From fun festivals to beautiful performances, April is full of exciting events in Downtown Cary. Take a look at some of the events that are happening this month!
Poetry Games with the Poetry Fox
April 3, 6:30 pm at Downtown Cary Park
Spend two high-energy hours playing quick-write games with the Poetry Fox! In this fun and lively workshop we will write a variety of poems using generative methods designed to get you writing without overthinking everything. List poems, memory poems, exquisite corpses, and much more!
DCP Academy Pavilion
This event is for people 16 to 99.
Downtown Cary Park Registration: Registration opens at 10 a.m. 2 weeks before the program start date. Register Here
Drop-in Puzzling and Puzzle Swap Meet
April 5, 2:00 pm at Downtown Cary Park
Find the missing piece of your day at our drop-in puzzle program featuring a lively swap meet. Bring your favorite puzzles, trade with fellow enthusiasts, and enjoy a casual day of collaborative problem-solving and camaraderie. It’s the perfect opportunity to discover new challenges, share your passion for puzzles, and connect with like-minded individuals in a fun and relaxed family friendly setting.
Know Before You Go
- This is a drop-in program.
- All swap-meet puzzles should be in good condition with ALL pieces contained in their box.
- Puzzles will be exchanged for free, but in order to take a puzzle home, please bring a puzzle to share!
- This program is suitable for all ages.
Inclusion Services
Downtown Cary Park strives to provide a positive experience for all guests. Our goal is to accommodate you and meet your individual needs. Please fill out the event accessibility form here, and a staff member will be in contact with you.
Slater Mapp & Trish Klenow: Tarot and Midnight Garden Meet the Artist Reception
April 5, 6:00 pm at the Cary Arts Center
The vision for “Tarot Garden” is to evoke a private, mysterious, wild and unkept “garden” started by witches in the American south. Combining the paintings of Trish Klenow from her “Midnight Garden” series and the photographs of Slater Mapp from his “Tarot” series, this gallery space as garden will share the traits of exploration found in Renaissance gardens, and the traits of solace and reflection found in a Cloister garden as well as Klenow’s own wild garden in Apex, NC. The viewer will experience the wonder of local flora and fauna in the darkest of North Carolina forests through Klenow’s paintings and participate in the wonders of personal systems of belief and spirituality like Tarot, tea reading, Laramonde and the Oracle through the various mediums of Mr. Mapp. Photographic illustrations of unseen forces will hang like vines from the walls of the space and move with the wind. Archetypal images like the Empress, the Fool and the Devil will guide the viewers to reflect on their personal journeys. Assemblages, and sculptures will serve as tokens and reminders of the Past. Water will be ever present in installations and in the other works, creating a sense of care and comfort. Viewers will emerge from the “ritual darkness”, cleansed and ready to face an ever changing and frightening world. This duo show promotes a path to self-reflection.
Lyudmila Tomova Clark: Fluid Impressions Meet the Artist Reception
April 5, 6:00 pm at the Cary Arts Center
Movement and mood are at the core of Lyudmila’s artistic style. She merges both abstract and traditional painting in a loose painterly way to create energetic and impactful artwork. Her themes mainly involve figures and portraits of people captured in their private moments of contemplation, everyday scenes, playing music or dancing. Her painting philosophy is to interpret reality and not copy it. She paints quickly with large gestural strokes free of preconceived logical steps, infusing passion and excitement. A fleeting moment is captured and transformed by means of rules and omissions, acceptance and refusal, luring the viewer round and round in circles. The brush strokes are moving, pushing, emerging and overwhelming, but never still and quiet.
Michelle Fairholm Pottery Meet the Artist Reception
April 5. 6:00 pm at the Cary Arts Center
Wheel-thrown stoneware show located in the display cases at the Cary Arts Center.
Celebrating Cary Arbor Day
April 6, 12:00 pm at the Page-Walker Arts & History Center
Celebrate Cary’s commitment to our urban forests with live music, local food, kids’ activities, and more. This event offers free fun for the whole family plus the chance to engage with environmental experts about native plants, healthy soils, and going green at home. Ask an arborist about the trees in your yard and how to enhance Cary’s tree canopy. Don’t miss the chance to register to win a free compost bin, rain barrel, or native plant gardening kit while we celebrate Cary’s 41st year as a Tree City USA community. Please visit Town of Cary’s Arbor Day Page for more information.
Graceful Expressions Dance Company presents Sleeping Beauty
April 6, 1:00 pm, 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm at the Cary Arts Center
Graceful Expressions Dance Company is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides a unique opportunity for young dancers — holistic training, performance and leadership experience that prepares dancers for college or career. Community service through dance is a key part of who we are as an organization and creates leaders who thrive in their next steps when they graduate.
Join us at the Cary Arts Center for a narrated performance of this beloved classic, perfect for audiences of all ages! Showtimes are 1pm, 4pm and 7pm on April 6.
For more information and tickets: https://gracefuldance.com/company/#tickets
School BreakOUT!
April 10, 10:00 am at Downtown Cary Park
Turn teacher work day into a fun-filled adventure for kids! Join us for School BreakOUT! in the Park, brimming with exciting activities, performers, and creative projects. Designed for children of all ages, this day guarantees laughter, exploration, and the chance to forge new friendships, offering a safe and engaging environment for your little ones during their day off from school.
Billy Jonas is an enormously talented singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, including guitar and “industrial re-percussion” (instruments made from found objects.) He has legions of fans in the children’s music world. Billy engages audiences from the moment he begins, with rhythm, call and response, and lyrics that are funny and thought-provoking at the same time. His children’s songs, like “Toot the Horn,” bring laughter to kids and adults alike.
