Education: Cary Student Serves as NC House Page
Raleigh, NC – Divya Juneja of Cary, a student at Raleigh Charter High School, recently served as a Page for the North Carolina House of Representatives. Read more
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Angst Report: College Grad Returns to Cary
Story by Jamie Berger, CaryCitizen’s summer writing intern. Photo by Brian Speice, CaryCitizen’s summer photo intern.
Cary, NC – The deceptively innocent question, “So, what’s next?” becomes somewhat of a cruel cliché when asked of soon-to-be college graduates or recent grads. We hear it so many times that our responses start to sound scripted. In many cases—at least when the answers are less than promising—they actually are, because “I don’t know” never satisfies. At least for me, directing this question inwards provoked a series of existential crises that eventually escalated into a full-blown quarter life crisis. Yes, that’s really a thing. Google it.
Until a couple weeks ago, my answer was “I’m going to gain some professional experience for a year or two before returning to law school or grad school.” In other words, “I have no idea.” In other other words, “I’m going back home ‘til I can figure it all out.”
It wasn’t just my uncertain future, the scary headlines about unemployment rates among college graduates, my impending eviction from academia’s comfy cradle, or the prospect of an endless cycle of internships that generated my final-semester panic. I was also horrified of ending up back at home. In Cary.
There has been a bit of hubbub lately surrounding Cary’s lack of “Millennials,” also known as Generation Y. I was one of this age group’s few representatives at the recent Imagine Cary Summit, where I learned that Cary has a significantly smaller percentage of residents between the ages of 20 and 29 than Raleigh, Wake County, and North Carolina. Most of us who grew up in Cary in the late 1980s and early 1990s leave for college… and don’t come back.
Nevertheless, I did end up there after graduation, and found myself savoring my time in my hometown. Few other places are as serene as my own backyard in one of Cary’s “older” neighborhoods – though not beautifully manicured like other lots in town, its lovely wildness and quiet, scurrying life dazzle on late afternoons in summer. Creeping ivy and half-foot saplings are slowly reclaiming the shady, forest-bound yard where I used to play badminton on bare feet. My house, now over twenty three years old, shows its age in well-worn carpet and dated wallpaper. Timeworn photos of middle school friends have faded on a sunlit wall. This place has grown up with me.
I was beginning to look forward to spending more time in Cary—realizing my nightmare of “ending up” there was more like a dream—when I was offered an internship in Washington, DC that I couldn’t refuse. I haven’t spent more than several weeks at a time in Cary since I left for college four years ago, and this summer will be no different.
Sometimes I don’t even fully unpack my bags; I live out of a suitcase in my own house.
Now that I’m living in DC, I couldn’t be happier. It has everything a person of my generation could want: the freedom of not needing a car, dense, walkable neighborhoods, a plethora of (often free) cultural offerings, restaurants serving almost every type of cuisine, and immense opportunity to explore many possible answers to the question, “So, what’s next?” After only a week here, I’ve already caught the bug of urban life.
But my ephemeral Cary summers—and Christmases and Thanksgivings—will still be some of my favorite parts of the year. Cary is not only a calming escape from college or, now, professional life; it’s also where the people (and animals!) I love are most concentrated. After living in rental after rental after rental, Cary is still the only place in the world where my bed, my room, my backyard, my town exist. As a transient twenty something, I treasure the sights, smells, and comforts of my one and only home, and I’ll always go back there, if only for a couple weeks at a time.
Related
Here are a few of our favorite stories from previous CaryCitizen interns and student-contributors.
- Brian Schmid: The Many Shades of Boy Scouting
- Brennin Cummings: Crowd at Death Cab For Cutie a “Quiet Bunch”
- Travis Toth: Cary Exchange Student: Thanksgiving in Copenhagen
History: 20 Years of Preservation at Hemlock Bluffs
Story and photo by David Lindquist, chair of the Cary Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Advisory Board.
Cary, NC – This month, the Stevens Nature Center at Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Friends, staff, volunteers and others in the community gathered to celebrate this landmark on May 8. Read more
Help Save Reedy Creek 8th Grade Dance
Cary, NC – At Reedy Creek Middle School in Cary, the PTA didn’t have money to fund the 8th Grade Dance. The principal didn’t have money. So a student stepped in to fill the gap. Now, you can help. Read more
Bank of America Supports Y Learning with $25,000 Gift
Story from staff reports. Photo of Reedy Creek Middle School by Hal Goodtree.
Cary, NC- The YMCA of the Triangle received a $25,000 gift from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation on Thursday, April 25. Read more
Weight of the Nation
Cary, NC – Advocates for Health in Action (AHA) has partnered with the Town of Cary to present a free event on Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at 6 PM called Growing a Healthy Community: A Film & Conversation about Your Health and Your Community. Read more
2013 Herbfest Next Weekend
Story by Lindsey Chester. Photo by Hal Goodtree.
Cary, NC – Next Saturday, May 4, 2013, the Friends of Page-Walker host their 4th annual Herbfest celebration. See the historic Page-Walker garden in full bloom, learn about local plants and herbs, sample foods, browse for gifts and garden items and much more.
The Tasteful Garden Visits Herbfest
The Friends have planned a pre-Herbfest reception for Friday, May 3, 2013 at the Page-Walker Arts and History Center (7:00 PM). The kickoff event stars local celebrity food and garden writers Debbie Moose and Carol Stein, co-authors of The (Raleigh) News & Observer’s monthly column, The Tasteful Garden.
Debbie and Carol will talk about how to cook what you grow and grow what you like to eat. Guests will have an opportunity to meet the writers at a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception and book signing following the program.
Cook What You Grow
If you know the Tasteful Garden column, you know Debbie and Carol like to cook with vegetables and herbs they grow here in their Triangle garden.
