20th Annual Parade of Playhomes Fundraiser

Saussy Burbank, one of the builders here in Briar Chapel, is participating in the 20th Annual Parade of Playhomes Fundraiser going on now.

Their entry, "Firehouse #1" (pictured here) is on display until April 7th at The Streets at Southpoint in Durham, and at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham from April 9-May 6, 2012.

This custom playhome, along with one other, is being raffled off and a third playhome will be auctioned off on eBay. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to local organizations that help prevent child abuse.

For details on the raffle and auction, or to see photos of the other two entries, visit the Parade of Playhomes website.

Briar Chapel's "Best Buddy" Contest Ends April 15th

Do you love Briar Chapel and living a green lifestyle? If so, Newland (the developer) is running a fun "Best Buddy" contest to encourage you to share your enthusiasm with others through YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, personal blogs, and other social media outlets.

Although the contest started on March 2nd, you still have until April 15th to participate. Here is how it works... each week, you will have the opportunity to earn a maximum of 50 points by completing various tasks, such as checking in on FourSquare at the Bark Park. Up to 25 of these points can be earned by completing challenges posted on Newland's blog each week, which are mandatory. The other 25 points can be earned by promoting the community through a number of different methods mentioned here.

Participants with the most points each week will be rewarded with iTunes cards, certificates to local restaurants, gas cards, and the like. The Grand Prize winner will win a “Buddy” scooter at the Earth Day Celebration on April 21st, similar to the one pictured above.

For official contest rules and registration information, visit Newland's blog.

Homes Sales Up 35% in the Triangle

Over the past few weeks, there have been a number of indications that consumer confidence continues to improve.

First, there was the report that Warren Buffett was bullish on real estate.

Then, Bloomberg reported that consumer confidence rose to a four-year high, which seems to coincide with gains in employment and a rally in stock prices.

Better-than-estimated economic reports sent the S&P's 500 Index over 1,400 for the first time in almost four years, and gave the Dow Jones Industrial Average its longest rally in 13 months.

Most recently, our local News & Observer ran a cover story showing the Triangle had its strongest sales jump in four years in February and home sales are up 35 percent over 2011. We have certainly felt the surge in activity at Briar Chapel - what are you waiting for?!?

Course Map Now Available for 2012 Briar Chapel 5K

The 2012 Briar Chapel 5K is six weeks away... still plenty of time to get prepared!

This year's race follows a brand-new, USATF-certified, scenic course throughout Briar Chapel. Why certified, you might ask? Well, courses must be certified for any road running performance to be accepted as a record or to be ranked nationally. Furthermore, running a race on a certified course allows you to accurately compare your time to performances run on other certified courses because you can be sure the distances were the same. No one can truly establish a personal best if the course distance is not accurate.

For more information about registering for the race and the Earth Day celebration afterwards, please see my previous post.

To download a larger copy of the course map above, visit the Abundance Foundation's website. All proceeds from the race benefit this great organization.