Wednesday, March 20 is the Vernal Equinox. Hello Spring! Take a walk through Durham Central Park today, or share this with a faraway friend. Here are some iconic daffodils, goumi berry, grape hyacinth, magnolia and peach blossoms, a crocus (from our Bulb Blitz) hellebore, hyacinth and more.
Some gardeners say blooming crocus are your cue to plant radishes, parsnips, and spinach. What are your favorite early spring flowers and flowering trees at Durham Central Park?
As the skyline around the park continues to change, DCP, Inc. remains committed to our mission of Providing Space for Community. It is critical that Durham has a gathering space in the heart of the city where everyone can feel welcome. This year, along with the hard work of maintaining the park and continuing our free, inclusive programming, we have been able to make some great improvements. In November, we installed our new interactive pixel art wall where park-goers make new art every day. We planted 30 new trees. Moving into the winter, we will be installing a pollinator garden around the bee hotel, planting more trees, and adding several new benches.
In 2019, we will undertake the hard work of updating our strategic and master plans. In the park’s short history, with the constant support of the community, we have been able to build a great park. But, it is time to look towards the future and ensure that the park lives up to its full potential and becomes the jewel of downtown Durham that was envisioned from the start.
Will you help build on this success and sustain the park into the future? Your year-end gift, of any size, will help to safeguard this space and all that it means to you and your family.
Above: Opening Splash Pool Party at The Unscripted/Below: Latin Quarter On Main
Parties for the Park, 17 exciting parties – dinner parties, pool parties, cocktail parties, and more, has been bringing the FUN to fundraising this fall! Our generous hosts invite you into their homes and businesses to enjoy a good time and raise money to support Durham Central Park. Many parties sold out in advance.
Additionally, the funds help to cover the usual costs for staffing, maintaining, and programming the park. This fall, a new art installation will be installed on the east side of the park overlooking the lawn and a water fountain will be installed at Mt. Merrill.
None of this would be possible without your generous support! If your schedule doesn’t allow time to attend a party this year, consider hosting one next year, or make an online donation to DCP now!
WHO WE ARE
Durham Central Park is a 5-acre city-owned park along Foster Street in the heart of downtown Durham. Our organization, DCP, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit organization holds a management agreement with the City of Durham. We operate, develop and sustain this invaluable community asset. DCP relies on contributions (both money and time) from the community to keep the park the open, thriving, and welcoming space that it has become over the years. DCP, Inc. is made up of a 28 member volunteer board and three staff members.
Trucks For The Park
All You Need Is Love: A Beatles Pop-Up Chorus (2017)
Parties for the Park is the new name for Durham Central Park’s annual fall fundraiser Meals from the Market. The new name captures the vibrancy of the park and the energy that everyone who visits the park brings. This series of fundraisers is expanded in vision yet similar in format to what we have done before. We hope that you will join in on the fun and attend a party to support Durham Central Park – a place for Durham to be Durham.
This fall, Parties for the Park is 17 exciting parties – dinner parties, pool parties, cocktail parties, dance parties and more! Our generous hosts invite you into their homes and businesses to enjoy a good time and raise money to support Durham Central Park.
WHO WE ARE
Durham Central Park is a 5-acre city-owned park along Foster Street in the heart of downtown Durham. Our organization, DCP, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit organization holds a management agreement with the City of Durham to operate, develop and sustain this invaluable community asset. We rely on contributions (both money and time) from the community to keep the park the open, thriving, and welcoming space that it has become over the years. DCP, Inc. is made up of a 28 member volunteer board and three staff members.
WHAT WE DO
For 20 years, we have built the infrastructure that makes the DCP beautiful, accessible, functional, comfortable and welcoming to the entire community. We provide high quality, free programming including the PLAYlist Concert Series, Food Truck Rodeos, Fourth of July Parade, Free Movies, and Free Yoga. We work closely with the city to advocate for the needs of the park as the downtown develops and changes. We also provide affordable rental space for local groups and non-profits to use, including the Durham Farmers’ Market.
HOW WE USE OUR FUNDS
The funds raised from Parties for the Park have supported many projects over the years including:
Additionally, the funds help to cover the usual costs for staffing, maintaining, and programming the park. This fall, a new art installation will be installed on the east side of the park overlooking the lawn and a water fountain will be installed at Mt. Merrill.
None of this would be possible without your generous support!
This Friday, we will be unveiling the full lineup for our newly named PLAYlist Concert Series! You may be wondering what’s behind the name. Here’s why we named it PLAYlist.
Over the years, Durham Central Park has become a place for people of all ages to relax and play. As the park has developed, we have built physical playgrounds like Mount Merrill and our climbable statues, the skate park has become one of the most regularly activated areas in the park, and there is open areas where people can play with kids and dogs. But, it’s not just physical structures. We have worked to intentionally design events that cultivate community interactions and maintain a lighthearted and fun atmosphere.
Last year, as we expanded our concert series from 4 to 10 weeks and invited bands of diverse genres, we started noticing how playful the crowd had become. People of all ages and from all walks of life were coming together on a Friday evening, seeing friends, dancing, laughing, having a good time. As the organizer of this series, we were absolutely delighted to see a field full of happy people playfully enjoying a few hours together in the park. So, incorporating the word “play” into the name really felt like a natural fit.
