frankie Yankovic. 7-9 pm at Page-Walker, part of the Starlight Concerts series. Free.

March Around the World with the Cary Town Band at Sertoma Amphitheatre. Traditional march music from around the world.More info: www.carytownband.org.

Saturday Highlights

Both farmers markets will be open Saturday morning and Herbfest runs from 9-3.

Sk8 Park will have Member Mayhem, a fun day of skating, biking, food and prizes. Noon to 10 pm.

Herons at the Umstead Hotel has a Chocolate and Wine event from 2-4.

Also Saturday: Monte Carlo Night to benefit NC Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Nancy’s Butterfly Fund. Play Black Jack, Poker, craps and roulette! Dinner and dancing too! The event benefits the NC Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Nancy’s Butterfly Fund Tickets are $100 and include dinner and wine service as well as playing chips. To purchase tickets contact Camille Eubanks at 888-232-9124.

Sunday Highlights

Sunday has a reception at Jordan Hall for the 17th Annual Children’s Art Show. 2-4 pm, free.

Also Sunday, the Raleigh Jazz Orchestra plays at Sertoma. 3-5 pm, free.

More Events and Info

For more of this weekend’s 61 events in Cary, check out the CaryCitizen Calendar of Events.

Story by Lindsey Chester. Photos by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC- The Friends of Page-Walker  (or “The Friends” as they are known) are hosting a series entitled “An Icon Transformed.” This past Tuesday we listened in on one of the programs in the series called “Back to the Future: New Uses for Our Historic Treasures.” Fascinating.

Cary Elementary, soon to open this Spring as the Cary Arts Center, was the main subject.

Breathing New Life Into Old Structures

“Reuse”  (or “adaptive reuse’”) is part of the Cary town strategy. It breathes new life into old buildings by extending its purpose into the present (and future). Of course, many older buildings need to meet new building codes and standards, but in doing so the overall look and feel of the original building is preserved.

Jim Smith, VP and Principal Architect of Hagersmith, a Raleigh planning and design firm, moderated and introduced the panelists who included Gary Roth of Capital Area Preservation; Ellie Torre, Principle and Architect of Clearscapes (the architects who designed the renovation for the Arts Center); and Lyman Collins, our Cultural Arts Manager.

Gary Roth showed slides of several buildings that his firm has renovated including the Ellis Island Immigration Station which was transformed into a museum.

Friends and Page-Walker

An example of reuse in action is Page-Walker. Friends of Page-Walker transformed a run-down hotel into a facility for exhibitions, performances, classroom space, and serves as a museum. It exemplifies how a renovation can keep the original spirit of a place and transform it to modern usage.

Ellie Torre pointed out that re-adapting existing structures, “is a way to be sustainable and reuse things we already have”. His company has renovated the old Belk building in downtown Raleigh to create condos and does work around the country.

Respecting Memories of Cary Elementary

Torre then talked about the work of the new Arts Center. He stated how the town has many local stakeholders that hold fond memories of the old school. His firm wanted to be sure these folks had a voice in its reuse, so many meetings were held to gauge the wants and needs to be considered.

A lower floor houses the enlarged ceramics space, scene shop, cultural arts offices, dressing rooms, and costume shop. The main floor has administration space, a 400-seat theater,  a large stage, an orchestra pit, rehearsal space, a catering kitchen, a concession area and a generous lobby.

They bumped out the steps and porch in front to give a welcoming face to Academy Street to be used as additional gathering space. To satisfy new accessibility codes two large wheel chair ramps were added at either side of the entry stairs.

The upper floor has classrooms facing with outside facing windows.

Name Debate Settled

Lyman Collins announced the results from a  Town Council work session in which the buildings name had been finalized.

“Cary Arts Center” was chosen after 2 months of surveys and public debate.

Cary’s Commitment to the Arts

According to Collins, Page-Walker and the Arts Centers are “cultural bookends” of the downtown center. He noted that the Cary Town Seal includes the a depiction of Cary Elementary and that Cary maintains its commitment to education and to the the arts.  Today 35,000 people per year already visit downtown in the evenings and weekends for current programs. The new building will certainly add to that number.

There will be a “soft opening” for the Cary Arts Center in May, and programming is already scheduled for camps and the Cross Currents Music festival during the summer. The grand Dedication is scheduled for August 12 & 13.

Upcoming Exhibits

Full Circle: History of Education in NC and this Campus Site
When: May 1, 3pm
Where: Page-Walker Arts and History Center

That’s How We Saw It: The Journey from School to Arts Center
When: May 19, 7:30pm
Where: Page-Walker Arts and History Center

From Vision to Blueprints- program
When: June 12, 3pm
Where: The New Cary Arts Center

“An Icon Transformed: The Metamorphosis of an Old Cary School into a New Arts Center
When: Exhibit opens April 29, reception 6-8pm
Closes June 20
Where: Page-Walker Arts & History Center, Town Hall and Herb Young Community Center

Prologue: Cary Photographic Artists Exhibit of photos documenting transformation
When: Exhibit opens April 29 closes June 3
Reception May 27, 6-8pm.
Where: Cary Senior Center in Bond Park

This is part of a three part series celebrating the new Cultural Arts Center in Cary. The series of programs and exhibits are made possible by a grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide non-profit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For more information about the series, visit the Friends’ website

Cary, NC – Our roving photographer, Karl Fisher, caught up with the latest Starlight Series concert in the garden at Page Walker. The band was “Old Habits,” a popular bluegrass band from Raleigh.

Judging from the pictures, a good time was had by all.

Next show is July 9th with Jamrock, roots and reggae from a Starlight Series regular.

The Official Info

The official info from Cary Parks & Rec:

It doesn’t get any better than spending time with family and friends relaxing under the stars listening to great music! The Starlight Concert Series is a series of free concerts held on select Fridays throughout the summer.

From reggae to bluegrass to jazz, the series showcases an eclectic mix of local and regional talent!

Bring family, friends, lawn chairs and a picnic, but please leave pets and alcoholic beverages at home.

Concerts may be canceled or rescheduled in the event of in-clement weather. Co-sponsored by the Friends of Page-Walker and Diamante, Inc. For more information, call (919) 460-4963.