Parks and Rec

There are 153 posts filed in Parks and Rec (this is page 16 of 16).

Strickland park

If I didn’t get my fill of excitement last night I’ve got more fun tonight. Tonight’s the night the Parks and Rec board votes on the master plan for Strickland Park.

I’m not happy with how the public process was handled here, though I think the park will be a welcome asset to the neighborhood, ultimately. There are a few changes that I would like to see – and that I will ask for – but I’m not optimistic that these will be accomplished. I think some people have made up their minds and little will change their positions.

Cedar Creek Gallery


Kelly and I took the kids up to Creedmoor Saturday to visit the Oakleys, the family of Travis’s best friend Carson. They were hosting an arts festival at their farm, known as Cedar Creek Gallery. I’m amazed this place has been here for forty years and I never knew about it until now.

We watched as Lisa Oakley did some glass blowing, creating a long string of glass which will be used to create beads for necklaces and bracelets. It was fascinating: I’d never seen glass blowing before. There were other artists around, too, including some very talented potters and sculptors. And the event attracted a crowd. At one point, their one cash register had no less than thirteen customers waiting. I was tempted to buy a few things myself.

The kind of studio where one can practice glass blowing, welding, and the like is what I’d like to see Raleigh Parks and Rec provide. Something like a Mythbusters or Techshop kind of place. Maybe some day I’ll be in a position to do something about it …

If you’re interested in some of the coolest pottery, sculpting, and whimsical handmade products around, take a morning drive up to Creedmoor and see the Cedar Creek Gallery. You’ll be glad you did.

Raleigh’s rad new skatepark: Marsh Creek

I attended the groundbreaking ceremony at the Marsh Creek Skate Park this morning. It was my first ceremony as a Parks Board member. Board chair Eugene Weeks was the only other member present.

The park itself will be a jewel for the skateboarding kids of Raleigh. We’re not talking a few plywood half-pipes nailed together but an X-Games-worthy arena. What I didn’t see in the amazing renderings of the park is where the bleachers will be. I may be too old (and, uh, clumsy) to be catching air on a skateboard but I’d love to sit and watch!

To serve most of the kids who will use it, the park will need the CAT 15C bus route adjusted. Its just too far of the bus route as it stands. I attempted to ride the bus to the park this morning until GoTriangle.Org told me it would take an hour to get there. No thanks: I can walk faster. In fact, a half-mile walk was part of the route GoTriangle provided. Total buzz kill, dude.

Anyway, if gravity’s really holding you back then Marsh Creek will soon be your place.