Graduation Weekend in Durham To Bustle With Activity

Duke and North Carolina Central Universities are both holding graduation celebrations this weekend in Durham.  Invariably, the weekend is busy as evidenced by the occupancy rates at hotels and the scarcity of local restaurant reservations.

Duke will award more than 4,900 undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees during its annual commencement ceremony; NCCU will award approximately over 900 degrees during  their  various commencement ceremonies, as well.

Fareed Zakaria, journalist, author and foreign policy advisor, will deliver the commencement address at Duke.  NCCU's Friday speaker will be Warren Ballentine, noted attorney, motivational speaker and radio talk show host. Saturday's speaker will be The Rev. Dr. William Barber II, president of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP.

Aside from commencement ceremonies, the weekend will be filled with revelry of all manner from sponsored university celebration events to families dining out in Durham. Most of Durham's top ranked and celebrated restaurants are nearly completely booked.

About 14,000 people are expected to visit Duke's campus to attend the main commencement exercise and other ceremonies, according to Duke’s Office of Special Events and University Ceremonies, which oversees graduation weekend planning. NCCU estimates 10,000 attendees throughout the weekend.

The Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau estimates the economic impact of Duke's graduation alone - through sales of food, hotel rooms, retail items, gasoline, car rentals and entertainment - will be about $5.8 million, said Shelly Green, CEO of the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“Graduation weekend has always been an important event for Durham,” Green said. “The thousands of parents, friends and family members who attend leave a substantial economic impact on the community.”