FRIENDS TO REOPEN newly renovated PAGE-WALKER GARDENS in cary tomorrow

CARY, NC – Good food, great music, and generous company will be shared by all on Saturday, May 20 when Friends of the Page-Walker Hotel reopen the gardens at the Page-Walker Arts and History Center, 119 Ambassador Loop, next to the Cary Town Hall campus following a two-year closing during Town Hall renovations.   Beginning at 4 p.m. , friends and citizens from near and far will enjoy a catered dinner and a garden concert to help celebrate the reopening of the Page-Walker gardens. 

“We’re looking forward to a new beginning for the gardens,” said Sara Maultsby, Page-Walker Arts & History Center Supervisor.  “The Friends organization has worked diligently to restore the garden to its natural beauty, along with a few extra enhancements.”

Unlike the old garden, the new garden includes a water fountain and a raised, wooden pergola, providing a permanent staging area for performances in the garden.  In addition, the gardens feature a zoysia lawn, perennials, shrubs and several varieties of trees, including dogwoods, Japanese red maples, magnolias, red oaks, shoal creek chastletrees, brown turkey figs and cedars. Also, the Friends of Page-Walker have re-planted a Heritage Herb Garden .

Tickets are still available for the event for $25 (individual) and $40 (couple) by contacting Mike Longmire at (919) 851-2560 or at mlongmire@nc.rr.com or by visiting the Page-Walker Arts & History Center .  Ticket proceeds help support the work of the Friends of the Page-Walker Hotel, such as historic preservation, expansion of the Cary Heritage Museum and the Winter-Spring 2006-2007 indoor concert series at the Page-Walker Arts & History Center .

Music lovers can visit the gardens all summer long and relax during the Starlight Concerts Series – free concerts featuring local and national artists on select Friday evenings.  The 2006 season kicks off on Friday, June 2 with Charlie Chiklis and the Moonlighters.  Other performers include Carnavalito, Moment’s Notice, Jamrock, Oak City Groove, and Generations.

The Page-Walker Garden was part of the original 300-acre Page family homestead, which was purchased by Allison Francis Page in the late 1800s.  In 1868, Page built the Page Hotel, which provided meals and rooms for passengers into the 20^th century.  Today, the Hotel is known as the Page-Walker Arts & History Center , which sits adjacent to the garden.    

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