Mayor Vivian Jones will deliver her 2016 State of the Town address on Monday, Feb. 15, at 6 p.m. during the Eighth Annual State of the Town Address and Dinner. Presented by the Wake Forest Rotary Club, the event will be held at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre for the Arts, 405 Brooks Street During her remarks, Mayor Jones will highlight the town’s key accomplishments in 2015 and outline the goals Wake Forest will strive towards in 2016. All area residents are invited to attend this special event. Tickets are $15 per person in advance and $20 on the day of the event and include a catered meal. Dress for the event is business casual. Tickets can be purchased online with a Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover credit card at www.wakeforestnc.gov/state-of-the-town.aspx. Tickets may also be purchased at the Renaissance Centre Box Office with cash, check or credit card. A

Once again the Wake Forest Rotary Club and the Wake Forest High School Band Boosters are teaming up to keep you roaring with laughter during A Night of Comedy on Saturday, Feb. 27. From 6:30 to 10:30 at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre, they will provide comedians – will WRAL-TV’s Greg Fischel be back as emcee? – live music, heavy hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar, raffles and a silent auction. It is of course designed to separate you from some of your money, money they two organizations will split to help run their charities and events. The entertainment is the honey, and it is a great way to spend a cold Saturday night. Tickets are $30 each, but only 250 are available so act quickly. You will find all that information at www.wakeforestcomedynight.com.

On Saturday, May 14, the Wake Forest Garden Club will host its Mad Hatters Tea Party & Art Market at the Wake Forest Historical Museum, 414 North Main Street. The tea will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and includes a plated afternoon tea with optional garden seminars featuring Christina Harvey from the Audubon Society and Helen Yoest, a garden journalist, at 10 and 11 am. Tickets are $15 and are available at The Cotton Company and Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce ahead of the event and the museum the day of event. There is no charge for the outdoor activities. Shop the art market from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and browse through pottery, paintings, jewelry, candles, fabric arts and plants. A car show will feature classic cars owned by local car aficionados. Enjoy an ensemble from the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra during the day as well. Proceeds

The Town of Wake Forest is again recruiting friendly, outgoing volunteers to greet and help direct customers visiting town hall. In November 2010 Wake Forest introduced the Guest Services Desk in the lobby of town hall. Open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., the counter is managed by volunteers who greet visitors in person and on the telephone, help direct them to their destination and perform other responsibilities as needed. About 20 area residents currently participate in the Guest Services Volunteer program. Most are recent retirees and senior adults looking for opportunities to give back to their community. Guest services volunteers are expected to work at least two three-hour shifts per month. Volunteers must also participate in mandatory training where they will learn about guest services desk responsibilities, participate in a brief tour of town hall, and complete and submit a background check form. Guest services volunteer

For people who want to make a difference in the Wake Forest community and learn more about that community, seats on the town’s advisory boards is a wonderful opportunity. This January there are vacancies on four of those boards: the Cemetery Advisory Board, the Cultural Resources Advisory Board, the Recreation Advisory Board and the Urban Forestry Board. All Wake Forest residents and its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) are eligible to apply for these openings. Applications may be completed and submitted online at www.wakeforestnc.gov/advisory-boards.aspx. Application forms are also available at the Wake Forest Town Hall, 301 Brooks Street. Completed applications will be accepted until 5 p.m., Friday, Jan. 29, and may be mailed or delivered to Town Clerk Deeda Harris, Wake Forest Town Hall, 301 S. Brooks St., Wake Forest, NC 27587 or faxed to 919-435-9419. Applicants will be expected to attend the February meeting of the advisory board to which they

*The Wake Forest Farmers Market will be open in Renaissance Plaza on Saturday, Jan. 30, with its usual winter hours, 10 a.m. to noon. *The Wake Forest Historical Association’s annual membership meeting will be held Sunday, Jan. 31, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Wake Forest Historical Museum. A new board member and officers will be elected. Michelle Michael, a senior planner with the Town of Wake Forest, will provide an update about the rehabilitation/renovation of the Ailey Young House. This was postponed on Jan. 24 because of Winter Storm Jonas *There will be no Wake Forest Planning Board meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 2, because of a lack of items ready for review. However, the Wake Forest Town Board will hold its regular work session that night at 5:30 p.m. and it will be broadcast on Channel 10; *The Wake Forest Town Board will hold its annual winter planning