Kick off the holiday season and discover historic downtown Wake Forest’s unique array of shops and restaurants during the Downtown Holiday Open House on Saturday, Dec. 2, beginning at 10 a.m. Sponsored by the Downtown Business Alliance and presented by Wake Forest Downtown, Inc., the Downtown Holiday Open House will include special offers and complimentary refreshments at participating shops and restaurants, a food drive to benefit Tri-Area Ministry, and fun-filled activities for kids and families. A variety of events and activities will be offered from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Cotton Company Event Gallery, 306 South White Street, including face painting, Pictures with Santa and a gingerbread house display. A special part of this year’s Downtown Holiday Open House will also be a food drive to benefit the Tri-Area Ministry Food Pantry. Wake Forest Downtown will be collecting non-perishable food items to help feed hungry people in our community.

The Wake Forest Community Christmas Dinner, now in its 70th year, was first held in 1947 as a way to show appreciation to the town’s returning World War II veterans. Organized by the Wake Forest Garden Club and the Civic Club, the original dinner was held in the Community House on Owen Avenue, which was decked in live greenery for the occasion. The event was a tremendous success and a new tradition was born. In the seventy years since, the Wake Forest Community Christmas Dinner has retained that spirit of giving and friendship and has become part of the story of Christmas in Wake Forest. The dinner still ranks among the very best celebrations the town has to offer each and every holiday season. Always held on the first Monday in December, this year’s Community Christmas Dinner will be at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 4, at the Forks Cafeteria,

Wake Forest Downtown, Inc., announces the Parade Grand Marshal and the event co-broadcasters for the 2017 Wake Forest Christmas Parade to be held in historic downtown Wake Forest on Saturday, Dec. 9, at 1 p.m. Participants from the Field of Dreams program will serve as Grand Marshal of the 70th annual parade. The program was founded in 2008 by Wake Forest High School teacher Gail Tucker and Wake Forest JROTC Command Sergeant Major Ginger Cribb. Each spring, the Field of Dreams baseball competition provides more than 200 local special needs students with an opportunity to get involved in high school athletics. The Grand Marshal float, along with 120 other parade entries, will be announced by CBS North Carolina News Anchor Sharon Tazewell and UNC Rex Healthcare’s Bonnie Little who will serve as parade co-broadcasters stationed on South White Street. Tazewell anchors the WNCN local evening news, a job she’s held since

The Wake Forest Police Department is accepting donations from area residents and businesses for the 19th Annual Shop with a Cop. To contribute online via PayPal, visit our website, www.wakeforestnc.gov/shop-with-a-cop/aspx. Checks and cash may also be mailed or delivered to the Wake Forest Police Department at 225 South Taylor Street. This year’s Shop with a Cop holiday shopping spree is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 19. On that day approximately 30 area children will visit the Wake Forest Police Department where they will be paired with their police officer “partners.” The kids and their partners will then be transported by bus to the Wake Forest Walmart, where each child will be given $200 to spend on a winter coat and other items of their choice. For more information, contact Officer K.C.Warren at kwarren@wakeforestnc.gov or 919-554-6150.  

An open town hall meeting for Congressional District 2 will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30, in the Youngsville Community Center at 115 East Main Street to give voters in the district a chance to meet the candidates for the 2018 election, voice their concerns and discuss the needs of the area. All candidates were invited, but thus far U.S. Representative George Holding’s Raleigh office has declined to send anyone though the invitation remains open. All the Democratic candidates will be present – Linda Coleman, Wendy Ella Mae, Ken Romley and Sam Searcy. The event is hosted by Indivisible Progressives of Franklin County, Triangle Daily Call to Action, and other IndivisiblesNC groups in District 2.  

*The Wake Forest Farmers Market will not be held in Renaissance Plaza on Brooks Street Saturday, Nov. 25, from 8 a.m. to noon. It was open from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 21, for a pre-Thanksgiving market. The Holiday Artisans Market will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, in the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre while outdoors in the Renaissance parking lot the Wake Forest Craft Market and Farmers Market will lure shoppers. Entrance to these three events is free. You will find local potters, jewelers, fabric and fiber creators, wood workers and crafters. *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. *Tri-Area Ministry Food Pantry at 149 East Holding Avenue is now open