NEW LOCATION!!

Don’t miss Cary’s largest annual event, the Lazy Daze Arts & Crafts Festival!

Ranked among the nation’s top festivals over the years, this event brings tens of thousands of people to Downtown Cary, and offers something for everyone. Proceeds of the event are returned to the community as grants to local nonprofits.

WHAT: 39th annual Lazy Daze, featuring more than 300 artists from 16 states

WHEN: Saturday, August 22, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

WHERE: Cary Town Hall Campus; note this new location, due to downtown streetscape construction

NEW: 2015 Featured Artist is Donald L. Hamilton Jr., of Cary, working in acrylics and watercolors

FOOD: 20-plus food vendors and food trucks, plus picnic tables

FUN: Five stages offering an eclectic mix of music, plus roving entertainers

FOR KIDS: Interactive Kids World with live entertainment, games and activities, all free

LOOK FOR: Special Lazy Daze features include Find Little Jerry; Cary Youth Video Project Premiere; Artist Guild Demonstrations; Cary Visual Art’s Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition

GET HERE: Free shuttles from Cary Towne Center or Green Hope High School, or Cary’s C-TRAN buses, free that day. Limited parking available in church lot at Waldo and Walker streets. 

For more details, search Lazy Daze at townofcary.org. 

Lazy Daze Firsts

1977: First Lazy Daze Festival

1988: Newly-formed Cary Town Band performs at Lazy Daze

1989: First juried Lazy Daze

2000: Introduction of Kids World 

2001: First Invitational Awards issued; now called Jerry Miller Artist Awards, they honor Lazy Daze founder

2004: John Webster of Cary’s Sister City Markham, Canada becomes official Festival Crier

2005: First use of beach chair information stands at Lazy Daze

2007: First Lazy Daze beer garden, and first Cultural Arts Petting Zoo

2010: First performance by the Silver Drummer Girl

See more photos from the 2014 event here!

Once a year, Cary throws a massive party called Lazy Daze — and you are invited!

Full of fun for the whole family, the 37^th annual Lazy Daze Arts & Crafts Festival takes place this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

It brings unique shopping and learning experiences to downtown Cary, including demos by members of seven different artist guilds, and the chance to browse the works of hundreds of artists and craftsmen from across the country.

The day’s events include Kids World, complete with make-n-take art projects, and something-for-everyone entertainment from live bands to a performing aerialist.  

Cary Magazine staffers will be there too, and we look forward to meeting you at our tent on Academy Street!

We’re also looking forward to sponsoring Timber, the festival’s second annual chainsaw sculpting competition. Featuring chainsaw artists creating amazing works in the themes of Science & Nature and Fantasy, the contest takes place at 3 p.m., and Cary Magazine co-editor Nancy Pardue is among the judges. 

You can win prizes at Lazy Daze by hunting for Little Jerry dolls, named for festival founder and artist Jerry Miller, and hear official town crier John Webster, decked out in full regalia, call out announcements of the day.

Oh, and did we mention the funnel cakes, ice cream, roasted corn and other treats? Yum!

Free festival parking is available at the Cary Town Hall Parking Deck, located on Wilkinson Avenue between Cary Town Hall and the Herbert C. Young Community Center.

Free parking is also available at Cary Towne Center, via shuttle buses.

Yes, it’s Lazy Daze, Cary’s very-special celebration of culture and art — including the art of local living.

Lazy Daze Arts & Crafts Festival, Downtown Cary

Saturday, Aug. 24

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For a festival map and more info, see townofcary.org or contact Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources at (919) 469-4061.