The second phase of a nearly $1 million renovation project at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre for the Arts at 405 Brooks Street is underway. Due to the work being performed, the Renaissance Centre’s Grand Hall is closed until spring. The Arts Annex, which includes a new art studio and business suite, is open and will continue to offer cultural education classes, workshops and exhibits.  Phase two enhancements include a raised ceiling, extended stage, and upgraded sound system in the Grand Hall, along with the installation of theater lighting, upstairs dressing rooms, family room with baby-changing table and a lighted marquee.   Phase one improvements, completed in February 2017, entailed connecting the Arts Annex to the Grand Hall, installing movable walls in Arts Annex classrooms, purchasing a snap-lock dance floor, re-leveling the sidewalk in front of the Arts Annex, and adding assistive listening devices in the Grand Hall.   The Renaissance

Several local churches and community organizations will sponsor a free public celebration honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Thursday, Jan. 18. The event will take place at Friendship Chapel Baptist Church, 237 Friendship Chapel Road. Area residents are invited to attend the observance, beginning with a light meal at 6 p.m. followed by the program at 7 p.m. The evening’s theme will center around one of Dr. King’s messages: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” In the spirit of the event theme, the Martin Luther King Committee is offering creative performance, writing and art competitions for students in Wake Forest and Rolesville area schools. The competition winners will be recognized during the program. Two $500 scholarships will be awarded to local graduating seniors. Local groups contributing to the celebration include the Wake Forest Human Relations Council,

A presentation about services for seniors in Wake Forest will be held Friday, Jan. 26, from 8:30 to 10 a.m. in the ground floor meeting room in town hall that is best reached through the South Taylor Street entrance. Town Manager Kip Padgett will speak about the “Dementia Capable” community initiative adopted by the town and the various programs the town sponsors for seniors along with updates about the expansion of the Northern Wake Senior Center (owned by the town) that is now underway. Corey Hutcherson, the vice president of community relations at the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce, will provide demographic statistics about growth in the town’s senior population. The free program is sponsored by SING-WF – Senior Information & Networking Group – and the breakfast is sponsored by Perkins Counseling & Psychological Services. Arrive early to eat and have a cup of coffee. Registration is required. Call

On Sunday, Jan. 21, the title of the program hosted by the Wake Forest Historical Association will be The Bootleg Economy: Surviving the ‘50s, an unusual slant on the illegal liquor produced in the Harricanes area outside Wake Forest. The moonshiners worked their stills to feed their families at a time when electricity – Wake Electric – and paved roads were beginning to change the landscape and the culture. There will be a lot of information and stories, maybe some tall tales, about the men on both sides of the law – almost all of them long gone – told by men such as Ryan Keith, a photographer and cameraman at WRAL-TV who was called out frequently by local, state and federal officers who wanted publicity about their raids and the stills they destroyed. The event at the Wake Forest Historical Museum in the 400 block of North Main Street

Join your friends and neighbors in downtown Wake Forest on Saturday, Feb. 10, for the Sixth Annual Wake Forest Mardi Gras Street Festival. Presented by Gladwell Orthodontics, this family-friendly celebration is scheduled from 11 a.m.to 3 p.m., and admission is free. Promising fun-filled activities for both children and adults, the Mardi Gras Street Festival will include face painters, strolling entertainers, live music, an inflatable playground, special contests and much more. One of the day’s highlights promises to be the Mardi Gras Walking Parade. The lineup will begin at 12:45 p.m. in town hall’s Centennial Plaza at 301 Brooks Street, and the parade gets underway at 1 p.m. The parade route will extend from town hall, up East Owen Avenue, and north along South White Street before ending at the Depot Parking Lot, 110 South White Street. The walking parade is open to both children and adults. No pre-registration is required;