The Wake Forest Rotary Club and the Wake Forest High School Band Boosters both help children in direct ways, and they need money to do it. They have teamed up with a fun-filled fundraiser, Comedy Night, which this year, the fourth installment, will be held at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre on Saturday, March 8, from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $25 each and only 300 are available. You can buy them from members of the two organizations or at The Cotton Company and NC Specialty Shops on South White Street in Wake Forest’s downtown or at Green & Wooten Insurance, 10433 Ligon Mill Road. That witty weatherman Greg Fishel from WRAL will be the evening’s emcee. The featured comedians are Andy Forrester and John Felts. The Wake Forest High School Jazz Band will provide the music. Food? Lots of hors d’oeuvres donated by local restaurants with a cash

The Wake Forest Youth Advisory Board will collect clean, gently used coats and jackets from Saturday, March 1, through Monday, March 31, as part of a community service project.   Coats of all shapes and sizes are welcome and may be dropped off at one of the following area locations: ·         Franklin Academy Middle School, 1127 Chalk Road, Wake Forest ·         Franklin Academy High School, 648 Flaherty Ave., Wake Forest ·         Forest Pines Elementary School, 11455 Forest Pines Dr., Raleigh ·         Heritage Elementary School, 3500 Rogers Road, Wake Forest ·         Heritage Middle School, 3400 Rogers Road, Wake Forest ·         Heritage High School, 1150 Forestville Road, Wake Forest ·         Kerr Family YMCA, 2500 Wakefield Pines Dr., Raleigh ·         North Forest Pines Elementary School, 11501 Forest Pines Dr., Raleigh ·         Rolesville Baptist Church, 203 E. Young St., Rolesville ·         Rolesville Middle School, 4700 Burlington Mills Road, Rolesville ·         Rolesville High School, 1099

Someone is going to win $10,000 Friday night, March 21, when the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce hosts it Reverse Raffle at The Renaissance Centre. There are fewer than 50 tickets left — $125 admits two people – so hurry to the chamber office at 50 South White Street to purchase yours. Tickets include heavy hors d’oeurves. Dress is semi-formal. The event runs from 6 to 8 p.m.

“We are looking for new members to come on board and help us plan for the 2014 festivities,” Fourth Chairman Rhonda Alderman said. Anyone who is interested and has questions can ask them of her at fireworklady@aol.com. The next committee meeting is Monday, March 3, at 6:30 p.m. in one of the side rooms at The Forks on Brooks Street. You can also join by going to this meeting. You can thank Don and Karen, the Forks’ owners, for allowing this committee and all the other civic groups who use the rooms for free by buying your evening meal Monday before going to the meeting. Wake Forest’s Fourth of July celebration is an entirely volunteer operation. Volunteers plan the stadium fireworks show on the evening of July 3 and the children’s parade and Art-in-the-Park and Games-in-the-Park on July 4. The Town of Wake Forest helps with a donation but the

As the Wake Forest Farmers Market moves into March, the last month of the winter market hours from 10 a.m. to noon, seasonal produce is still iffy, dependent on the few warm days in a cold winter. But vendors continue to have good supplies of eggs and meat. Shoppers can also find honey, coffee, baked goods of all varieties, handmade jewelry, soap, cheese and wood crafts. As the weather warms – which it will – more vendors will return to the market each week. You will find the market and all the vendors every Saturday in the OneCare Inc. parking lot behind CVS along North White Street from 10 a.m. to noon. The winter hours will continue through March. For more about the market, go to Facebook or www.wakeforestfarmersmarket.org or call 919-671-9269.  

On two Friday evenings in March, the kindergarten through 12th-grade students from the Lighthouse Christian Homeschool Association will exhibit their artwork at the Wake Forest Arts office at 205 Brooks Street. On Friday, March 7, the show will be open from 6:30 to 8 p.m., and on Friday, March 14, which is also the night for the downtown art stroll, Art After Hours, the show will be open from 5 to 8 p.m. For the March 14 showing, Wake Forest Arts board members will offer refreshments and information about local arts programming. For more information, visit www.wakeforestarts.org.

The next Rabies and Microchip Clinic at the Northern Regional Center on East Holding Avenue will be Saturday, April 5, from 9 a.m. to noon. This is always a popular semi-annual event held in conjunction with the Wake County Animal Center. It is also a good way to get your picture on the NRC Facebook page. The rabies shots are $5 and the microchip shots are 420. All dogs must be on a leash and all cats must be in carriers. Cash only, please. http://www.wakegov.com/pets/events/Pages/default.aspx

The Wake Forest Farmers Market will be open from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 1, in the parking lot behind CVS. * * * * The Wake Forest Mardi Gras Street Festival & Renaissance Ball will fill downtown during the day and the Renaissance Centre during the evening of Saturday, March 1. See article in this week’s issue for details. * * * * Get your tickets now for a night of fun at Comedy Night sponsored by the Wake Forest Rotary Club and the Wake Forest High School Band Boosters. WRAL’s Greg Fischel will be the emcee on Saturday, March 8, from 6:30 to 10 p.m. at the Renaissance Centre. Tickets are $25 each. See details in this week’s issue. * * * * Go bald for a good cause at St. Baldrick’s on Saturday, March 8. The event to raise funds to find cures for childhood cancers

If the information listed below is incorrect, please email the editor at cwpelosi@aol.com with the correct information. * American Legion Post 187 meets the second Thursday at 7 p.m. in the American Legion Hall at 225 East Holding Avenue. The dinner begins at 6 p.m. and costs $5. For information and membership, call Commander Dave Goetze at 569-0471 or visit www.alpost187.org. * American Heritage Girls (AHG) meets at 6:30 p.m. at Hope Lutheran Church on Rogers Road on the second and fourth Thursdays. Contact Amy Minor at chrisnamy34@hotmail.com or see the website, www.hopelutheranwf.org. * The General James Moore Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution meets the third Tuesday but does not meet in June, July and August. Call 880-1915 for the location and time. * The Kiwanis Club of Wake Forest meets at The Forks Cafeteria every Thursday at 7:15 a.m. There are speakers at each meeting except