Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1029086
4 SEPTEMBER 19-25, 2018 Best of Fayetteville Best Place to Commune with Nature • Best Wedding Venue Cape Fear Botanical Garden 536 N. Eastern Blvd. 910-486-0221 or www.capefearbg.org Cape Fear Botanical Garden is a beautiful, local oasis that's home to 80 acres of thriving plant life nestled between the Cape Fear River and Cross Creek. Though it's easily accessible – just minutes from down- town Fayetteville – the property has the air of a secluded getaway. With its many winding paths, scenic river trail, Cypress Pond and specialty gardens, CFBG is a powerful reminder of Mother Nature's ability to soothe, inspire and delight. Specialty gardens include the Camellia, Daylily and Shade Gardens, a Butterf ly Stroll and Children's Garden, and the Heritage Garden, which features 1886 agricultural structures and a homestead. Guided tours are also available. But the natural elements alone aren't responsible for CFBG winning Best of Fayetteville year after year. The garden staff plans year-round events large and small that engage with the community in weather both warm and chilly. Favorites include the wintertime visual wonder of Holiday Lights in the Garden, art and education workshops, and weekly offerings of tai chi and yoga. CFBG just wrapped up its summery Garden Railway event last month, which fea- tured a miniature model train railway system winding 450 feet through the Friendship Garden. Next month, don't miss Halloween at the BOO-tanical Garden, Oct. 26-28. The Wyatt Visitors Pavilion Complex and Grand Hall amidst the overall lush atmosphere make CFBG not only the best place to commune with nature, but also the best venue for a wedding ceremony. Best Local Festival/Event Dogwood Festival 222 Hay St. 910-323-1934 or www.faydogwoodfestival.com A perennial winner, the love for "Fayetteville's Biggest Party" is strong and continues to grow its reach beyond our area. With more than 350,000 visi- tors every year, the festival's economic impact is over $4.5 million. Thirty-six years ago, Bill Hurley, John Malzone and other dedicated city lead- ers came together to make the fourth weekend in April something truly spe- cial. It's a time to head downtown and enjoy carnival attractions, local and national musicians, trick/specialty performers, arts and craft vendors, food and fun in a spectacular celebration of our community. The event also offers educa- tional resources for parents and children. This February, the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival was named Best Event in the Southeast by the Southeast Festivals and Events Association at the association's annual conference in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. With this win, the festival has now received top honors at local, state, regional and international levels. It was a well-deserved and fitting endnote for Carrie King, who served as executive director since 2006 and retired last month. King is rightly credited by many as being responsible for developing the festival into the prestigious and fun-filled event that it is today. Thank you for contributing your creative, vision- ary talents to our community and for your service and leadership, Carrie. Sanctioned events leading up to the festival weekend make the entire month of April exciting, too. These include the Miss Fayetteville Dogwood Pageant, Hogs & Rags Motorcycle Rally, Mid-Carolina Senior Games, Recycled Art Show, Fayetteville Urban Ministry's Cornhole Competition and car shows. Best Change in Fayetteville I-295 Bypass The long-awaited I-295 Bypass, nicknamed the Outer Loop, is finally nearing com- pletion – and Fayetteville driv- ers can't wait. This is the sec- ond year the 39-mile future Interstate 295 has been voted best change in the city, which is pretty impressive considering it's not quite done yet. The Outer Loop has been in planning since the 1980s and opened its first completed section, which connects I-95 to U.S. 401, in 2005. Today, it is complete from I-95 in Eastover to Bragg Boulevard and includes a connection to the All American Freeway. The Outer Loop has already brought much-needed relief to thousands of resi- dents, making everyday commutes downtown, to Fort Bragg or across the coun- ty faster and easier. By providing a direct connection from Fort Bragg to I-95 and creating unprecedented interstate connectivity, the North Carolina Department of Transportation explains, "the Outer Loop helps support the military, pro- motes economic growth and strengthens North Carolina's ability to attract and retain industry." Some of the Outer Loop remains unfinished. According to NCDOT.gov, the section connecting the All American Freeway to Cliffdale Road should open late this year or early 2019. To be completed by May 2022 is a stretch from Cliffdale Road to Raeford Road. The portion connecting Raeford Road to Camden Road should be complete by 2022. The Camden Road to I-95 section is scheduled for completion by July 2021. NCDOT has held open houses and Q&A sessions for residents who live near these areas. Worst Change in Fayetteville Concrete medians Roads are an inescapable component of city life, so changes to the roads, whether positive or negative, are something Fayetteville's residents are going to notice and react to every single day. The concrete road mediums being installed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation continue to be Cumberland County citizens' highest point of contention and greatest annoyance. From Ramsey Street to Bragg Boulevard to Eastern Boulevard, several million tons of concrete have been plopped on local roadways to create medi- ans – to the dismay and disappointment of local travelers and business owners. Many of these roads see more than 50,000 cars a day, and the medians, theo- retically, are intended to reduce and prevent serious accidents. Few people dispute that DOT fact. This being said, few think the DOT has taken into consid- eration the economic hardship these obstructions have had on local businesses, many of which have suffered severe losses in revenue. Some have even gone out of business as a result of the medians. People continue to argue that the medians are a lifesaving investment, no matter how annoying. These are not business owners – but there's weight to their claims. Last December, Up & Coming Weekly senior news reporter Jeff Thompson cited two three-year studies about medians on Ramsey Street, one conducted before the medians and one from 2012-15 (after medians were installed). The studies measured the number of crashes involving left-hand turns, side-swipes and rear-enders at left-hand turn lanes. From his report: "The analysis took into account vehicles that disregarded the median and were involved in U-turn crashes at designated median openings. Each crash was independently verified. One hundred eighty-one ... crashes had occurred during the three-year period before the median was built. Only 18 took place after that for a 90 percent reduction. Overall, auto accidents were reduced by 31 percent." So, are they annoying? Yes. Are they worth it, economically speaking? We'll see. With a 90 percent reduction in accidents, you would think our car insurance rates would be going down. Check your last premium payment. CITY LIFE CITY LIFE