Tucked into the shades of Bond Park lies the Spring Daze festival, a popular spring festivity for those around the Research Triangle Park (RTP) area. The Spring Daze Arts and Crafts Festival invites hundreds of local artisan and craft vendors year after year since its start in 1994. The 2024 Spring Daze Festival took place on April 27 and featured over 170 unique vendors, while including an Earth Day celebration. Spring Daze attendees had the opportunity to enjoy jewelry, pottery, candles, crafts and food sampling from over 15 different food trucks.
Initially, Lazy Daze was the main festival within the RTP area, but when the Cary Festivals Committee was formed in 1974, many vendors reached out and expressed complaints about how they were unable to get on the vendor list as Lazy Daze featured vendors from all around North Carolina. The committee decided to create a new festival, Spring Daze, which would feature vendors from primarily Wake County, giving local vendors and small businesses an opportunity to showcase their local talent.
Each year, the Town of Cary invites local residents to volunteer and hold two shifts on the day of the event. Rithu Tumkur (‘25) and Audrey Mentler (‘25) volunteered during the evening shift, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and shared their experiences. “It was a lot of fun to be able to help out with my friends. The main task during the shift was to help the booths set up and take down, and also help them throughout the event if they needed anything,” Mentler said.
Tumkur and Mentler were defined by the Town of Cary as “Load- In Assistants”, but there are many other volunteer positions as well. Those interested can work as an Information Booth Assistant, Lunch Detail Assistant, Merchandise Booth Assistant and Volunteer Check-In Assistant.
When asked about the impact of the Spring Daze Festival on the local community, Tumkur shared how she saw the event bringing people together and creating an opportunity for them to share their creative talents. “There were just so many different and unique things that people were selling and making, including many cultural exhibits. It was so nice to be able to see people bonding over that, and getting to know more about different cultures and aspects of arts and crafts.”
Spring Daze features an easygoing walk-through style, and visitors are encouraged to explore the festival at their own leisure. If you’re not looking to purchase, Spring Daze is a great window shopping opportunity filled with many different entertainment booths and activities for kids and families as well.
Though the 2024 Spring Daze festival came to a close, it will come back in 2025 to feature more unique vendors and opportunities to highlight local business talent.
