The Town of Wake Forest is seeking volunteers with a passion for trees, a desire to learn, and an interest in helping to become a tree steward in our community. Volunteer tree stewards prune trees, plant new trees in parks and public areas, conduct tree inventories and educate citizens on proper tree care. Participants in the program receive free training on proper planting techniques, tree identification, pruning, fertilization and more. Volunteers that successfully complete the training will become Town of Wake Forest Tree Stewards. The next Tree Stewards Workshop is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 28, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Ground Floor Meeting Room at the Wake Forest Town Hall, 301 South Brooks Street. There is no cost to participate, but class size is limited to the first 25 people who pre-register at http://bit.ly/TreeStewardWorkshop. Tree Stewards must pledge to contribute at least four hours of service within one

Area residents will honor Willie Arrington at the 36th Wake Forest Memorial Flag-Raising Ceremony at 11 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 9, in Centennial Plaza in front of the Wake Forest Town Hall. Arrington served his nation in the U.S. Army, and members of his family will participate in the ceremony, which will include patriotic songs, special remarks, a memorial wreath laying and the ceremonial flag-raising. After raising the American flag, the Wake Forest Fire Department Honor Guard will raise the U.S. Army service flag in recognition of the military branch in which Arrington served. Both flags will fly in Centennial Plaza throughout September. Photographs and other remembrances 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 veterans and their families, memorial flag-raising ceremonies

The second annual Wake Forest Film Festival, A Light in the Forest, will be held Friday and Saturday, March 13 and 14, 2020. The event will spotlight passionate, creative and thought-provoking movies by some of today’s most promising and accomplished local, national and international filmmakers. The two-day film showcase will engage audiences with films of all lengths and genres, including short and feature, documentary, horror, animation, narrative and student (high school and college). Intended for both the general public and film professionals, the film festival is an opportunity for filmmakers to showcase their films in a unique location to a discerning audience. The Renaissance Centre is currently accepting film submissions via FilmFreeway at https://filmfreeway.com/WakeForestFilmFestival. The website includes film screening fees and submission requirements, including stipulations that all submitted films should have a plot that “reveals” or “sheds light” on a topic or issue and foreign films must include subtitles. Tickets for the

The Wake Forest Farmers Market will host its Fall Crafts & Kid’s Market on Saturday, Sept. 7, from 8 a.m. to noon at 235 S. Taylor Street in downtown Wake Forest. For the first time, the Kid’s Market, featuring entrepreneurs ages 17 and younger who sell their handmade items, is combined with the Fall Craft Market. A limited number of booth spaces are available for crafters and kids. Online applications are due on Saturday, Aug. 24. Cost is $45, a $10 non-refundable application fee and $35 booth setup fee if application is accepted. Kid’s Market vendors pay the $10 non-refundable application fee and $15 booth setup fee. “Our Fall Crafts & Kid’s Market gives visitors an opportunity to shop with more than just the typical vendors at our community’s Farmers Market. We open it up to artisans selling homemade crafts and young entrepreneurs whose products we want to showcase,” said

Local performance artist Antino Art – whose award-winning work merges visual magic with spoken word poetry – will bring together poets and magicians from around the Triangle and beyond in a show that promises to move audiences beyond words. When Magic Found Poetry: A show beyond words debuts from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Wake Forest Coffee Company. Visit www.antinoart.com/shows to purchase tickets. “Magic appeals to the intellect by blowing the mind while poetry appeals to emotions by striking the heart,” Art said. “When performed as one, the possibilities are endless.” Among those performing will be Wake Forest resident Colin Watson, better known by his pen name of Watson, whose emphatic storytelling style draws inspiration from punk rock and blind faith to leave his audiences in speechless tears. Travis Kyng from the Raleigh-based group Press Play Poetz will bring his spitfire performance style to the stage

Tickets are for sale at the Renaissance Centre Forest Moon Theater will present “Steel Magnolias” Friday through Sunday, Sept.  20 to 23 and 27 to 29, at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre. Showtime Friday and Saturday is 7:30 p.m., while the Sunday showtime is 3 p.m. Written by Robert Harling, this heartwarming comedy-drama explores the special bond a group of women share in a small southern Louisiana community, and how they cope with the death of one of their own. As time passes, the women encounter tragedy and good fortune. Although their friendships are strained, in the end they find themselves growing stronger and closer. Advance tickets are $15 plus tax for adults and $13 plus tax for students and seniors. These prices reflect a savings of $3 per adult and student/senior on “day of” admission tickets. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.wakeforestrencen.org/tickets-events<http://www..org/tickets-events>. Please note: A sign language

The Wake Forest Human Relations Council (HRC) is soliciting youth (ages 10-18) and adult (ages 19 and older) nominations for the 10th Annual Good Neighbor of the Year Award. The award recognizes Wake Forest residents who work to improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods without seeking recognition for their efforts. Nominees are sought in three divisions: adult, middle school youth and high school youth. To qualify, a nominee must be a Wake Forest resident who has made a significant contribution to the community between Sept. 1, 2018, and Aug. 31, 2019. Employees of the Town of Wake Forest are not eligible. The online nomination form is available on the Town’s website at http://bit.ly/WFGoodNeighborAward. Completed nomination forms must be submitted by 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30. Nominations forms must include the names of both the nominator and the nominee, along with a narrative of 400 words or less describing why the

This month’s Business After Hours will be held on Thursday, Aug. 29, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Ledford Student Center on Wingate Street and hosted by the Southeastern Seminary and The College at Southeastern. * * * * The chamber’s Senior Lifestyle Expo is returning in September. This year’s event is presented by Atlantic Tire & Service and will be held on two days. Mark your calendar and plan to join us Monday, Sept. 9, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and Tuesday, Sept. 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Richland Creek Community Church. Registration is now open and booths are being snapped up quickly. Only a few sponsorships remain. We also have standard and premium booths, food booths and nonprofit booths available. See the booth registration packet on the chamber website. * * * * Join the Wake Forest Chamber on October 1 at Heritage Golf

September is National Senior Center Month! Senior Centers are the key to aging well. Join us at the Northern Wake Senior Center for great classes and events and opportunities to advocate for seniors. * * * *     All Senior Center members receive a detailed calendar of events from Resources for Seniors. Check for changes in the schedules. During the renovation/rebuilding of the Northern Wake Senior Center, activities are spread across Wake Forest in public buildings and churches. The office is in The Lodge of Wake Forest on South Main Street. * * * * The renovations at the Northern Wake Senior Center at 235 East Holding Avenue in Wake Forest should be complete within the next few weeks. It will take a few more weeks for staff to move in. Meanwhile the senior center office is on the second floor of The Lodge at Wake Forest, 1151 South

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