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Friends of Dorothea Dix Park Weekly Newsletter

May 18, 2007

Hello Friends,
Welcome to the 14th edition of our weekly newsletter. Please pass this along to all of your friends and ask them to become involved!  Our goal is to keep all our members up-to-date on the recent developments related to Dix Park. Please email any additions that you’d like to include in next week’s issue.

#1  DIX PARK IN THE NEWS!

#2  DIX PARK ROUNDTABLE THIS MONDAY – PLEASE ATTEND!

#3  FDDP TO HOST FUNDRAISER NEXT MONTH

#4  PUBLIC FORUM HELD YESTERDAY TO DISCUSS DIX PARK

#1  DIX PARK IN THE NEWS

The Charlotte Observer, 5/13/2007, A chance to make new history, by Jack Betts               

http://www.charlotte.com/291 /story/119981.html

NBC17, 5/15/2007, Groups Push for Parks at Dorothea Dix Site, by Brian DeRoy     

http://www.nbc17.com/midatlanti c/ncn/news.apx.-content -articles-NCN-2007-05-15-0010 .html

#2  DIX PARK ROUNDTABLE THIS MONDAY – PLEASE ATTEND!

The Greater Raleigh Merchants Association is presenting a public roundtable about the future of the Dix property.  FDDP and DIX306 will be represented and it will be held this Monday, May 21 at 6 p.m.

Where: The Raleigh City Council Chambers located in the Avery C. Upchurch Municipal Building at 222 West Hargett St.

This is a great chance to learn about the park plan and where we currently stand. The event is open to the public, so bring your friends and neighbors, we want to see a room full of park supporters!

#3  FDDP TO HOST FUNDRAISER NEXT MONTH

FDDP will host a fundraiser event on Tuesday, June 26.  Stay tuned to the newsletter for the location.  This is one of the most important events for our campaign.  We hope to see an outpouring of support!  Please contact any member of the board to pledge your support NOW!

#4  PUBLIC FORUM HELD THURSDAY TO DISCUSS DIX PARK

A public forum was held Thursday evening by the Discussion Group on City Space (organizer & facilitator: Zeke Creech) at Player's Retreat to discuss the creation of a destination park on the Dorothea Dix Campus and possible financing options.

The public was encouraged to come and share their voice (pro or con) on the issue of a park and the types of financing options available.  Brief presentations were given by: Mack Paul (partner, Kennedy Covington law firm) who laid out a variety of possible financing options; and Bill Padgett (member and organizer of DIX306) who provided an update on DIX306 activities and what he views as the most promising financing options. About 25 attended the discussion.

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Thank you for your continued support! Please contact us at this email address if you have any questions or would like to become involved.

-FDDP Board

Friends of Dorothea Dix Park – working together to share our vision of a world-class destination park – it's the right thing to do for your children, your economic vitality and your quality of life.

Please check out the Dix Park Online Store for t-shirts, hats, mugs and car magnets, http://cafepress.com/dixpark.  For yard signs and a list of pick-up points please visit www.dix306.org.

To subscribe to this listserv please visit http://www.dixpark.org/join _email.htm and fill out the online form.

Friends of Dorothea Dix Park (FDDP), founded in 2004, is a 501(c)3 organization made up of thousands of individuals and more than 30 member organizations whose mission is to preserve the Dorothea Dix Campus as a world-class destination park.  FDDP is dedicated to educating people across North Carolina about the value of preserving the land as a destination park and why it is the right thing to do for our children, our economic stability and our overall quality of life.  For more information about FDDP, its people, plans and vision, please visit