Debbie is currently on a tour for her latest book, Buttermilk:A Savor The South Cookbook, published by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She did a book signing appearance recently at La Farm Bakery here in Cary and will visit Charleston, SC.
I asked Debbie what attendees can expect during the evening. “Carol and I tend not to plan too strongly. We have been writing the column for about 8 years together.” She adds, “Carol knows more about gardening and I know more about food trends.”
Debbie and Carol will bring food with them to be sampled at the event. Debbie is debating whether to choose deviled eggs from one cookbook or some potato salad featured in another. Whatever she brings, you be rest assured it will be fresh, using herbs she grows in containers. Like many suburbanites, Debbie’s garden has limited sunny patches suitable for a larger plot.
Tomatoes for Cary
Growing some types of vegetables can be a challenge in the Piedmont with our acidic soil (thanks Pine trees!) and clay base. I asked Carol Stein “Can you grow a decent tomato here?” Carol said its a question she gets often.
“The answer is yes. But many tomato varieties are subject to soil borne diseases. Tomatoes prefer alkaline soils, with organic compost mixed in. In the garden, they require frequent weeding and for that reason I prefer to grow tomatoes in large containers. My favorite variety is Sun Gold grape tomatoes. They’re prolific, have the sweetest flavor ever, and easy to grow in larger containers.”
The two will no doubt get questions like that one and many others from eager Cary gardeners.
5 Tips for a Successful Garden
Carol’s 5 tips creating a successful garden:
- Read the tags on the plants and seeds you buy. You will learn when, where and how to plant and maintain each individual variety.
- Accurately follow the measurements recommended on the labels of organic fertilizers. Too much fertilizer is worse than no fertilizer.
- Perennial herbs look compact in their little starter pots, but some can be used as large landscape shrubs. I have fragrant and pungent herbs all over my Panther Branch acre and deer don’t come sniffing around my veggies and ornamental plants.
- Keep flowers picked off of annual herbs like basil and parsley to promote more foliage.
- There’s no wrong time to cut perennial herbs for use in the kitchen. The more you prune, the more herbs you’ll have to enjoy.
Debbie mentioned they will talk about growing conditions here in the Piedmont – what plants like it here, but can also look good in your landscape, and what are edible. Maybe a recipe or two will be thrown in at the end, like they do in their weekly column.
Herbfest 2013
The festival continues to grow, adding new vendors and additional food options each year. The date is always the first Saturday in May, falling conveniently before Mother’s Day allowing for purchases of last minute gifts for Mom (or Dad).
Festival-goers will have many opportunities to find out all they need to know about starting an herb garden by touring the Page Educational Garden, including a close-up look at the historic 1850’s Page smokehouse.
In addition, they will have a chance to watch herb cooking demonstrations and stroll through booths selling a wide variety of herbs, crafts and garden products.
Butterfly Releases and other Fun Activities
The popular Suzanne Tilton, a.k.a. the Butterfly Lady returns to Herbfest this year as a crowd favorite. Her live butterfly releases are scheduled for 11:30 AM and 2:30 PM.
New to this year’s Herbfest is the Friends’ collaboration with the Cary Creative Center From 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM, volunteers from the Center will provide reuse materials and guidance for children to make a fun garden craft. The Cary Creative Center is connecting people with the arts and environment to promote reuse as a way to achieve waste reduction in our community landfills.
Guests also won’t want to miss the silent auction for a chance to win herb and garden-related items, including a garden book and beautiful butterfly/herb photographs.
“We’re so pleased that Herbfest has become a community tradition that brings so many people to historic downtown Cary,” said Friends’ President, Brent Miller. “I know that folks won’t want to miss the special program with Debbie Moose and Carol
Stein on Friday evening, and of course the fantastic vendors, garden tours, children’s activities, food and fun on Saturday.”
Event Info
Herbfest 2013
presented by the Friends of Page-Walker Hotel
Sat May 4, 2013
9am-3pm
rain or shine
Page- Walker Arts & History Center
119 Ambassador Loop
Cary, NC
Cost: Free
Activities throughout the day, booths with items for purchase.
Pre-festival event “The Tasteful Garden”
Friday May 3, 7:00pm
Authors Carol Stein and Debbie Moose will speak about gardening and cooking.
Attendees can meet the authors during a wine and cheese reception.
Tickets for the pre-festival evening program on May 3 are $20.00 each and can be purchased at the Cary Arts Center box office, online at eTix.com or by phone at 1-800-514-3849. A limited number of tickets are available to this event and a sellout is anticipated.
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The Gardening Column on CaryCitizen is sponsored by Garden Supply Company on Old Apex Rd. in Cary, NC.
Theater: Annie Get Your Gun
Cary, NC – Panther Creek High School performs their version of the musical favorite Annie Get Your Gun this weekend. The play opens Thursday night at 7pm at the school, with additional performances Friday and Saturday. Read more
Students Abroad: Trip to India Reflects on Cary
Story and photos by Jamie Berger, an undergraduate at UNC Chapel Hill from Cary, NC.
Cary, NC – Approximately one-third the size of the United States, but home to about 17% of the world’s population, India is best described as a country of extremes. Characterized by infinite diversity and cultural abundance, India is a place of both extravagant wealth and unimaginable poverty. Its vast history has been shaped by the cruelest tyranny and the very essence of peace, and today it stands at the fascinating confluence of countless ancient traditions and the West’s globalizing modernity. Read more
3,000 Ladybugs at Chesterbrook Academy
Cary, NC – Here’s a novel way to celebrate Earth Day: host a release of 3,000 environmentally-friendly ladybugs. That’s just what a group of pre-schoolers did in Cary this week. Read more