The 2018 Public Power Lineworkers Rodeo is not about angry bulls, lariats and saddles; it is a test of the precise and safe skills power utility lineworkers must have to rescue fellow workers or repair broken lines during treacherous weather conditions. Come to the free event Saturday, April 28, and watch some true professionals. The opening ceremony is at 7:30 a.m. with competition beginning at 8. You reach the stands by turning onto South Franklin Street from Rogers Road and going to the end of the street past the Holding Village subdivision. The Town of Wake Forest is partnering with the American Public Power Association, ElectriCities of NC and the North Carolina Association of Municipal Electric Systems to host the rodeo as part of the power association’s convention in Raleigh. Hundreds of electric lineworkers from public power utilities across the United States will descend on the field with a forest

From rock and blues to salsa and jazz, there’s something for all music lovers at this year’s Six Sundays in Spring concert series. Sponsored by the Town of Wake Forest and Wake Forest ARTS, the performances get underway Sunday, April 29, at 5 p.m. with The Connells. Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2018, Six Sundays in Spring is an annual concert series featuring free, live, outdoor entertainment. Scheduled on consecutive Sundays from April 29 through June 3, Six Sundays in Spring offers area residents an opportunity to enjoy a variety of local and regional performers and an enriching cultural experience. All concerts are scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. in the E. Carroll Joyner Park Amphitheater at 701 Harris Road. In addition to The Connells, other acts scheduled to perform are Capital Transit on May 6; The Spongetones on May 13; Caribe Vibe on May 20; Melissa Reaves on May 27;

The Wake Forest Police Department is inviting area residents to participate in the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics of North Carolina on Saturday, May 12. Online registration is available at www.wakeforestnc.gov/law-enforcement-torch-run.aspx. The registration fee is $30 and includes a 2018 SONC Torch Run T-shirt. On the day of the race, registration and check-in will take place from 8 to 8:45 a.m. at Publix, 1040 Forestville Road. After registering, participants will be transported by shuttle to Walmart, 2114 South Main Street. The 2.3-mile run will begin at 9 a.m. at Walmart and end at Publix. For more information, to purchase a 2018 Law Enforcement Torch Run T-shirt or hat or make a tax-deductible donation, contact Officer J. McArthur at 919-554-6150 or jmcarthur@wakeforestnc.gov.

The Wake Forest Renaissance Centre for the Arts at 405 Brooks Street will kick off its grand re-opening weekend on Friday, June 1, at 6:30 p.m. with Animalia, presented by Hobey Ford’s Golden Rod Puppets. A quintessential children’s favorite, Animalia explores the magical world of animals. From the metamorphoses of a butterfly and a tadpole to a soaring eagle, a school of fish, ecological systems and endangered animals, all come to life during this performance by internationally award-winning puppeteer Hobey Ford and his Golden Rod Puppets. Geared for children pre-K through sixth grade and their families, the performance features Hobey’s original “foamies” puppets carved from large blocks of foam with intricate mechanical design that gives each puppet realistic movements. Hobey breaks out of the traditional puppet theater booth and turns the whole theater into his performance stage. Advance tickets are now on sale for $10 (plus tax) per person. Tickets may

The Wake Forest Purple Heart Foundation is asking for community help to cover expenses associated with bringing The Wall That Heals to Wake Forest. A three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, The Wall That Heals is coming to the Wake Forest Historical Museum at 414 North Main Street in October. It will be on 24-hour display Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 18 through 21. There is no admission charge. Financial support from local businesses and individuals is needed to help cover the cost of bringing the Wall to Wake Forest. Sponsorship levels range from $100 to $7,500 and include an array of benefits. Each sponsorship level is designed to allow sponsors to reach a huge audience as thousands of visitors are expected to visit Wake Forest during the four-day exhibit. Local businesses and individuals can donate via check or online via PayPal at www.wakeforestnc.gov/the-wall-that-heals.aspx. Checks should be made payable to Wake

