The 2018 Fourth of July celebration in Wake Forest promises to include the most spectacular fireworks display in years because high aerial rockets can be used. They were banned at Trentini Stadium for fear of damage to the homes immediately behind the stadium. This year’s program and fireworks on Tuesday, July 3, will be at Heritage High School. Remember, the Town of Wake Forest is now underwriting – with sponsors – the fireworks and stadium show so it is free as are all the activities on July 4 that are organized by the volunteer Fourth of July Committee, the children’s parade and activities afterward in Holding Park. The gates at Husky Stadium will open at 5:30 and the program begins at 6 p.m. Crush, one of the area’s most popular bands, will provide entertainment before the fireworks show which begins at dusk, about 8:30, but there is no set time.

Wake Forest will host The Wall That Heals, a three-quarter replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial for four days in October, Oct. 18 through 21. The exhibit in Joyner Park will be free and open to the public around the clock for those days, and will require a large number of volunteers. Volunteers are critical to the success of the event and needed at a variety of times. Volunteer duties will be general in nature and may include answering questions, helping visitors locate names on The Wall and providing parking direction and assistance. Volunteers must be able to stand and walk and be 18 or older. The exhibit will be open from 8 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 18 through Sunday, Oct. 21, at 2 p.m. Anyone interested in volunteering may sign up online at www.wakeforestnc.gov/the-wall-that-heals.aspx. A volunteer training session will be held at Joyner Park on Wednesday, Oct. 17, at 6 p.m.

The Town of Wake Forest owns 80 wooded but largely untouched acres next to four schools, greenway trails, shopping centers and busy streets. Town officials want it to be used for outdoor recreation – but what kind of recreation? The land is already accessible from three stubbed streets: Foundation Drive on the east and two streets in the Homestead at Heritage subdivision, Heritage Branch Road and White Rocks Road. Smith Creek is on the eastern edge of the land and two small Smith Creek tributaries frame the land. The Wake Forest Recreation Advisory Board will host five public meetings over two weeks in June to hear what people in different neighborhoods and sections of town think would be the best use of the land. The effort is called Picture 80 Acres. The first public meeting will be held Monday, June 18, at 6:30 p.m. at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre

The Northeast Community Coalition will again sponsor the annual Juneteenth Freedom Walk at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 23, that will begin and end at the Alston-Massenburg Center on North Taylor Street after winding along East Juniper Avenue to North Franklin Street and the site of the historic DuBois School and then to North Allen Road and back to East Juniper with history lessons along the way. After the walk at the Alston-Massenburg Center there will be food, activities, music and water spray fun for the children. Juneteenth celebrates the way enslaved people in Texas learned the Civil War had ended and they were free – and is more generally a celebration of all people’s freedom from slavery. Texas was very isolated during the war. The news of General Robert E. Lee’s surrender on April 9 moved slowly, and did not reach Texas until May 1865. The Army of the Trans-Mississippi did not surrender until June

Sponsors are needed for the 10th annual Purple Heart Banquet on Saturday, Aug. 4, at 5:30 p.m. at Richland Creek Community Church. Hosted by the Wake Forest Purple Heart Foundation, the banquet invites the public to help honor those wounded in battle. In addition to Purple Heart Medal recipients and their families, the event is open to all veterans, military families, and the public. Last year’s celebration saluted 70 Purple Heart recipients from around the Triangle. This year’s banquet features the Walk of Honor, entertainment, patriotic tributes, and a catered meal. Sponsors make this tribute possible. Sponsorship levels are Gold Star ($1,000), Blue ($500), White ($250) and Red ($100). For sponsor details, call Marty Coward at 919-792-0316 or email marty.coward@edwardjones.com. Contributions may be made payable to Wake Forest Purple Heart Foundation, P.O. Box 168, Wake Forest, NC, 27588. You can order tickets online at www.WakeForestPurpleHeartFoundation.org or email info@WakeForestPurpleHeartFoundation.org.  

Fans will be happy to hear that jazz legend Marcus Anderson will return to the Renaissance Centre for a hot night with cool jazz on Friday, June 29, during An Evening with Marcus Anderson. There will be an extra with this visit, a VIP Early Access at 6:30 p.m. in advance of the regular show from 8 to 10 p.m. Fans can pay $50 for a reserved seat, a photo opportunity with Anderson, the preshow sound check, early access to the cash bar, crowd-free merchandise shopping, preshow silent auction bidding and one drink ticket. The doors will open at 7:30 for those with general admission tickets — $25 in advance or $30 at the door. To order tickets, go to brownpapertickets.com/event/3446451.

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 E. Carroll Joyner Park on Harris Road 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 Forest Purple Heart Foundation

Update June 20, 2018 Future projects–Technical Review Committee When the Technical Review Committee met on May 17, 2018, they reviewed the following plans: *Plans for a Tru Hotel located on Wake Union Church Road and Hampton Way Drive that was approved by the Wake Forest Planning Board and Town Board during their June meetings. *Plans for Heartland Dental, a 4,280 square foot office at 1070 Forestville Road in the Shoppes at Heritage Village (Publix). *Plans for the Ailey Young Park Dam Removal and Stream Restoration and Richland Creek Stream Restoration. * * * * When the technical review committee met on April 19, members reviewed the following plans: *An additional five units at The Townes at Gateway Commons in which Wetherill Engineering proposes to add 0.84 acres to the project off Friendship Chapel Road and Gateway Commons Circle. *Plans for a Bank of America submitted by H&T Consultants for a

Below is a list of groups – and if your group is not included and should be – please send a note with the information to cwpelosi@aol.com. If the information about your group is wrong or out of date, please send a note with the corrections to that same email address. Aren’t we lucky to have so many groups that benefit our town and its resident! *American Legion Post 187 meets the second Thursday at 7 p.m. in the American Legion Hall at 225 East Holding Avenue. The dinner begins at 6 p.m. and costs $5. For information and membership, call Commander Dave Goetze at 569-0471 or visit www.alpost187.org. *American Heritage Girls (AHG) meets at 6:30 p.m. at Hope Lutheran Church on Rogers Road on the second and fourth Thursdays. Contact Amy Minor at chrisnamy34@hotmail.com or see the website, www.hopelutheranwf.org. *The General James Moore Chapter of the Daughters of the

*The Wake Forest Farmers Market has moved to the town employees’ parking lot on Taylor Street behind town hall. The market will be open this Saturday, June 23, from 8 a.m. to noon, and local farmers and artisans will have meats, seasonal vegetables, bread, baked good and other local wares for sale. See the market’s Facebook page for information about the vendors and sign up for a weekly notice about the offerings that Saturday. *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