On Saturday May 13, 2017, the Wake Forest Garden Club will host its annual Mad Hatter Tea Party at the Wake Forest Historical Museum at 414 North Main Street. This year the Garden Tour is back featuring local garden-themed artists at each lovely garden location. The events will include the Mad Hatter Tea from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the Garden and Art Tour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  This is a two-ticket event, so pick and choose your preference for the Tea Party or Garden Tour or don’t miss out on either and attend both. The $20 traditional plated tea will be served in the Wake Forest Historical Museum. The $15 garden tour featuring 10 area gardens and artists will wend through the historic area. Free events include a plant sale and classic car show. Tickets for both events are available on-line at Brown Paper Tickets http://www.brownpapertickets.com/ 

Lace up your walking shoes because the annual walking tour of the historic Wake Forest Cemetery is planned for Saturday, May 13, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. It is free, and parents are encouraged to bring their children for a first-hand experience in town history. The special feature of the tour are the docents – family members and volunteers – who are stationed at several gravesites where they talk about the people buried there and their importance in the town when they lived. Also Frank Powell and other members of the local chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans will be there in uniform and talking about the men and boys who went into battle during the Civil War. And sometimes they bring authentic guns, even a small cannon, but that is not a promise. There will also be women in 1860-era dresses and hats, and Scottish bagpipe players

The Wake Forest Police Department invites area residents to join them in the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics of North Carolina on Saturday, May 13. The event is open to the first 100 people to register. Online registration is now available at www.wakeforestnc.gov/law-enforcement-torch-run.aspx. Registration will also be offered on the day of the race from 8 to 8:45 a.m. at Walmart, 2114 South Main Street. The registration fee is $30 and includes a 2017 SONC Torch Run T-shirt. The registration fee will be waived for all public safety personnel, but donations will be accepted. On the day of the race, participants will assemble at Walmart before being transported by shuttle to Publix, 1040 Forestville Road. The 2.3 mile run will begin at 9 a.m. at Publix and end at Walmart. For more information, to purchase a 2017 Law Enforcement Torch Run T-shirt or hat or make a tax-deductible

Franklin County Arts Council will celebrate Cinco de Mayo on Friday, May 5, from 4 until 7 p.m. at UpFront Gallery in downtown Franklinton with an arts exhibit by five Hispanic artists. There will be live music, Songs of the Soul provided by Teresa Fernandez and Ramon Brito playing the Hispanic harp. Artists exhibiting are Cornelio Campos, Nora Hernande, Clina Polloni, Gabriela Zabala, and Arron Vick. Cornelio Campos is a Mexican artist born in 1971 in Cheran Michoacan-Mexico. Cornelio specializes in paintings that illustrate the complex realities of migrant life that are often concealed or misconstrued to the public, creating a modern folkloric art style and exploring culture through vibrant colors and deep symbolism. Nora Hernandez was born in Honduras where she studied business administration. She is founder of The Center for Personal Development (SSP), an institution dedicated to providing personal development. Her art expresses the beauty of the Latino

Suicide Blonde, an ‘80’s cover band, will play for a concert to benefit the nonprofit CHERUBS-CDH on Friday, June 9, from 9 p.m. to midnight at the Renaissance Centre for the Arts on Brooks Street Tickets are $10 before the event, available through EventBrite, and $15 at the door. CHERUBS-CDH is based in Wake Forest and was formed in 1995 by two parents to make the public aware of the prevalence of CDH, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, in babies – one in every 2,500 births – and support research in the treatment of the lung condition. There are 1,600 cases in the U.S. every year, and the cause is currently unknown. The diaphragm is formed in the first trimester of pregnancy and controls the lungs’ ability to inhale and exhale. CDH occurs when the diaphragm fails to form or to close totally and an opening allows abdominal organs into the chest

The Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce will host the next installment of Issues & Answers on Wednesday, May 10, at 7:45 a.m. for breakfast, 8 a.m. for the program. The free event will be held in the Wake Electric Community Room at 100 South Franklin Street. Parking and access to the room are at the back of the building. Enter from Wait Avenue. The topics to be covered are current law in North Carolina and the country, finance, taxes and insurance. * * * * This month’s Business After Hours will have a Give Back to the Community theme and will be hosted by Help Me Rhonda Interiors; Open Door Furniture & Accents at 1600 Heritage Commerce Court, Suite 103, on Thursday, May 18, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.  Rhonda and her team are asking for raffle items, big or small, for a raffle that will be held that

May is Older Americans Month, and as part of the celebrations the Northern Wake Senior Center will honor its volunteers with a breakfast at 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 9. The breakfast will be provided by Brookdale of Wake Forest. If you are a volunteer for the senior center or Meals on Wheels you are invited to the breakfast. Please sign up at the front desk by May 5. Everyone is invited to the Cinco de Mayo covered dish social on Friday, May 5, from 10 a.m. to noon. Whether you are new or an old hand at the senior center, you should check the calendar regularly because of all the offerings which change with each season. The free health screenings and blood pressure checks are provided at 9:30 a.m. each Monday by a variety of local businesses, which are the Franklin Manor, Stay at Home Senior Care and Dr. Casey

*The Wake Forest Farmers Market will be held in Renaissance Plaza on Brooks Street Saturday, May 6, but because of Meet in the Street on many downtown streets the hours will be from 9 a.m. to noon for this week only. See the market’s Facebook page for vendors. *Monday Night Bingo at The Factory is hosted by the Wake Forest Kiwanis Club in the Mill Room from 7 to 9:30 p.m. every Monday night. All profits support the club’s projects for children. Visit www.wakeforestbingo.com for more information. *Overeaters Anonymous meets on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the Wake Forest United Methodist Church, 905 South Main Street. Enter through the back by the office. No dues, fees or weigh-ins. Everyone welcome! Contact Jennifer at 928-225-5236. *Tri-Area Ministry Food Pantry at 149 East Holding Avenue is open Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for food distribution and serves about