Update March 28, 20118 Future projects–Technical Review Committee When the technical review committee met on Feb. 15, the members reviewed the following plans: *Capital Sportsplex: A major master site plan submitted by Calyx, a Raleigh engineering firm, for a sports complex on Star Road with a 250,000 square foot building, one multi-use field, five soccer fields, two outdoor tennis courts, six sand volleyball courts and four baseball fields. This will be a quasi-judicial hearing. *Foundation Drive subdivision is a master plan submitted by WithersRavenel for a 34-lot single-family subdivision off Foundation Drive. There are three parcels included in the plan. One runs along Foundation Drive from Forestville Road to a deadend at a creek and an open space owned by the town. The other two are adjacent and tucked in behind the Shoppes at Heritage Village which is anchored by Publix. *The Flynn Property subdivision was submitted by Priest Craven

The Town of Wake Forest is currently accepting applications from area high school students interested in serving on the Youth in Government Advisory Board (YGAB) for the 2018-19 school year. Applications and recommendation forms are available in the town clerk’s office at Town Hall and on the town’s website at www.wakeforestnc.gov/youth-in-government-advisory-board.aspx.Completed applications must be received no later than 5 p.m. Monday, April 30. Only high school students (grades 9-12) are eligible to serve on the YGAB, including rising ninth graders. Members serve four-year terms or until graduation, whichever comes first. The YGAB is comprised of eight to 20 members. No more than four can live outside the corporate town limits. For the upcoming school year, the board will have an opening for at least nine members, one of which may be an out-of-town member. The YGAB advises the Board of Commissioners on issues of interest to area youth. Board members also

The Town of Wake Forest is in the process of developing a Comprehensive Transportation Plan to address all transportation methods, including driving, walking, biking and transit. As part of that effort, the town is conducting an online survey to gather input from area residents to help direct transportation planning efforts. The survey is available online at www.wakeforestnc.gov/2018-comprehensive-transportation-plan.aspx from now through Saturday, May 26, and takes approximately five minutes to complete. The survey is an important element in the Town’s transportation planning efforts. Officials plan to incorporate survey responses to address transportation challenges throughout Wake Forest. For more information, contact Transportation Planning Manager Suzette Morales at 919-435-9510 or smorales@wakeforestnc.gov.

Everyone is invited to the official grand opening of the Taylor Street Park Sprayground on Saturday, April 14, at 11 a.m. The sprayground is located in the Taylor Street Park near the Alston-Massenburg Center at 416 North Taylor Street. The grand opening celebration will include a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony, brief remarks by Mayor Vivian Jones and light refreshments. Parents are urged to bring their kids and their bathing suits, so they can make a splash after the ribbon-cutting. As part of the event, the Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department will unveil a park bench donated by the Wake Forest Kiwanis Club in honor of Thomas J. Dimmock, affectionately known as Mr. Kiwanis. Dimmock, who passed away in 2015, led the Kiwanis Club’s involvement in the effort to bring a sprayground to Taylor Street Park. The Taylor Street Park Sprayground is a dynamic, zero-depth aquatic play area designed

Raleigh novelist Elaine Neil Orr will visit Page 158 Books in Wake Forest’s Renaissance Plaza on Brooks Street at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 26, for an evening of reading and conversation about her new novel, Swimming Between Worlds. Orr, the critically acclaimed writer of A Different Sun brings readers a Southern coming-of-age novel that sets three very different young people against the tumultuous years of the American civil rights movement. Tacker Hart left his home in North Carolina as a local high school football hero, but returns in disgrace after being fired from a prestigious architectural assignment in West Africa. Yet the culture and people he grew to admire have left their mark on him. Adrift, he manages his father’s grocery store and becomes reacquainted with a girl he barely knew growing up. Kate Monroe’s parents have died, leaving her the family home and the right connections in her Southern town. But a