You may have also noticed that before each concert, we have put together a custom playlist of songs to set the mood for the evening and get folks pumped up for the show.
As we build the series every year, we are also very intentional about the musicians that we invite to our stage. Each concert is meant to evoke an evening that feels spirited, soulful, refreshing, warm, and happy. We hope that concert attendees feel uplifted during the evening and can take that feeling into the weekend. What better way to do that, after seeing a great show, than to add the music to your own personal summer playlists.
So, there you are… PLAYlist.
We hope that you can join us for a fun and playful concert series at the park this summer!
More about PLAYlist Concert Series
PLAYlist Concert Series covers a wide range of genres (funk, soul, jam, jazz, americana, hip hop, etc.) and feature local, regional and national performers from diverse backgrounds as well as a diversity of age, race, and gender. The concerts are intentionally designed to be all ages, family friendly events that are welcoming to all. Every concert and event associated with the series is completely free of charge (of course, donations are always welcome). One of our major goals for this series to to ensure, as downtown changes and revitalizes, people are not priced out of enjoying live music. We hope that PLAYlist Concert Series enriches our community and deepens appreciation for the arts.
The 2018 PLAYlist Concert Series starts June 8th and runs every Friday evening from 6-8pm through August 10th.
It may be safe to say that the Cardinal and Turtle sculptures are Durham Central Park’s most loved features. Recently, they have started showing that love and they are ready to get back to looking new again.
Starting on Thursday April 5 (weather permitting, of course), our beloved climbable sculptures – Rockin’ Reuben (the Cardinal), Mister Pickles (the Turtle) and the Earthsplitter sandbox (or whatever you love to call them) – will get a fresh coat of paint! Local artist Mike Waller, who created and installed these sculptures over the last several years, will be in the park working on them this week. He will put on several coats of fresh paint and and sealant. Then, we will need to let them thoroughly dry and cure so that the sculptures can go back to looking their best. The whole process will take about 7 days.
During this time, all three of the sculptures will be fenced off and people are asked to stay off of them so that we can get the best results. Thanks so much for your patience during their maintenance. We’ll let you know as soon as they are ready to be climbed on again!
Wish you had a GoPro on your head every time you enjoyed a Food Truck Rodeo, free concert, Farmers Market, parade, wedding or simply being at Durham Central Park? Storyboard Media captured Durham Central Park in this Year In Review: A Place for Durham To Be Durham.
For nearly 20 years, this city-owned park has been managed, developed and programmed by Durham Central Park, Inc. a 501c3 non-profit organization. With the overwhelming support of the community, DCP Inc. has spent years working towards our mission of Providing Space for Community. If you’re as moved by this video as we are, please donate to our end of year Cardinal Campaign.
Durham’s chic rooftops, offices, restaurants, event spaces, private homes and Durham Central Park were the backdrop for 16 ticketed meals that raised more than $30,000 this fall for Durham Central Park, Inc. As a 501(c)3 organization, DCP Inc. relies on fundraisers like these plus the generosity of local residents and businesses to sustain the park. DCP, Inc. receives no funding from the City of Durham to manage, develop and program the park. Therefore, events like Meals from the Market are key to meeting the park’s fundraising goals every year. Thank you!
Continuing to maintain and improve an already amazing urban park;
Working hard to ensure that the park is accessible to everyone;
Hosting enjoyable, free events to enliven the park and enrich the community;
Offering an affordable and attractive venue in the heart of downtown; and
Safeguarding a place for people to gather in celebration or rally around a shared belief, meet up with friends or just be alone for a moment, appreciate public art or simply play in nature—a place for Durham to be Durham.
Durham Central Park and Liberty Arts Sculpture Studio & Foundry present their 2nd annual public iron pour at Durham Central Park, Saturday, November 18 from 4-9 p.m. After sunset, 1,500 pounds of molten, 2,500 degree iron will be poured into molds, in an exciting fiery display. Additionally, there will be Liberty Arts artists’ work for sale, scratch block workshops, raffles, drumming performances from Batalá Durham, DJ Yammy, art, raffles, and local food trucks and craft beer.
The public has several opportunities to make their own mold and cast iron art at the Liberty Arts Foundry at Durham Central Park during pre-pour scratch block workshops. The cost is $30 per mold. You will be able to take home your iron sculpture that day after it cools off or pick up the tiles that were too hot to take home Sunday, November 19, 10 am-12 pm.
Saturday November 11, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Thursday November 16, 5-7 p.m.
Friday, November 17, 5-7 p.m.
Saturday, November 18, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
“Come prepared with an design or let our artists help you design one–less detailed is often more successful” says Liberty Arts’ Executive Director Michelle Gonzales-Green.
Admission to the iron pour is free. Blankets and folding chairs welcome. Food trucks and breweries will serve from 4-9 p.m., and to kick off the event, Batala will perform two sets between 4 and 5:30 p.m. Schedule food trucks/brewers include The Pit, Route Bisto and Fullsteam Brewery. For more information, visit www.durhamcentralpark.org. For information about the scratch block workshop, contact Liberty Arts at (919) 260-2931 or register online here.
