May is Building Safety Month and the Town of Wake Forest Inspections Department is launching the observance with a “Building Safety Month Kick-Off Event” on Saturday, April 30. The free event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Town & Country Hardware, 910 Gateway Commons Circle. The kick-off event will include free hot dogs (while they last), games, prizes, and the Wake Forest Fire Department’s Fire Safety House. The Fire Safety House is used to teach children how to safely evacuate their home in the event of fire. Inspections staff will also be on hand throughout the event to answer questions about building safety, best practices, and the building permit process. Area residents are invited to come out and learn about the services the department offers, including Express Residential Plan Review, and talk one-on-one with town inspectors about building safety, codes, and inspections as they pertain to common

A Quarter Frenzy on Sunday, May 1, at 3:30 p.m. in the Mill Room at The Factory, 1839 South Main Street, will benefit the Wake Forest American Legion Auxiliary. A Quarter Frenzy is a cross between an auction, a raffle, a charity fundraiser, and a home party. Members of the auxiliary and local direct sales vendors will auction off new items for one through four quarters per bid. It is a fun-filled event. You can support the Auxiliary and perhaps go home with valuable prizes. Bring a roll or two of quarters for bidding. Due to gaming laws no one under 18 can be admitted. Additional information about the Quarter Frenzy is available on Facebook. In conjunction with the Quarter Frenzy, a food drive to benefit the USO at Raleigh/Durham Airport will be held. Items needed by the USO are coffee K cups, individually packaged snacks (chips, cookies, crackers, beef

There are fun races. There are races with a purpose such as raising money for research to end a disease. Then there are races combining both like the Marga-RELAY-ville 5K this Saturday, April 30, beginning at 8:30 a.m. in downtown Wake Forest at 343 South White Street in front of the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce. This is the third year for the race, and Roger C. Scott, one of the organizers, says this professionally timed 5K for individual runners and/or teams of three people is a fundraiser to benefit the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life in Wake Forest. Based on Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville theme, the race encourages participants to dress in ParrotHead attire – and there will be awards. Participants and supporters can enjoy a live DJ performance by First Choice DJ Services featuring Jimmy Buffett music, a supervised bounce house for the small non-runners, and sustenance

Are you ready to get moving but need a little motivation? If the answer is “yes,” then the Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources (PRCR) Department can help. Beginning Wednesday, May 4, the PRCR will team with Wake County Human Services’ Health Promotion Chronic Disease Prevention and 4-H Youth Development to offer a free Movin’ & Groovin’ Walking Series at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road. From 6 to 7 p.m. each Wednesday in May, children and adults in our area are invited to engage in group fitness activities, walk the trails, and enjoy the outdoors at Joyner Park. The “Movin’ & Groovin’ Walking Series” is designed to encourage area families and individuals to increase their physical activity in a free, fun, and safe environment. The program also strives to raise public awareness about the importance of exercise and combat obesity. The Wake Forest PRCR Department is committed to

The town is in the process of rebuilding the vehicle repair garage at the Operations Center that was heavily damaged by a fire the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 6, but the cause is not known and neither is the estimate of the damage. That night Purchasing Agent Randy was working late when he saw smoke and called 911. Engine #1 from the main Wake Forest Fire Department station responded and found a working fire with smoke pouring from the building and fire in an office. The ladder engine crews had to force open the door because no one was in the garage at the time. Other units quickly followed including three Wake Forest fire engines, at least two Wake County EMS units, police units and assorted officials. This week Public Works Director Mike Barton described the rather lengthy repair process which will take quite a long time. “The first stage

May is National Preservation Month and the Wake Forest Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) is celebrating by sponsoring a photo-sharing campaign that invites area residents to share their memories and stories about places in Wake Forest that are important to them. “This Place Matters” encourages individuals and groups to take photos of themselves at buildings, residences, landmarks, and other structures in Wake Forest that hold special meaning and submit them by Tuesday, May 31, for posting on the town’s website, Facebook and Instagram pages. Photos of older buildings and structures are especially wanted. To participate, visit wakeforestnc.gov and search “This Place Matters,” then download and print the “This Place Matters” sign. Take a digital photograph of yourself or others holding the sign in front of locations in Wake Forest that matter to you. Email your photographs along with a short explanation of why each place is meaningful to thisplacematters@wakeforestnc.gov. The deadline

On Monday, April 25, free blood pressure checks will be provided by Dr. Casey Baldwin at 10:30 a.m. On Thursday, April 28, a seminar about Medicare will be presented by the North Carolina Department of Insurance from 1 to 3 p.m. The Wednesday Zumba class is being held at the Flaherty Community Center during March and April. Also on Thursday, April 28, Carillon Assisted Living of Wake Forest will sponsor Bingo. There is a full schedule of events, classes, support groups and other offerings every day at the center as well as Bingo, blood pressure checks and exercise classes. The Northern Wake Senior Center at 235 East Holding Avenue is owned by the Town of Wake Forest with programming and staffing provide by Resources for Seniors. Most programs are free for all. The center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the phone is 919-554-4111; the website with full

If you have been a subscriber to The Wake Forest Gazette and now find you are not receiving weekly notices that the new issue is on line, the problem lies in the software for the paper’s email service, Mailchimp. If a subscriber’s inbasket is full or if there are other reasons why the email would not accept the Gazette notice, it will be listed as bumped. If that condition continues, Mailchimp will list that subscriber as unsubscribed and stop sending notices. To remedy the situation, if you want to receive the weekly notices, please re-subscribe by going to www.wakeforestgazette.com, find “Subscribe” on the first page and enter your information.  

*The Wake Forest Farmers Market will be open in Renaissance Plaza on Saturday, April 30, with its regular spring, summer and fall hours, 8 a.m. to noon. *Join the Wake Forest Kiwanis Club for its fund-raising Bingo Monday, May 2, and every Monday night at The Factory in the Mill Room upstairs. It begins at 7 p.m. The money raised goes to funding their scholarship, dictionaries for Wake County third-grade classrooms and countless other activities which benefit children. *The Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce is holding a meet and greet for U.S. Representative George Holding on Tuesday, May 3, from 10 to 10:40 a.m. in the lower level meeting room at the new Wake Electric building on South Franklin Street. The easiest access to the parking lot is from Wait Avenue. Holding is running in the 2nd Congressional District which almost encircles Wake County in the Republican primary against