For the past 48 years, the Town of Cary has hosted the annual Lazy Daze Arts and Crafts Festival, an event that brings together nearly 300 artists from across the United States to showcase their talents in visual, performing and culinary arts. 

More than just an event, the Lazy Daze Arts and Crafts Festival has become a defining feature of Cary’s identity—it is an annual celebration of culture, creativity and community. Conceived in 1977 by artist Jerry Miller, the Lazy Daze Festival enhances Cary’s collective identity by providing artists a platform to exhibit and sell their work. Simultaneously, it prompts visitors to engage with and appreciate diverse artwork from local artists across the United States. 

This past weekend, the Lazy Daze festival continued this tradition, drawing crowds of all ages and backgrounds to Downtown Cary to celebrate art and culture. Courtney Tomchik, a ceramics artist from Clemmons, North Carolina, elaborated on her experience at Lazy Daze. “I’ve been doing this [show] on and off for the past fifteen years, and I’ve enjoyed every single year I’ve come,” said Tomchik. Each year of attendance, she cites the festival attendees as her inspiration for constantly coming back. She emphasized that as a Cary non-native, she especially feels a sense of connection with every customer she meets. 

“I think what’s so great about this festival is that there’s something for everyone, and it does effectively bring a community together,” states Tomchik, recognizing the diversity of activities available at the festival as the reason for unity. “From food and beverages to live music, play zones for children to hundreds of booths to explore, I think that this festival brings people together to end their summer downtown in an extremely valuable way.” 

Even within the artists themselves, the Lazy Daze festival hones community through diversity. The over 300 artists at the festival represented diversity in both the states and countries they came from. 

For artist Paul Henry Devoti, whose studio is in San Juan de Oriente, Nicaragua, creates Nicoyan pottery. The festival gives him an opportunity to both connect with Cary and enhance the cultural knowledge of its residents. 

Devoti describes how participating in this year’s festival helped him to strengthen his connection to the local community. In the past, Devoti has participated in festivals around the country and around North Carolina, but wishing to participate in more local events, Devoti decided to participate in the Lazy Daze festival this year. 

To Devoti, a former Cary resident, the robustness of its community stood as a profound inspiration for him to return. Pointing out the special bond between communities when they participate in local events together, he explains that even if he views a country or an event as just places where he goes to share his artwork, he is still happy to participate, for the memories and communities that Devoti gain. 

As an artist who specializes in indigenous cultural art, Devoti acknowledges the importance in preserving cultural heritage and sharing it with others as a way to diversify and strengthen a community. For him, art is both a personal and cultural expression. “If you’re making art, you’re doing something personal and expressing your creativity. There’s a big part of that in what I do, but I also aim to express something culturally and rare with my artwork. I’m bringing back to life something that is rare and cultural and I feel the story needs to be told.” 

For nearly 50 years, the Lazy Daze Arts and Crafts Festival has stood as a center and celebration of creativity and community in Cary. Bringing together artists, performers and chefs from around the world, the festival provides engaging activities for visitors, and serves as a staple to end the summer. 

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article used the following language: “the now late Mr. Jerry Miller.” This was fact checked to be false as Mr. Miller is a pillar in his community, and, at 93, Mr. Miller provides awards to the artists each and every year. The staff apologizes for this missed information.