The Town of Wake Forest is pleased to announce the launch of its redesigned website at www.wakeforestnc.gov. The new website aligns with Goal 2 of the town’s strategic plan aimed at enhancing a connected community. The town’s new site offers a more functional and responsive design, which means the site is resizable for any screen, including any mobile device for mobile web users. The citizen-friendly site is American Disability Act compliant and features a prominent, modern search engine component designed to make it easier for anyone seeking information about the Town of Wake Forest. The site also offers improved navigation menus, friendly URLs, embedded photo galleries and videos, social media integration, online forms and payment ability, interactive maps featuring dining options and places of worship, mobile phone/tablet accessibility, and printer-friendly pages. One of the new website’s signature features is the “Contact Us” button. The navigation button – one of four

Area residents are invited to attend the 10th Wake Forest Memorial Flag-Raising Ceremony on Monday, April 4, at 11 a.m. The program will take place in Centennial Plaza, in front of the Wake Forest Town Hall, 301 S. Brooks St. The April 4 service will honor Richard Maxey who served his nation in the U.S. Marines. Members of Maxey’s family have been invited to participate in the ceremony which will include patriotic songs, special remarks, a memorial wreath laying and the ceremonial flag-raising. Following the raising of the American flag, the U.S. Marines service flag will be raised in recognition of the military branch in which Maxey served. Both flags will fly in Centennial Plaza throughout April. Photographs and other remembrances of Maxey will also be displayed in Centennial Plaza during the ceremony, then in the town hall lobby through the end of April. Presented by local veterans’ organizations to

The Wake Forest Youth in Government Advisory Board will collect clean, gently used coats and jackets throughout March 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: Heritage Elementary School, 3500 Rogers Road Heritage Middle School, 3400 Rogers Road Heritage High School, 1150 Forestville Road Rolesville Middle School, 4700 Burlington Mills Road, Rolesville Rolesville High School, 1099 E. Young St., Rolesville Wake Forest Elementary School, 136 W. Sycamore Ave. Wake Forest High School, 420 Stadium Dr. Wake Forest Town Hall, 301 S. Brooks St. The Youth Advisory Board’s coat drive is an easy way for area residents to pass along coats and jackets they no longer need. All donated coats will be given to the Wake Forest Boys & Girls Club for distribution to local people in need. The Youth in Government

The Town of Wake Forest will launch a free outdoor music series in its historic downtown on Friday, April 8. Presented by White Street Brewing Co., “Friday Night on White” will take place along South White Street from 6-9 p.m. on the second Friday night of each month from April through September. The Magic Pipers Band will kick off the concert series on April 8, followed by Brickhouse on May 13, The Will McBride Group on June 10, Stone Age Romeos on July 8, The Remedy on Aug. 12, and Crush on Sept. 9. Food and refreshments will be available for purchase at several downtown restaurants. A variety of food and dessert trucks will also be on site in the parking lot of Fidelity Bank, 231 S. White St. and along Owen Avenue. Food and dessert trucks scheduled to participate on April 8 include Bam Pow Chow, Charlie’s Kabob Grill

The Town of Wake Forest is offering area residents and businesses the opportunity to protect themselves from identity theft and dispose of confidential documents in an environmentally responsible way by hosting a free “Shred-It” event on Friday, April 15. The event will take place from noon to 7 p.m. – or until the shred truck is full – in the parking lot of the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre at 405 Brooks Street. There is a limit of four “banker-box” sized boxes or four large bags of paper per household or business and a limit of one trip per household. The shredded paper will be recycled, so participants are urged to help reduce contamination by removing all non-paper materials in advance, such as plastic binders, plastic folders and metal tabs. In addition, items that can damage the equipment will not be accepted. Prohibited items include wet or moist paper, hanging file

The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources (PRCR) Department and the Recreation Advisory Board are joining 13 parks and recreation departments across our state to host a North Carolina Recreation & Park Association (NCRPA) Recre8 5k on Saturday, April 16. This family-friendly event will start and finish at E. Carroll Joyner Park at 701 Harris Road. Check-in on the day of the race starts at 8 a.m. and the race begins at 9:30 a.m. Registration is available online through April 14 at www.ncparkrun.com/#!wake-fores/o1nd3. The entry fee is $35 before March 31; and $45 from April 1-14. Everyone who registers before April 4 will receive a race T-shirt. Registrations will not be accepted on the day of the race. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, from Thursday, March 17, through Sunday, March 20, the first 300 people to register and enter the promo code “GREEN” will receive $5 off the

*The Wake Forest Farmers Market will be open in Renaissance Plaza on Saturday, March 26, with its usual winter hours, 10 a.m. to noon. *Retail 101, a free workshop offered by the Town of Wake Forest, will be held at the Renaissance Centre Thursday, March 31, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. with a light breakfast included. You are urged to register in advance. See article in this week’s issue. *Who knew that dirt could win an award? Wake Forest’s Dirt Day was judged the best new street festival in North Carolina towns recently. You can enjoy it all, from digging for sharks teeth to learning the best new gardening techniques on Saturday, April 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. along historic South White Street. *Everyone is invited to the grand opening of Wake Forest Fire Department’s Station #4 along with the christening of Engine #4 on Sunday, April 3,