- Performance by Billy Jonas: 10 – 11 a.m. at the Great Lawn Pavilion
- Free Spirited Artistry Face Painter & Fairy Hair Artist: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Frantz Square Lawn
- Art with The Scrap Exchange: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. in the Nest Pavilion
- Food Trucks: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. along Park St Courts
- Professor Whizzpop Magic Show: 1 – 2 p.m. and 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. at Frantz Square Lawn
Know Before You Go
- This is NOT a drop off event. Parents and guardians must stay with their child the entire time.
- This event is open to the public.
- This event is suitable for all ages
Pimento Cheese & Wine Pairing
April 11, 6:30 pm at Downtown Cary Park
Indulge in a lively evening of bites and wines at the Park, where velvety reds and crisp whites dance harmoniously with artisanal pimento cheese hors d’oeuvres, setting the perfect tone for the upcoming Pimento Cheese Festival’s celebration of flavor and community. Wine will be provided by Chatham Street Wine Market, and hors d’oeuvres served by Grazin’ Gals. The wine and hors d’oeuvres are included in the price of this workshop.
DCP Academy Pavilion
This event is for people 21 to 99.
Downtown Cary Park Registration: Registration opens at 10 a.m. 2 weeks before the program start date.
Movie Night: Ratatouille
April 12, 8:00 pm at Downtown Cary Park
In celebration of the upcoming Pimento Cheese Festival, join us for a family-friendly screening of Ratatouille, curated by The Cary Theater at the Downtown Cary Park Great Lawn Pavilion. This delightful G-rated film promises a fun and enjoyable evening for all.
Grab your cushions, blankets, and chairs for ultimate comfort as you settle in to enjoy the film with popcorn and snacks from Market 317. Food trucks will also be on site.
There will be pre-screening activities for all ages to enjoy as well.
Know Before You Go
- This event is free and open to the public.
- Bring your own chairs and blankets for a comfortable viewing experience during the movie.
Cary Players Presents Brigadoon
April 12 – 14, 2024 & April 19 – 21, 2024 at the Cary Arts Center
New Yorker Tommy Albright unexpectedly arrives at the mysterious Scottish Highland village of Brigadoon, which only appears for one day every 100 years. When Tommy meets and falls in love with Fiona, a beautiful villager in this magical hamlet, he must decide whether to return to his old life, or stay in Brigadoon — forever.
For information and tickets: https://www.caryplayers.org/brigadoon
Pimento Cheese Festival
April 13, 11:00 am at Downtown Cary Park
Enjoy unique pimento cheese-based menu items from food trucks lining the perimeter of the Downtown Cary Park. Between bites listen to live music, grab a drink from local breweries, and taste some of the best pimento cheese samples from local restaurants. You can even test your skills in the pimento cheese sculpting contest. Learn more about other cheesy surprises leading up to the festival: downtowncarypark.com/pimento-cheese-festival.
The Cary Vintage Market
April 13, 12:00 pm at the West End Biergarten
Cary NC’s only monthly vintage market is back and better than ever on Saturday April 13th! Created by Hummingbird Collective and hosted by Vicious Fishes Brewery & South Line Brewing Company in the brand new West End Biergarten, this family-friendly market features:
- Women’s and Men’s Vintage Clothing
- Vintage shoes and accessories
- Vintage records and casettes
- Vintage houseware and trinkets
- Permanent jewlery
- Craft coffee cart (NEW!)
- Specialty baked goods
- Craft beer, liquor drinks, wine and slushies (non alcoholic and alcoholic options available)
- Food truck
… and more!!
BONUS: this event is both family-friendly and dog-friendly!
Performances at the Page: Roadhouse Storytellers
April 13, 7:00 pm at Page-Walker Arts & History Center
Join the Roadhouse Storytellers as they bring local and regional tellers together for an evening of stories in the intimate space of the Page-Walker. Featured tellers are Jane Dorfman, Milbre Burch, Mary Wood, and Sam Pearsall. Dessert and beverages are included. Purchase tickets at The Cary Theater box office or via etix. Tickets go on sale February 2, 2024. For more information visit Performances at the Page or call (919) 460-4963.
Jason Adamo Presents: North Carolina Songwriters in the Round
April 13, 7:00 pm at The Cary Theater
Jason Adamo Presents North Carolina Songwriters in the Round returns to The Cary on Saturday, April 13, 2024!
Featuring two sets of songwriters sharing the stories behind the songs they’ve written, performing in the round, Nashville style.
Performers: John sierra, Jon Wall, Mysti Mayhem, Brent Jordan, Jason Adamo, Adam Pitts, Gretchen Norwood, Josh Rhyne
Approximate run time is 140 minutes including a 15 minute intermission.
Children’s Day Festival of Cary
April 20, 11:00 am at Downtown Cary Park
Celebrate our future at a special event featuring performances by kids, face-painting, food trucks, make & take activities, a community corner and more! Note the new location at Downtown Cary Park. Presented by American-Turkish Association of North Carolina and Cary Sister Cities. For more information, visit Children’s Day Festival.
Marvelous Music Mainstage Series: Appalachian Road Show
April 27, 7:30 pm at the Cary Arts Center
Appalachian Road Show is a visionary acoustic ensemble, bringing new-generation interpretations of traditional Americana, bluegrass and folk songs, as well as offering innovative original music, all presented with a common thread tied directly to the heart of the Appalachian regions of the United States. Featuring multiple Grammy winners and Grammy-nominated performers, these musicians showcase both the traditions and the history of this storied region. Appalachian Road Show invites us to come and sit a spell on its porch as the band shares its dynamic musicianship through songs and stories.
For more, visit https://www.theappalachianroadshow.com/
Know about an event that we missed? Reach out to us and we will add it to our calendar!