The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources (PRCR) Department and Richland Creek Community Church will sponsor a free Special Needs Resource Fair on Saturday, April 7, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at Richland Creek Community Church, 3229 Burlington Mills Road. The event will include over 30 professional vendors that specialize in providing to children and adults with special needs an array of services including therapeutic, health and wellness, educational, recreational, music, financial and legal. Designed to offer local families the opportunity to learn about dozens of programs, services, products and resources – all in one location – the fair will also feature interactive opportunities with the Wake Forest Police and Fire Departments and Wake County EMS. The first 100 people to enter the resource fair will receive a ticket for a free treat. For more information, contact Special Needs Recreation Specialist Kelly Schurtz at 919-556-7093 or kschurtz@wakeforestnc.gov.  

The Wake Forest Memorial Flag-Raising Ceremonies will resume Monday, April 2, at 11 a.m. in Centennial Plaza on South Brooks Street The April 2 service will honor James Walter Crawford, who served his nation in the U.S. Army during World War II. Members of Crawford’s family will participate in the ceremony, which will include patriotic songs, special remarks, a memorial wreath laying and the ceremonial flag-raising. Following the raising of the American flag by the Wake Forest Fire Department Honor Guard, the U.S. Army service flag will be raised in recognition of the military branch in which Crawford served. Both flags will fly in Centennial Plaza throughout April. Photographs and other remembrances of Crawford will also be displayed in Centennial Plaza during the ceremony, then in the Town Hall lobby through the end of the month. Presented by several local veterans’ organizations to honor the sacrifices of deceased Wake Forest

The Wake Forest Renaissance Centre for the Arts is recruiting teaching artists and soliciting arts-related youth and adult course/program ideas for 2018-19. The Renaissance Centre endeavors to develop and offer a diverse array of visual, performing and cultural arts programming for people of all ages, including classes in art, glass fusion, textile arts, theater and more. Many are the result of a local arts enthusiast expressing a desire to teach an arts-related program on their particular topic of interest. “We offer a wide variety of classes, activities, and camps that meet the diverse needs and interests of our community,” Renaissance Centre Specialist Debra Horton said. “However, our programming success is due to our quality instructors and their dedication, enthusiasm and knowledge.” Children, youth and adult offerings may involve one-night workshops, active classes or unique programs. Instructors set their own class schedules, title, content and topic subject to the approval of

The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department is looking for responsible adults interested in volunteering their time to coach 11-12-year-old boys and 9-10-year-old girls during the upcoming spring youth baseball and softball season. Team practices will begin later this month, and games will be played primarily on weeknights from April through late June. The recreation department’s youth baseball and softball Leagues are designed to teach fair play and sportsmanship, develop fundamental baseball and softball skills, and promote a fun and healthy lifestyle. Anyone interested in sharing these skills with area young people is urged to contact Athletics Superintendent Edward Austin at 919-435-956 or eaustin@wakeforestnc.gov. Please note that all volunteer coaches must pass a background check

The Town of Wake Forest and Downtown Wake Forest, Inc. are inviting area residents to “Get Up, Get Out and Get Dirty” during the Fifth Annual Dirt Day.  Promising something for the entire family, this popular springtime event will take place Saturday, April 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. along South White Street in downtown Wake Forest. Kids will have a blast playing in the sand, planting herbs for home windowsills and exploring a variety of trucks from S.T. Wooten Corp. Adults will have the opportunity to learn about new techniques in gardening and composting, check out the latest in outdoor activity gear and visit with a variety of vendors offering an array of products and insight. But that’s not all. Dirt Day participants can also make crafts from recycled materials at the Scrap Exchange, paint rocks, view owls and other rescued wildlife, and rub elbows with Master Gardeners and other

On Thursday, March 29, the Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department will host an open house to showcase the large array of spring and summer programs and classes it will offer. The open house will take place from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Flaherty Park Community Center at 1226 North White Street. Area residents are invited to drop in any time between 5 and 7:30 p.m. to meet parks and recreation staff and class instructors who will be on hand to answer questions and provide information about various department offerings, including arts programming for children and adults. Staff will also conduct onsite program registration for all spring and summer programs. For more information, contact Recreation Program Superintendent Monica Lileton at 919-435-9563 ormileton@wakeforestnc.gov.  

The Wake Forest Renaissance Centre for the Arts will commemorate its grand re-opening on Saturday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m. with Beach Music & BBQ featuring The Band of Oz. If you love great food and great beach music, then don’t miss this one-of-a-kind summertime celebration in the heart of downtown Wake Forest. The Band of Oz, one of the southeast’s most popular beach music bands and a 1997 Beach Music Hall of Fame inductee, will headline the grand re-opening, which will also feature a delicious barbecue dinner provided by Papa Jack’s Catering. The occasion will also include a cash bar serving beer and wine. Dress for this event is summer casual. Advance tickets are now on sale for $25 (plus tax) per person. Tickets may be purchased online atwww.wakeforestnc.gov/tickets-events.aspx with a Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express credit card. Tickets may also be purchased at the Renaissance Centre box office

The Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce is partnering with Food Lion for a Community Raffle with a top prize of $10,000 in cash and 15 other prizes. To date as of March 14 $15,000 has been raised. The money raised will benefit the chamber, and Tri-Area Ministry Food Pantry will receive a $5,000 donation. Only 1,500 tickets – which are $50 each – will be sold for a total pot of $75,000. The drawing will be held May 5. You do have to be 18 or older to participate. You can purchase tickets online at https://go.rallyup.com/wfcommunityraffle or in person at the Wake Forest Chamber office at 350 South White Street or at B&W Hardware at 232 South White Street. Some chamber members also have tickets for sale. The prizes apart from the $10,000 in cash are $5,000 AAA Travel Voucher Full Set of Braces/Invisalign ($5,000 value) or $2,000 cash

The annual Wake Forest Cemetery Walking Tour, which will be held this year on Saturday, May 12, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., offers unique insight into the lives of Wake Forest residents from past generations. Docents will be stationed at various family plots throughout the cemetery to share interesting stories about specific gravesites, as well as small artifacts and photographs of loved ones bearing their ancestral names. Representatives of the Wake Forest Junior ROTC, under the direction of Colonel Dimitri Belmont, will appear as color guard in the opening ceremony. The JROTC will also provide parking and other assistance. Parents are encouraged to bring their children. This year there will be a special children’s hand-out highlighting interesting artifacts on the grounds. Designed for interaction between a child and their parents or accompanying adult, the photos and sites will help educate them about the historical significance of the cemetery as they locate significant places

The Better Business Bureau serving Eastern North Carolina is warning consumers about The Devil is a Lye, an online T-shirt shop based out of Durham. The company currently has an F rating with BBB and has received over 350 inquiries and 35 complaints over the past three years. The majority of the complaints submitted to BBB state customers’ products were never delivered. One complainant reported placing an order in November of 2016 for a Christmas gift for their child. “After calling for months, leaving messages with no call back … I gave up. In April 2017 I got an email apologizing for the delay saying there was a production problem and the order would be fulfilled by the end of the month. It is now November 2017, and no delivery nor refund,” the complainant wrote. BBB has attempted to contact Devil Is a Lye on numerous occasions via phone, email and mail.