Durham Central Park

NEW PLAYlist Concert Series T-shirts Are Here!

News
This summer, if you specify your gift to support PLAYlist and our free programming, gifts of $50 or more will receive a PLAYlist t-shirt  (see photo below– a variety of colors are available) and $10 voucher for food during the concerts. Gifts of $250 or more will receive the PLAYlist t-shirt, a $20 voucher for food during the concerts, and a pair of tickets to our fall fundraiser Trucks for the Park!
This is our third year presenting PLAYlist and tonight we welcomed Grammy award-winning artist Van Hunt to our stage! We offer the PLAYlist Concert Series to the community free of charge, family-friendly and welcoming to all. The concerts are every other Friday evening through September 20.  Local food trucks and craft beer vendors will begin to serve at 6 p.m. and the music will start at 7 pm. We certainly hope that you can join us for the fun! For more information about the series, visit durhamplaylist.org.
Offering free, welcoming and inclusive programming is integral to Durham Central Park’s mission of Providing Space for Community. In addition to PLAYlist, our programming includes the Children’s Independence Day Parade and Food Truck Rodeos. We also partner with other local groups to provide free, fun activities at the park. Every Saturday morning, Blue Point Yoga offers yoga classes (at no charge!) and every November, we collaborate with Liberty Arts on the annual Iron Pour.
Over the past 20 years, DCP has become a unique activity hub downtown. It’s a beloved community gathering space and some see it as a “sacred” place in the heart of Durham. Why? Because Durham residents and businesses have made an investment in creating, building and sustaining this wonderful urban oasis. None of this would be happening today without supporters like you.
As the non-profit that manages and programs the park, DCP, Inc. relies on your financial support. If you love our free programming or just the feeling that you get when visiting the park, please make a secure one time or sustaining donation on our website at durhamcentralpark.org/donate or mail a check to: Durham Central Park, PO Box 1526, Durham NC 27702.
Best,
Erin Kauffman
Executive Director
Durham Central Park
919-794-8194
Photo credits: Ryan Moeller, Photography Ken Demery

Songwriter VAN HUNT headlines Durham Central Park’s PLAYlist Concert Series

Events, News

“Inspired by the music of The Delfonics, Parliament-Funkadelic, Pink Floyd and Billie Holiday, Hunt chronicles love, loss, and nostalgia through the sounds of original funk and old soul. He achieves the kind of heated, raw sound that has virtually disappeared in to much of today’s overly-manicured R&B and Hunt never loses sight of the past as he progressively forges his own way forward” –The Boston Globe. VAN HUNT headlines PLAYlist, Durham Central Park’s free, annual concert series Friday, July 12, 7 p.m.

A Dayton, Ohio-born musician, Hunt made his way to Atlanta where he drew acclaim for his production efforts and crafty songwriting, featured on recordings by such diverse artists as Dionne Farris and Rahsaan Patterson, as well as the platinum-selling soundtrack, Love Jones. 2019 marks the 15th anniversary of his own self-titled debut album.

It instantly established Hunt as a distinctive and original talent with its idiosyncratic melding of R&B, soul, funk, pop, and rock ‘n’ roll. Hunt received a 2005 “Best Urban/Alternative Performance” Grammy nomination for his breakthrough hit single, Dust featured on that album. 

Parking is free in the lot beside Durham Central Park, and there are metered spaces along Foster Street which change to free parking meters after 7 p.m.

Picnics, blankets and folding chairs are welcome. Local food trucks and craft beer vendors will be on site serving at 6 p.m. There are restrooms at Durham Central Park and the venue is wheelchair accessible. For more information, visit https://durhamplaylist.com/

PLAYlist Concert Series opens with Soul & Salsa: Alanna Royale, Ricardo Diquez

Events
PLAYlist Concert Series 2019 poster

This third year of PLAYlist Concert Series features a few changes, inspired by audience feedback. We are extending the series into the fall, by presenting concerts every other Friday evening from June 14 to September 20. We have also shifted the time: local food trucks and craft beer vendors will start serving at 6 p.m. but music starts at 7 p.m. Finally, we are including more opening acts with the concerts.

 

One thing that has not changed is the fact that each of these concerts is welcoming to the whole community and, most importantly, absolutely free to attend! The series is curated by Tess Mangum Ocaña, who works for Durham Central Park and leads Durham-based production company Sonic Pie Productions.

