Sherry DeVries, executive director of the Durham Arts Council, responded to criticism on the ABCDurham listserv this week about the move of CenterFest out of the Five Points/City Center  district.

I went to CenterFest last year and had a great time. The parking lot on Foster Street may not be the most scenic, but I know from other kinds of festivals that organizers like them because they're easy to access, set up and hook to utilities. Last year we were just about to leave when the TROSA band started playing, and we moved up to the stage area to hear Cindy (sorry, don't remember her last name, anybody know?), sing "Heard It Through the Grapevine." As good as Gladys, I swear.

Anyway ... DeVries says 2008 CenterFest at the Central Park District/Foster Street site, drew 22,000 visitors, a 30 percent increase. "Artists overwhelmingly rated the site positive," she wrote, "although there were a handful of artists that are still nostalgic for the old 5-Points site." The festival had 115 visual artists, about the same as when it was downtown, and 26 performing groups, up from 16 to 18 at the old site."
 
CenterFest costs over $170,000, she said. In 2008 about $94,000 came from corporate sponsorship, $55,000 from concession sales, booth fees and donations, and the Arts Council funded the remaining $20,000.

To move CenterFest back to Five Points would increase costs another $25,000 to $30,000 (more security, more sound systems, more contract staffing, more equipment, more signage, more gates, more electrical, and much more staff time, etc.), she said. 

"The DAC Board has made a decision that this is not a prudent business decision," DeVries said. "The festival works very well in its current Central Park/Foster Street site.  Even if someone stepped up and gave us $30,000 in additional money, we think it would be wise to utilize that funding to support our community’s arts organizations, artists and arts education programs – especially in this current economy."

The big red bird in Durham Central Park gets an official name Saturday.

Sculptor Michael Waller calls the bird Phat Ryan. Central Park, which commissioned the work, wants the public to have an opportunity to weigh in. We asked for suggestions last week. Here is what you told us.  

My son, Frankie (age 4), thinks the bird should be named "Frankie --- because it’s a good bird."
Emily McClernon

We decided that Scarlet, or "Scarlick" as the youngest member of our family likes to call him, is a great name for the new bird in Central Park. What name more intensely evokes thoughts of the South than the main character in Margaret Mitchell's novel? Scarlet also is an homage to the patient and sage driver of the Duke public safety van during the 1990s. He carted home many a college student who had partied too hard. Does he still live in the area? Perhaps he'll read this and be amused.
The Gasch Family -- Erin, Ken, Winston (age 4) and Tate (age 2)
P.S. We talked to Mr. Pickles the turtle and he's a fan of the name Scarlet, too.

Hi, my suggested name is "Catesby." Mark Catesby (1683-1749) was one of the New World's first and most influential naturalists. His early explorations focused heavily on the Carolinas.
Yours in cyberspace, Robin Moran

How about "Big Bill'?
He's big, he has a big bill, and the word bill is only 1 letter different from bull (Bull City).
Carol Williamson

Up until my daughter (age 4) and I came across this article on the recent addition to Central Park, we didn't know the turtle had an official name.  We had given him our own affectionate name, which was Çully. So,  now that we know he's Mr. Pickles, we're wondering if the cardinal can be named Cully?
Thanks for your consideration of our suggestion!
Emily Geizer

Who has the right to name a commissioned work of  art? 

Last week we reported that Durham Central Park was looking for a name for its big red bird. Artist Michael Waller installed it last week up from the metalworks, across from Mr. Pickles, the box turtle.

We announced the Durham News would outfit the winning name-sender's family or friends in nifty Durham Central Park T-shirts and invited readers to send us suggestions on this blog or to editor@nando.com. One mom quickly sent in her 4-year-old son's suggestion: Frankie.

But Waller says he and partner Leah Foushee already had a name for the acrylic-reinforced concrete cardinal: Phat Ryan.

"No one went to DaVinci and said 'We're going to rename the Mona Lisa,' " he said. "Not that the cardinal's the Mona Lisa."

Berry said she told Waller she wanted the community to have an opportunity to name the bird, which the park paid for with grant money.

"I can appreciate their affection for what they created,' she said. "That [name] is not one we would have chosen."

Read more in Saturday's Durham News.

Bull's Eye has a little egg on its face today. (What color are cardinal eggs, anyway?)

Turns out the big red bird installed last week at Durham Central Park already has a name.

Leah Foushee, co-manager of WallerFoushee Studios, e-mailed to say that her partner, Michael Waller, had already named his cardinal sculpture "Phat Ryan." (There's another story in that, I'm sure.)

We checked with park director Camille Berry before running our story but were unable to reach her today. I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding, but I apologize to readers and to Waller for getting it wrong.We'll try Berry again tomorrow and see if there's still a way we can give away some Central Park T-shirts.

In the meantime, read our story, check out the bird and enjoy the park.

CORRECTION:The big red bird has a name. Do NOT enter contest below. See update here.

Mr. Pickles has a new neighbor.

Liberty Arts artist Michael Waller installed a giant cardinal on the slope outside the metalworks on Foster Street yesterday. (We have a story coming in Saturday's Durham News.) It sits across the sidewalk from the giant box turtle (that would be Mr. Pickles), just up from the rusted metal bridge over Ellerbe Creek.

Thing is, the bird doesn't haver a name. So tell us in 25 words or less what you think Durham should call its big red bird. We'll give all the suggestions to park director Camille Berry. If the park board picks your suggestion, we'll buy you and your friends or family up to five Central Park T-shirts. The winner will be announced April 4. Send your suggestions to us at editor@nando.com or just post them here on the blog.