Thank you April 26 Durham Central Park Workday Crew!

photo (3)

Shout out and BIG thank you to Tracey Goetz and Sarah Artz and all the Berkshire Hathaway Home Services/York Simpson Underwood Realty group and Old North State Landscaping (Will and Ben Lang and their crew) for a great workday at Durham Central Park on Saturday morning, April 26!  They brought tons of mulch, new hostas and a beautiful Japanese maple to spruce up their garden in the south west corner of the park. Take a gander behind the Pavilion, beside the Measurement Inc parking lot.  These folks are a wonderful example of how  Durham Central Park is a REAL community effort!  We could not do it without you!

Come see the garden…it’s beautiful!

Broadway Veterinary Hospital’s Donation to Durham Central Park

 

RVT Paisley holding Bear and assistant Sally holding Boone, at Durham Central Park

 

​Durham Central Park now has a new dog waste bag station, thanks to Broadway Veterinary Hospital! They are downtown Durham’s first vet, offering veterinary care primarily for dogs and cats.  They also offer acupuncture to help treat chronic pain conditions and other medical disorders.

 

Already woven into the fabric of the community, BVH is a Sustain-A-Bull member and a place to earn and redeem Bull City Bucks. Check out their upcoming puppy classes or open house, April 12-13th (during the Durham Art Walk.)

 

“We wanted to support DCP because it is such a great place for the Durham community to gather – whether that is for the Farmer’s Market, Food Truck Rodeos, or other events.  It’s a great place to bring a dog for exercise and relaxation, and it’s always important to keep the area clean for others to enjoy” says Broadway Veterinary Hospital owner, Amber Meade, MS, DVM. www.bvhdurham.com

 

 

 

 

‘Mount Merrill’ to be “a children’s magnet” at Durham Central Park

Funds are being raised to build a children’s “climbing mound” in honor of George Merrill Davis III, the former general manager of the garden supply store Stone Bros & Byrd. Durham Central Park leaders are in the early stages of fundraising for the project”  “I just think this would be the most fitting memorial to a sweet guy because this is going to attract children from all over the city,” says Lee Ann Tilley, Durham Central Park board chair. “It’s just going to be a children’s magnet.” From http://www.heraldsun.com/news/localnews/x1385731210/-Mount-Merrill-to-memorialize-former-Stone-Bros-Byrd-manager

1500 Pound Steel Sculpture On Display At Durham Central Park

Michael Waller Sculpture Durham Central Park

There is a new sculpture on display in Durham’s Central Park. The seven foot, 1500 pound steel sculpture, called Reunion, resembles an intricate woven basket. It was created by Michael E. Waller, a sculptor with Liberty Arts Non-Profit Sculpture Studio and Foundry. Getting the sculpture placed was a collaborative effort between Durham Central Park, Durham’s Cultural Advisory Board, the Parks and Recreation Department, the Office of Economic and Workforce Development and Liberty Arts. Durham’s Five Points, an original contender for Reunion’s site, fell through but Frank Konhaus, of the Cultural Advisory Board contacted Durham Central Park’s Executive Director, Ann Alexander, because he felt Durham Central Parkwould be a perfect temporary home. “Parks and Recreation, Planning, Engineering, Transportation and Stormwater Management all moved with incredible speed to get this reviewed and approved in less than 4 days” says Peter Coyle Senior Economic Development Coordinator at Durham’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development.

Collaboration continued as Reunion was brought directly from the Sculpture in the Garden show at the NC Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill, in sculptor Wayne Vaughn’s truck, free of charge. Michael Waller is loaning Reunion to Durham Central Park free of charge. Waller, a member of the Liberty Arts group, has been a professional sculptor since 1997 after earning a BFA in Sculpture at East Carolina University. Reunion will be on display until May 1, when it will be replaced with a sculpture juried in the the upcoming Bull City Sculpture Show. Durham Central Park will host multiple, large, dynamic pieces from throughout the U.S. during the show. You can find out more about the Bull City Sculpture Show at www.bullcitysculptureshow.org.

 

 

 

GoAskMom Mount Merrill Fundraising Update: $20K Down, $100K Left To Go!

In less than two months, generous public and private donors have raised more than $20,000 for the design and building of MOUNT MERRILL, Durham Central Park’s ambitious play structure for kids (and their adults)! WRAL’s GoAskMom has the scoop on amphitheatre seating, slides and when it will be built: http://www.wral.com/plans-call-for-new-playground-at-durham-central-park/13155443/  We need your help to raise the remaining $100,000. Donations are tax deductible http://durhamcentralpark.org/donate/

Durham Central Park kicks off $120,000 Mt. Merrill/Wanderland fundraising campaign

From the desk of Ann Alexander, DCP’s Executive Director: Saturday, October 19, marked the unveiling of the plans for Mt. Merrill, the next phase of Durham Central Park’s master plan of Wanderland, a children’s interactive play area on the East side of the park. With help from the Exchange Club of Greater Durham, of which Merrill Davis was a beloved member, and other generous donors, we have already raised around $15K of the $120K needed to build and maintain this wonderful structure for the park!  Hundreds of folks, both old and young, gathered in the drizzle to hear about the plans of the play mound and see drawings of what will be built as the next development phase of DCP.  Mt. Merrill is named after Merrill Davis, a longtime DCP neighbor and supporter of the park who died in a tragic car accident in October of 2012. 

Looking East from Foster Street
Looking East from Foster Street

When we asked in a community survey a few years ago what folks wanted to see more of in DCP, the overwhelming answer was,” MORE PLAY AREAS for children…the climbing turtle and bird are great but we need more!”   So DCP’s board has been busy working with Katherine Gil, landscape architect of Tributary Design and Build, to come up with a unique design that is something the kids will love and will be a great addition to the park. As with all other improvements in the park, DCP gets no funding from the city or county. Instead, they raise money from folks, just like you, who consider the park their own and want to see it grow and prosper!  Since we have unveiled the Mt. Merrill design to the community, DCP’s board has begun the fundraising efforts to raise the $120K that is needed to build Mt. Merrill by seeking donations from community members, organizations and businesses who support the park and its efforts to keep DCP the most vital and fun park in Durham!  Join us in our efforts by clicking the donate button in the upper right hand corner! More photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/durhamcentralpark/sets/72157636802581893/

Exchange Club check2