The full line up ranges from progressive R&B to Latin, soul, Americana, hip hop and world music:

Alanna Royale-Friday, June 14

Ricardo Diquez y la Orquesta Trópico-Friday, June 28

An Evening With Van Hunt-Friday, July 12

Bull City All-Stars Drumline w/ Caroline Brodie-Friday, July 26

New Reveille w/ Raleigh Rockers-Friday, August 9

&More (Chill Moody & Donn T) w/ Niito-Friday, August 23

Project 919 Band w/ Empower Dance lesson-Friday, September 6

Les Filles de Illighadad w/ Diali Cissokho-Friday, September 20

The concert series also continues a tradition of community partnerships and free educational/experiential before or during some of the performances, such as an audience Q&A with Les Filles de Illighadad (from Niger) facilitated by Chatham County-based kora player Diali Cissokho. Cissokho will act as their French to English translator. “We are so excited to present this free concert series to the Durham community. Providing welcoming, inclusive and free programming is central to Durham Central Park’s mission” says Durham Central Park Executive Director Erin Kauffman.

Parking is free in the lot beside Durham Central Park, and there are metered spaces along Foster Street which change to free parking meters after 7 p.m.

Admission to PLAYlist Concert Series is free, due to support from sponsors North Carolina Arts Council, Durham Arts Council, Durham 150, WeWork, Friends of World Music, Urban Durham Realty, Resolute Building Company, Cambria Durham, PickleFest, 90.7 WNCU, Duke Performances, Acme, Morningstar Law, Pinnacle Financial Advisors and Downtown Durham Inc., Kompleks Creative.

Picnics, blankets and folding chairs are welcome. Local food trucks and craft beer vendors will be on site. There are restrooms at Durham Central Park and the venue is wheelchair accessible. For more information, visit https://durhamplaylist.com/

Vernal Equinox: a perfect day to take a walk through Durham Central Park

News

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?

2019: will you help build on this success and sustain the park into the future?

News

Thanks to your generosity through the years, Durham Central Park has become a unique, welcoming gathering space in the heart of our growing city.

Just a little over 20 years ago, Durhamites worked together to envision an urban park to engage the community and be a place to enjoy natural beauty, public art, community events, and playing in nature. Durham Central Park is different from other city parks. The city owns the land, but the park is managed, developed, and programmed by DCP, Inc, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We do not receive public funding. Friends of the park, like you, have generously supported the park every step of the way to transform five weedy, underused acres into this wonderful 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.

·         Make a Year-End Gift by mailing a check or donating through our website

·         Become a Park Sustainer by making monthly, quarterly or annual gifts at durhamcentralpark.org/donate

We look forward to seeing you at the Park soon!

Erin Kauffman, Executive Director

Durham Central Park, Inc.

The FUN In Fundraising: Parties For The Park 2018

Events, News

The FUN In Fundraising: Parties For The Park

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.

Tickets are still available for two of the six remaining parties: Under the Stars Atop the Kress (a FIVE COURSE meal, October 20) and Local Vocal: An Evening of Food, Drink & A Capella
(November 1)

 

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! 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)

We need YOUR PLAYlist feedback–only takes 60 seconds!

News

PLAYlist is DCP’s 10 week summer concert series with shows every Friday night from 6-8 pm, rain or shine. 

Thank you to our 2018 artists (Gabriel Garzón-Montano, Laura Reed, Aztec Sun w/ StArt of Cool, Valerie June, Kamara Thomas, Mamis & the Papis, Gemynii, Joshua Gunn, Devon Gilfillian, Empire Strikes Brass, Al Strong & the Fresh Five, Jenn Bostic), sponsors, donors, vendors and fans. We’ll see you next summer! Please take a moment to fill out this 60 second PLAYlist survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V27GY6W

    

 

 

 

Parties for the Park tickets ON SALE AUGUST 10!

Events, News

PARTIES FOR THE PARK

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:

  • the expansion of  our PLAYlist Concert Series 
  • the installation of benches, tables and trees
  • the construction of Mt. Merrill

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!

 

PLAYlist Concert Series: What’s in a name?

News

PLAYlist Concert Series

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.

Cardinal and Turtle Scuptures Getting a Fresh Coat of Paint!

News

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!