I got a nice note today reminding me that not all that is great about Durham is shiny and new like the Performing Arts Center. Shelly Green, the COO of the Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau emailed me that she had put a copy in the mail to me of the 2009 Historical Calendar of Durham as thanks for helping promote Durham here on DurhamLuxRE.
What a nice gesture and I’m looking forward to getting the calendar. According to Shelly it was inspired by the book, Brighter Leaves: Celebrating the Arts in Durham, North Carolina.
The book was the inspiration of the late Dr. Patrick Kenan and describes how the arts in Durham evolved from small, local activities to the dynamic force that they are today. Dr. Kenan himself was something of a historical figure for promoting arts in Durham. He was both a singer and ENT physician and headed the Arts Medicine Program at Duke.
Both the book and the calendar are available on the web through the DCVB’s webstore at www.durhamstuff.com. I’m recommending it to all my real estate buddies in Durham especially the younger ones who may not be aware of some of this. Although, I spent a couple of years on the Arts Council Board back in the late 80′s but I’m not that much of a patron of the arts. As much as anything the gesture on my part is just a reminder that the value in a home is closely related to the community it exists in, its history and amenities. To overlook this in promotional materials for luxury properties does not do the home or the community justice.
