Touring Tuesday in Downtown Cary
Cary, NC – Ever wonder what there is to do during the day in Cary’s Downtown? Read more
Posts
Cary Scavenger Hunt: 10% Off in July
Cary, NC – The 4th Annual Cary Scavenger Hunt is coming on Saturday, September 21, 2013. Here are some highlights and hints about this iconic Cary event, plus a 10% discount for registration in July.
Read more
Announcing the 4th Annual Cary Scavenger Hunt!
Story by Lindsey Chester.
Cary, NC – Announcing the 4th annual Cary Scavenger Hunt on September 21, 2013 at Page-Walker Arts & History Center in Cary, NC! Read more
Silent Art Auction Supports Re-Use – This Sunday
Story by Lindsey Chester. Above, excerpt from “Invisible Man” by Salvador Dali.
Cary, NC- Betsy Dassau formed the Cary Creative (ReUse) Center just over a year ago because she saw a need to repurpose what wasn’t really being recycled. With her arts background, her eyes saw art supplies where others saw only trash. 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.
————————————————————————–
The Gardening Column on CaryCitizen is sponsored by Garden Supply Company on Old Apex Rd. in Cary, NC.
CaryCitizen Holiday Event Guide
Story by Lindsey Chester.
Cary, NC – The Holidays are fast upon us in Cary. Here’s our complete guide to 2012 Holiday Events in Cary, from Santa to tree lightings, Hannukah to Kwanzaa and snow days to holiday camps. Read more
Cary Guide to Halloween 2012
Story by Lindsey Chester. Photo by Troy Pickard.
Cary, NC – October in Cary is filled with activities from corn maze fun on area farms to a Town sponsored annual Haunted House and a new Downtown Harvest Festival. Make your ghoulish plans now with our Cary Guide to Halloween 2012. Read more
Cary’s Cemetery Secrets
Story by Lisa Englert, photos by Hal Goodtree.
Cary, NC- For many of us, Cary is a modern place, with newcomers from across the country. But the town’s cemeteries tell a story, and one of those places will be dedicated this Saturday. Read more
Herbfest 2011 – Coming in May
Story by Lindsey Chester, photo by Marcia Hansen.
Cary, NC- Last year, the Friends of Page-Walker created a new festival in downtown Cary – Herbfest.
My daughter Emma and I attended and she was thrilled to take home a seedling that grew into a large basil plant. The festival is returning on the weekend of May 7 and has expanded to include live performances and demonstrations along with the herbs and gifts for sale.
History: Desegregating Cary
Author Peggy Van Scoyoc and Gwen Mattews at "Desegregating Cary" event
All photos by Brooke Meyer
Cary, NC – The turbulent Civil Rights Era was experienced right here in the Town of Cary, but many of us don’t know about it.
Real Life Stories
Peggy Van Scoyoc, Cary’s oral historian, recently published a book titled “Desegregating Cary” to tell real life stories about people that lived through these times in Cary. In her book, Peggy records the oral histories of 43 people.
Five of those individuals spoke as part of a panel discussion on Monday, October 23 at the Page-Walker Arts and History Center.
Charlie Adams speaks of his father's commitment to desegregation
Charlie Adams is the son of Henry Adams, the original pharmacist and owner of the drugstore that later become Ashworth Pharmacy. Charlie remembers those times when his father was not popular in town.
Henry served on both the local Cary School Board and the Wake County School System’s board.
Henry knew in the early 1960’s that desegregation was coming and firmly believed in it. He thought there should be a plan and it should begin with his own town. He became one of the chief architects of that plan.
At times friends shunned him and threats were made. Mr. Adams stuck to his beliefs and Cary became one of the first towns in North Carolina to institute such a plan – and do so peacefully and voluntarily. One of Cary’s elementary schools, Adams Elementary, is named so in his honor.
In 1963, Cary High School was the first formerly “all white” school to allow African-Americans to voluntarily enroll, and 6 girls did so. The plan went smoothly, and became a model for other schools in Wake County and then spread to other areas in North Carolina. Other areas in the south called upon Cary to help with their own plans. Imagine – Cary only had 5300 residents then and was a civil rights model for the country!
Other members of Monday night’s panel included several of those early students.
Lucille Evan Cotten was one of 6 students to integrate Cary High School in 1963
The Six Young Women Profiled
Lucille Evans Cotten and Gwen Matthews were two of those first six students. They spoke about what they endured as they attended Cary High School at a time when few wanted them there. Gwen later went on to become the first black woman to graduate from Meredith College in 1971.
Debrah Matthews Wright was one of the first black students at Swift Creek Elementary in 1965
Gwen’s younger sister, Deborah Matthews Wright was one of four black students to attend Swift Creek Elementary School in 1965. Deborah told of her bus rides with all ages riding the same bus – elementary schoolers along with high schoolers – and how she had to stand in the bus and endure ridicule on these rides for three years.
Carolyn Rogers was one of the first black school teachers in Cary in 1969.
Carolyn Rogers was one of three black teachers hired in 1969 to teach the predominantly white school children. She experienced an uphill battle not only with the students, but with the parents and faculty. There was a predominant opinion that she was not qualified to teach the children.
The Raleigh City School System merged with the Wake County School System in 1976 to become the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) that we know today.
The evening was always inspiring and often emotional.
“History informs us of past mistakes from which we can learn without repeating them. It also inspires us and gives confidence and hope bred of victories already won.” – William Hastie