Casablanca Orchestra, a touring show band based in Minnesota, will headline the third concert in the annual Six Sundays in Spring event sponsored by Wake Forest ARTS, the Town of Wake Forest and United Arts of Raleigh and Wake County. Sunday’s audience can expect a fast-moving exhibition of showmanship and music that covers all the popular genres. Energetic choreography, wardrobe changes, dancing in the aisles – the group of vocalists plus musicians playing a keyboard, guitar, bass, drums and three horns. The concert runs from 5 to 7 p.m. with the winners of the Wake Forest Has Talent competition performing at intermission. Food and refreshments will be available for purchase, but concert goers may also bring a picnic. Alcoholic beverages, along with gas and charcoal grills are not allowed. Park visitors are reminded that firearms and unleashed pets are also prohibited. Other acts scheduled to perform during this year’s concert

Ken Berger, a nationally recognized sportswriter for The Columbia (S.C.) Record now retired, will speak about his career during what many consider to be the heyday of sports journalism on Sunday, May 17, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Wake Forest Historical Museum. The museum on North Main Street is currently hosting a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit, Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America. The exhibit and the Ken Berger program are both free. Berger called himself an “accidental sports writer” because, as a new college graduate, he hardly knew which baseball teams were in the National League or the American League. But he was a natural storyteller with a down home vocabulary and a knack for listening. He gave his readers what he describes as “literature in a hurry.” He was honored as South Carolina’s Journalist of the Year in 1996 and was named three times by the Associated

Wake Electric is now accepting applications for two different grant programs for public school teachers, Bright Ideas and Classroom Technology. Public school K-12 teachers in Durham, Franklin, Granville, Johnston, Nash, Vance and Wake counties can apply for the Bright Ideas education grants of up to $3,000 for the 2015-2016 school year. Teachers in K-12 public school classrooms with creative ideas for hands-on learning projects are encouraged to apply. Grant applications will be accepted from April 1 through September 15 at 5 p.m. All teachers who submit their applications by the early bird deadline of August 15 will be entered into a drawing for one of five $100 gift cards. Teachers can apply individually or as a team, and grants are available for all subjects. To apply visit www.wemc.com/brightideas.aspx. Classroom Technology grants of up to $3,000 will be awarded to area K-12 public school teachers as well as community college teachers.

Start your visit to the Wake Forest Farmers Market Saturday by stopping by Market Manager Robin Hendricks’ booth to sample some of the sweet strawberries that are on sale this Saturday, and remember to get a raffle ticket for a market basket full of items from the farmers, bakers and crafters at the market plus gift cards from Farm Table Restaurant & Bar, B&W Hardware Store and a gift bag from Wake Forest Downtown. The market will be open from 8 a.m. to noon in front of the Renaissance Centre in Renaissance Plaza on Brooks Street. Hendricks supplies a tent for children to play and make art, and the music will be by Dry Bread Road. Make sure you check out the new vendors such as Heritage Seafood with shrimp, scallops, crab and fish depending on what is in season at Wrightsville Beach, Hampstead and Beaufort, the fresh doggie treats

Four future transit plan options for Wake County are being developed and will be unveiled to the public during a series of “Choose Our Transit” events in May. The Town of Wake Forest will host one of these events in town hall’s ground floor meeting room on Wednesday, May 13, at 6 p.m. The room is most easily accessed via the Taylor Street entrance to town hall. “We are excited about engaging with the public at these events, as well as others that will be held throughout the summer,” said Wake County Board of Commissioners Chair James West. “Public feedback is such an important part of this phase because we want the final recommendation for transit investment to reflect our community’s voice, and be beneficial for Wake County as a whole.” More than 3,900 people provided feedback on the Transit Choices Report between January and March 2015. This input, in conjunction with

Better Business Bureau serving Eastern North Carolina is pleased to offer the Spring 2015 BBB Torch Scholarship in the amount of $5,000. Applications are now being accepted for this semi-annual essay scholarship program which recognizes students who personify high ethics as demonstrated through leadership, community service, overall personal integrity and academic history. To be eligible, students must submit a 400-500 word essay, along with an application, transcript and a letter of recommendation from a BBB Accredited Business. Completed application packets are due by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12, 2015. Torch Scholarships are given to college-bound high school juniors, seniors, and college undergraduates who reside within BBB of Eastern North Carolina’s 33-county service area. A scholarship prize of $5,000 will be awarded. Applications will be evaluated by an independent panel of judges from business communities in eastern North Carolina. For more information, including the essay topic, an application form, letter

Some of the preparations for the construction of a new bridge on Forestville Road over Sanford Creek have begun. Wake Electric closed the Song Sparrow Drive entrance to Thornrose subdivision today, May 6, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to install conduit for the utility relocation required as part of the bridge construction. Blythe Construction is scheduled to begin work on that bridge on Wednesday, July 1. As the Gazette reported in the April 15 issue, the schedule for replacing three bridges in Wake Forest has changed again. A fourth replacement project, the bridge over Horse Creek on Purnell Road, is underway and should be finished in midsummer. The three bridges are those over Sanford Creek on Forestville Road, over Richland Creek on West Oak Avenue/Wall Road, and over Smith Creek on Rogers Road. The Forestville Road replacement project was scheduled to begin this month but has now been pushed

*A public meeting for comments about Impediments to Fair Housing Choice will be held Thursday, May 7, from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Northern Regional Center on East Holding Avenue. Wake County, the City of Raleigh, the Town of Cary, the Raleigh Housing Authority and the Housing Authority of Wake County are sponsoring a series of meetings throughout the county. See article in this issue for the other meetings. *The streets in the town’s historic downtown district will be alive with visitors, shoppers and music Friday night, May 8, from 5 to 9 p.m. during Art After Hours. See article in this week’s issues for the events in the shops and studios. *The Wake Forest Farmers Market will be open from 8 a.m. to noon in Renaissance Plaza on Brooks Street this Saturday, May 9. *Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America, a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution, will