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KOKA BOOTH BUST TO BE UNVEILED FRIDAY

Cary , NC -- The ninth annual "Play with the Pros" concert on June 9 will take on a special meaning this year since it is at this wonderful free family event that a bronze bust of former mayor and venue namesake Koka Booth will be unveiled to the public. Long-time Cary Resident, Steve Zaytoun, along with Booth's friends and admirers have worked with sculptor Carl Regutti on the development of a sculpture, entitled "The Visionary" which will be formally dedicated on Friday, June 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre at Regency Park . "We're excited to have Carl Regutti's bronze bust of Koka so that he literally is at every show to greet the throngs of people attending some of the region's best entertainment," said Lyman Collins, Town of Cary Cultural Arts Manager . "This is the perfect tribute to a man that continues to mean so much to Cary residents."

     Koka Booth, who served as the Town of Cary ’s Mayor from 1987-1999 is expected to be in attendance along with sculptor Carl Regutti, family and friends. The free concert that follows at 7:30 p.m. features a full performance by our state’s professional orchestra, the North Carolina Symphony.

     The North Carolina Symphony and Resident Conductor William Henry Curry will begin the first half of the concert with Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 1, Humperdinck: Prelude to Act 2 from Hansel and Gretel (Witch’s Ride), Rimsky-Korsakov: Russian Easter Overture Lehar: and Ballsirenen (Waltzes from The Merry Widow).
     This year, the amateur musicians will join the Symphony in Copland: An Outdoor Overture, Delius: Walk to the Paradise Garden , from A Village Romeo and Juliet  and Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1. At the conclusion of the performance, over 40 talented local musicians will take the stage, nearly doubling the symphony in size and sound, to perform the final three selections of the evening side by side with the pros in one magnanimous finale!

      For more information, call (919) 469-4061 or visit www.townofcary.org.