Play Durham

10/04/2026

Check out Bull City Woodshop and Bike Durham at Move-a-Bull Durham at Central Park today!

10/01/2026

Everyone in Durham should be able to get where they're going. But most of our bus stops have nowhere to sit.

Think about someone just off a long shift. A parent with a toddler on her hip. A rider with a cane, twenty minutes into a wait, standing the whole time. A seat matters most to the people who rely on it.
On the Bench is a partnership between Bike Durham, Bull City Woodshop, and Play Durham. We build wooden benches by hand and install them at Durham bus stops that need them. Forty-nine are out there now. Every one was built by a volunteer, by one of your neighbors.

Durham has more than 850 bus stops, and most them leave riders standing. The city and GoTriangle are improving stops, but those projects can stretch on for long periods of waiting. That's no comfort to someone waiting for the Route 4 today.

Permanent fixes take years. You can make someone comfortable today.

Your first gift to On the Bench is matched!

Text "ONTHEBENCH" to 44-321 to donate, or visit this link:
https://www.playdurham.com/bench/

A donor is matching every new gift through midnight on November 30, up to $37,000. Hit that, and the campaign brings in $74,000: enough to build, install, and maintain 240 more benches over the next two years.

A bench costs about $300 to build, install, and keep in good repair for its whole life. With the match, $150 puts one at a stop.

Thank you!

09/30/2026

Check out this cool event by Bike Durham this weekend!

09/27/2026

Senior PharmAssist vs Urban Ministries of Durham today!

09/26/2026

Congratulations to the Red Hot Herrings for winning the 2026 Durham Wiffle Ball championship! They defeated a solid Greenwich Bean Time team 6-2 in the final. Game video will be posted soon!

The season is over, but we still have a few more spots open in our Parent /Kid Wiffle Tournament on November 14.

https://playdurham.com/product/parent-kid-wiffle-ball-tournament-registration/

I'm also working on adding a short Winter schedule, so we will play more Wiffle Ball this year!

09/21/2026

From one Bull City Little League team to another. Thanks to Greg, Sergio, Alex, and the entire BCLL team for the special tribute this weekend, we will be sending our donation soon.

If you'd also like to help Keegan's family, please visit:
https://mealtrain.com/7521n9

09/20/2026

North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence vs Urban Ministries of Durham today!

09/18/2026

Softball on Sunday!

With the rainout last week, there is nothing much to update for softball, so you'll get a story, instead.

One of the cooler programs we've started this year is On The Bench, a partnership with Bull City Woodshop and Bike Durham. The program is designed to build and distribute locally-made wood benches to bus stops that need them in Durham, NC. “On the Bench” hopes to improve conditions for our public transit system and provide a solution to a significant problem in the community, while also spreading awareness for our charity partners.

As of September 15, 2026, we have 49 Bus Benches installed and active in Durham. Photos and maps are available here:
playdurham.com/bench

In January, I had an idea and figured I'd make a few benches myself. Yada yada yada, eight months later, hundreds of people have helped build the "Play NC Bench" and we're on pace to have more than 70 benches installed at bus stops by the end of our first year. The program has been extremely well received, with more than $2,500 in individual donations and $9,000 in grant funding received, so far.

To build suspense, I'm going to leave it vague, but we have a big offer for matching donations and we'll be fundraising for the program in October and November. If you want to donate any amount of money to a charity by the end of the year, I hope you'll consider On The Bench. We also have at least two more build dates at Bull City Woodshop this year; if you can't donate money, come help us make more benches!

On The Bench has been a big part of my year and the initial feedback and momentum with the program reminds me of the early seasons of Durham Softball, so I'm excited to see where it goes over the next few years. More information coming soon!

Free b**r at Bralies for all players on Sundays!

Play ball, y'all!
Ryan Mentock

09/17/2026

Happening right now at Hi-Wire!

Will we be seeing you at Hi-Wire today? Make some time to drop in between 4:30-7:30! Grab a drink, get a ticket to vote, vote for the BCW, and help us win $5,000!

09/03/2026

Last week, I announced that we were about $425 short of hitting our donation goal for Vets to Vets United, Inc. Record setting performance, high bar to start with, but still just a bit short.

Then Crystal and Michael DeWeese offered to match $250 in donations to make sure we hit our goal.

Then 6 other people donated a total of $245.

Then Crystal and Mike just said that they would pay the whole thing, and added another $175.

We're at $670 in total donations to Vets to Vets, only counting donations received AFTER the donation drive event. Crazy. That would have set a record the first year of our event, but now we're well above our goal for the first time in six tries!

Thanks so much to Crystal, Mike, and everyone else. If you still want to donate to Cora, our sponsored service dog for 2026, or earmark donations to any Play NC projects, click here!
https://playdurham.com/product/donate/