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;

Mayor Vivian Jones will deliver her 2018 State of the Town Address on Monday, Feb. 19, at 6 p.m. during the 10th annual State of the Town Address and Dinner. Presented by the Wake Forest Rotary Club, the event will take place at the Wake Forest Presbyterian Church, 12605 Capital Boulevard. During her remarks, Mayor Jones will highlight the Town’s key accomplishments in 2017 and outline the goals Wake Forest will strive towards in 2018. All area residents are invited to attend. Tickets are $15 per person in advance and $20 on the day of the event and include a catered meal. Dress for the event is business casual. Tickets can be purchased online with a Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover credit card at www.wakeforestnc.gov/state-of-the-town.aspx. Tickets may also be purchased at the Renaissance Centre Box Office with cash, check or credit card. A processing fee will be added to the cost

The American Public Power Association (APPA) has chosen Wake Forest as the site of the 2018 Public Power Lineworkers Rodeo. The event will take place on Saturday, April 28, 2018, at 8 a.m. on property just north of Wake Forest’s Holding Village at the end of South Franklin Street. On that day, hundreds of electric lineworkers from public power utilities across the United States will descend on Holding Village to compete in timed contests to showcase their skills and knowledge in the craft of line work. Teams of lineworkers will climb poles, build overhead construction, pull up wire and hang transformers, all within a set time limit. Events will be judged on safety, work practices, neatness, ability, equipment handling and speed. The event will be free and open to the public. The American Public Power Association will hold its annual convention in Raleigh during the week just before the rodeo.

If you plan to have a booth at the Senior Lifestyle Expo on Tuesday, March 20, you can save $50 off your registration if you submit your application by Jan. 15. This does not apply to food vendors. You can find the booth registration packet on the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce website at wakeforestchamber.org. The Senior Lifestyle Expo will be held at Richland Creek Community Church in Wake Forest on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This year’s event will include 75 booth displays, food samples, door prizes and giveaways and more. Being an exhibitor is a great way to build your name recognition, develop sales opportunities and grow your database. The event is geared toward both seniors and their adult children who are, or will eventually be, their caregivers. * * * * Alert! Business After Hours has been rescheduled because of the

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 from 10 a.m. to noon (winter hours) Saturday, Jan. 20, in Renaissance Plaza on Brooks Street. Local farmers and artisans will offer meats, seasonal vegetables, bread and baked goods and other local wares. See the market’s Facebook page for information about the 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. *Tri-Area Ministry Food Pantry at 149 East Holding Avenue is now open from 9 to 11 a.m. every third Saturday along with its regular hours on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for food distribution. It serves about 700 families in Wake Forest, Youngsville, Rolesville and their surrounding areas. Call 919-556-7144 for information about receiving food, volunteering