Here is an idea for entertaining your child, teaching responsibility, teaching ecology, helping our new trees in the park: Have your child commit to watering a new tree with a gallon a week and “claim” a tree in the park. Pick out a baby tree, tie a ribbon around one of its branches (there are some pink plastic ribbons on the signs in the park asking people to adopt a tree) water it. Maybe your child would like to name it with their name or a made up name.
IT IS SO EASY! just wash out a carton from milk or juice, make a handle for it if needed, fill it, carry it to the park and give the tree a half gallon twice a week or a gallon once a week. Easy peasy!
PS There already are some short ribbons on the baby trees. Ribbons less than a foot in length are actually markers to show the species of tree. You can still pick one of those trees! Also, the 2 and 3 year old trees are being stressed too, so you can pick one of them if you prefer.
PPS We have had almost NO RAIN for over a month. Our little trees are so thirsty!
Northgate Park Food Truck Pop-Up Thursday May 27, 5:00-8:00 pm, Parking lot by the Tennis Court (300 W. Club Blvd, Durham)
Come kick-off the long-weekend at the Food Truck pop-up this Thur 05/27 with Gussy’s Greek and Jam Ice Cream. Can’t make it this month? Mark your calendar for the future food truck events on 6/24, 7/22, 8/26, 9/23, and 10/28.
Gussy’s Greek: Come grab your Greek faves: Gyros, Souvlaki, Falafel, Dolmades, Greek Salads, Pita with Hummus & Tzatziki. Gluten-Free, Vegan, and Vegetarian options available – you can also order Gussy’s Gyro Pita served Greek Style, a traditional “street food” style where they replace lettuce with Greek fries.
Jam Ice Cream: Enjoy classic soft serve, sundaes, milkshakes, or shaved ice made with fresh local ingredients from the Triangle. Also many fun and creative menu items to explore like Rainbow Candy Store, Coco Loco Sundae, and Pink Lemonade Milkshake!
No Pre-Order. Onsite/Walk-up: Accept cash and cards
IMPORTANT/SOCIAL DISTANCING INFO:
Gussy’s & Jam Ice Cream staff prepare/serve all food with PPE (face coverings, gloves) and are using COVID-19 approved cleaning supplies to keep high-touch areas clean. Debit/Credit Card readers/keypads will be sanitized after usage with these products. Also, hand sanitizer will be available for customers at the order windows.
Please:
Wear a face covering when arriving/present at the park to order/pickup
Maintain 6 ft distance from others when participating and avoid grouping close to the truck
Save time being in line with pre-ordering online when available
Minimize the number of persons doing the pick-up to keep event headcount low
Pets must be leashed at all times if brought to pick-up/walk-up orders. They must stay 6ft socially distant too!
NPNA reminds all that participation in any NPNA events or activities are at the attendee’s own risk.
On Saturday, May 22 and Sunday, May 23, 2021, the intersection of W. Club Blvd and Glendale Ave will be closed to traffic for Candy Carver and volunteers to paint the art crosswalk. If there is rainy weather, the crosswalk will be painted the following weekend on Saturday, May 29 and Sunday, May 30, 2021.
Hard Closures at the intersection of West Club Boulevard and Glendale Avenue:
Saturday, May 22, 2021 starting at 6:00 a.m. Monday, May 24, 2021 ending at 6:00 a.m.
All detour signs will be placed on Friday, May 21, 2021 and removed on Monday, May 24, 2021.
So in February we had a successful planting of nearly 100 new trees in the park! The survival rate looks…just OK, but that’s still a lot of trees. Anyways, with drier weather and the new trees starting to leaf out, I wanted to ask for volunteers to adopt small sections of the park – just a few new trees each – and water the new trees once a week(ish) unless we get really good rains. I plan to do mine with creek/pond water and a (half-full) 5 gallon bucket, but be creative! I think it would be a great project with kids.
If you’re willing to do this fairly regularly, please let me know, as well as where in the park is handy for you. I could meet folks as convenient and walk through sections.
Also, for anyone that got a street tree, I hope you’ll water them regularly during even moderate dry spells this first year, and during longer dry spells for the first 3 years.
It’s now time to get excited about the one and only Beaver Queen Pageant – one of the weirdest, funniest, and bestest fundraisers around!
The Intro Episode of the 17th Annual Beaver Queen Pageant: World Wide Wood will be streaming directly to your living rooms this Saturday evening (5/8) at 6pm.
Tune in on our website at www.beaverqueen.org to meet the contestants and vote for your favorite one(s).
