NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 3, 2000

TOWN PLANS FIRST HERITAGE DAY CELEBRATION;
SEEKS NOMINATIONS FOR HERITAGE SITES

CARY, NC – Cary’s newest celebration ties Cary’s past to its future. On Saturday, May 20^th from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Cary will host a day full of heritage activities throughout the Town Hall campus, including horse and buggy rides, craft demonstrations plus special exhibitions in Page-Walker Arts and History Center including a fiber exhibit in the gallery, and the millennium quilt to be stitched by the Cary community. Heritage Day will also feature a Revolutionary and Civil War encampment and re-enactment as well as live entertainment and plenty of old-fashioned food and fun. As part of the celebration, Cary will, on May 19^th at 7:00 PM, commemorate the opening of the Cary Heritage Museum located at the Page-Walker.

In preparation for upcoming Heritage Day, the Town of Cary invites citizens to nominate local sites that celebrate Cary’s past to become part of the Town’s Heritage List. Citizens may also nominate "heritage trees"—those that are 100 or more years old. Town staff, with the assistance of members of the Friends of Page-Walker, will evaluate each nomination. Sites selected for inclusion in the list will be recognized by May 1^st with a banner designating the location as a "Heritage Highlight". Throughout May, everyone may seek out Heritage Highlights in anticipation of Heritage Day.

"We are looking forward to celebrating Cary’s history on this special day, and the Heritage Highlight program is a great way to identify sites significant to Cary’s past as we look to Cary’s future," said Lyman Collins, Town of Cary Cultural Arts Supervisor.

Another aspect of the Heritage Sites program being developed by the Friends of the Page-Walker is a series of trading cards that will be distributed around town. Local teachers are participating in the program by encouraging their students to collect the trading cards. Prizes will be awarded at Heritage Day to lucky students who collect an entire set of cards.

"The trading cards encourages young people to learn about Cary’s history in a fun way," said Judy Reysdon, a Friends volunteer who is coordinating the program.

To nominate a Heritage site or tree, send a letter listing the location of the site or tree and its significance to Lyman Collins, Cultural Arts Division, PO Box 8005, Cary, NC 27512 or send an email to lcollins@ci.cary.nc.us. Heritage Day and the Cary Heritage Museum have been an on-going project of the Friends of the Page-Walker Hotel, a private, not-for-profit group in Cary that saved the historic building and works to promote Cary’s arts and history. The Friends is co-sponsoring Heritage Day with the Town’s Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department.

###