Wake Forest’s Cash Mob – friends of downtown and assorted other town residents – has been helping merchants in the historic White Street area for over a year. They will set out again on Saturday, Jan. 18, after meeting at 4 p.m. in front of town hall. $20 bills clutched in their hot little hands, they will walk to the selected business – unknown until that moment – and help to make that merchant a very happy man or woman. The goal is to spend at least $20 – and most of them spend more. This is a grassroots and fun event that helps support all of the downtown area. After the spending spree, the mob goes to one of the downtown restaurants, which will also give that business a boost. You can like the mob on Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Downtown-Wake-Forest-CashMob/418388088256076?ref=hl and share our posts. They are also on Twitter

Families or individuals who are interested in becoming homeowners through Habitat for Humanity of Wake County’s program are invited to attend one or more of the orientation and information sessions scheduled in February and March. Habitat will build five new homes in Wake Forest’s East End during 2014. One will be built with the support and partnership of The Body Shop, an international firm whose headquarters for the Americas is in Wake Forest. More Wake Forest and area sponsors and volunteers are needed to help Habitat achieve its goals to positively impact the town and make affordable housing a reality for hard-working families. Habitat has built 25 homes in Wake Forest since 1992 and recently completed 12 exterior repairs on homes close to downtown. Seven more exterior repair projects are planned for 2014. Called A Brush with Kindness the repairs are done by volunteers. The information sessions will all be

Mayor Vivian Jones will deliver her 2014 State of the Town address during a dinner on Monday, Feb. 17, in the new Wake Forest Renaissance Center in Renaissance Plaza in downtown Wake Forest The dinner is sponsored by the Wake Forest Rotary Club and will begin at 6 p.m. Jones will highlight the town’s accomplishments in 2013 and describe the goals she and the town commissioners and staff will strive for this year. All area residents are invited to attend this event. Tickets are $15 per person in advance and $20 at the door. Tickets can be purchased online with a Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover credit card at www.wakeforestnc.gov/ticket-events.aspx. They are also available at the Parks and Recreation Department window in the Wake Forest Town Hall lobby. Cash, checks and credit cards will be accepted there, and a $2.95 processing fee will be added to credit card purchases.

Come to MargaRELAYville! The kickoff celebration for Northern Wake Relay For Life is Thursday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church at 830 Durham Road. The public is invited to attend. Snacks and refreshments will be provided.      The celebration is open to anyone interested in fighting cancer and learning more about the American Cancer Society’s efforts to find a cure while supporting survivors. Cancer survivors, their supporters, as well as current and former team members and captains are urged to attend in preparation for Relay 2014, planned for Friday, May 16, at Heritage High School. For more details, email Melissa Kobelinski at kobelinski@cancer.org, call Marty Coward at 919-556-6870 or go online to www.NorthernWakeRelay.org.

If you are spinach or kale or bok choy, you really, really do not like cold near zero. If your grower has protected you and kept you from freezing to a crisp, you are still unhappy and refuse to grow. The result? No spinach or kale or bok choy in the vendor booths at the Wake Forest Farmers Market last week. Greens lovers are hoping the current milder weather will mean they can buy some of their favorites at this Saturday’s market, Jan. 18, from 10 a.m. to noon. Regardless of the greens situation, you will find a wonderful array of meats, everything from Andouille sausage to rabbit, and there are the fresh ground coffee, the cheese, the eggs, the knitted goods, the wooden stools and tables – and always a surprise of some kind. The market is open with winter hours, 10 a.m. to noon, every Saturday through December,