The Beaver Queen Pageant is the Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association‘s biggest fundraiser of the year. So slap on a tail, get weird, and have some fun while supporting your local land trust and watershed organization!
It’s time yet again to get outside and enjoy the sweet sounds of music in Northgate Park. Grab a picnic, grab some fully vaccinated friends, and come out this Saturday May 8th from 3-4pm at the old Museum Foundation to hear the acoustic croonings of local musicians Dissimilar South.
Northgate Park BONUS Food Truck Pop-Up Wednesday May 5, 5:00-8:00 pm, Parking lot by the Tennis Court (300 W. Club Blvd, Durham)
NPNA is adding a BONUS park pop-up on Wed May 5th in addition to our traditional 4th Thursday – Mark your calendar for the 4th Thursdays (5/27, 6/24, 7/22, 8/26, 9/23, and 10/28)
Come join us in the nice May weather and observe Cinco De Mayo by supporting local taco and dessert trucks: El Jefecito & LocoPops!
El Jefecito: Chef Laureano Cortez Hernandez, has cooked and catered for over 20 years in Durham finest (Nana’s, Old’s Pop, and Magnolia Grill!) El Jefecito specializes in gourmet tacos with flavorful toppings like Steak Taco with roasted sweet peppers, grilled onion and horseradish OR creative tacos, say…cauliflower taco & potato hash taco!
LocoPops: What a way to pair delicious taco dinner with some Mexican-style popsicles, known as paletas from LocoPops, a locally hand-crafted pop. Here are some refreshing, fun and seasonal flavors: Mexican chocolates, Mighty Mojito, Cookies and Cream, Raspberry Hibiscus and Strawberry Lemonade.
No Pre-Order needed. Accept cash and cards.
IMPORTANT/SOCIAL DISTANCING INFO:
El Jefecito & LocoPops staff prepare/serve all food with PPE (face coverings, gloves) and are using COVID-19 approved cleaning supplies to keep high-touch areas clean. Debit/Credit Card readers/keypads will be sanitized after usage with these products. Also, hand sanitizer will be available for customers at the order windows.
Wear a face covering when arriving/present at the park to order/pickup
Maintain 6 ft distance from others when participating and avoid grouping close to the truck
Save time being in line with pre-ordering online when available
Minimize the number of persons doing the pick-up to keep event headcount low
Pets must be leashed at all times if brought to pick-up/walk-up orders. They must stay 6ft socially distant too!
NPNA reminds all that participation in any NPNA events or activities are at the attendee’s own risk.
You might be aware (and may even have voted) on the art installation for the crossing at Club. More information can be here
The crosswalk art is being installed on May 22nd (May 29th rain date). Volunteers are needed to set-up, paint, and clean up. Because of time constraints due to having to detour traffic children cannot volunteer, but are welcome to stroll by and watch the process!
Candy will be there and doing a lot of painting, but about 20 more painters are needed to basically “paint by #/ color swatch “. Stencils will be used for some parts, and Candy will also be outlining and blocking areas. You’ll need to be detail oriented and able to follow directions.
The Walltown Community Association (WCA) continues to organize against the displacing power of development in Durham and we invite you to stand with us!
At the end of July 2020, the WCA formed the Northgate Mall Neighborhood Council (NMNC), which includes 12 residents from seven neighborhoods: Walltown, Northgate Park, Duke Park, Trinity Park, Trinity Heights, Watts Hospital Hillandale, and Old West Durham. The purpose of the NMNC was to spatialize a collective community vision–centered around Walltown’s strategic goals–for the redevelopment of the mall property by creating a set of alternative design maps we can use to engage with the property owners and stakeholders (Northwood Investors, Duke University, and the City and County of Durham). We recently surveyed Durham residents (November 2020 thru January 2021) and received 386 responses providing feedback on our design goals and alternative maps.
On Saturday, April 24th at 10am, we are holding a press conference to:
Provide updates on our Northgate Mall organizing efforts
Reaffirm our vision for neighborhood growth without displacement
Amplify the voices of residents negatively impacted by gentrification
Share survey data on community design goals for the redevelopment
Give a call to action for those who want to join us in this struggle
The event will be held at Walltown Park in the baseball field close to Guess Road. Parking is available at the recreation center (1308 W Club Blvd, Durham, NC 27705). You can walk over from there. Masks are required to participate. If you do not have one, we will provide one for you. We will also have hand sanitizer.
As you consider our invitation, please check out our website at http://www.dataworks-nc.org/walltown. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions. We hope to see you there!
