The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department and the Northeast Community Coalition are partnering to offer Wake Forest residents an afternoon of family-friendly fun and share useful information during Unity in the Community on Saturday, Nov. 9. Free and open to everyone, the inaugural event will take place from noon to 2 p.m. both inside and outside the Alston-Massenburg Center at 416 North Taylor Street. Featuring free food, music and fun, Unity in the Community will also present several local churches and community organizations interacting with residents and sharing information about resources and services they offer. Churches scheduled to participate on Nov. 9 include St. John’s Episcopal Church, Olive Branch Baptist Church, Wake Forest United Methodist Church, Friendship Chapel Baptist Church, Wake Forest Baptist Church and Church of God of Prophecy of Wake Forest. The participating local organizations include Dress for Success, Smart Start, Temple Vitality, Fundamental IQ

The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department will sponsor its annual Halloween Spooktacular on Thursday, Oct. 24, from 4:30 to 8 p.m. at the new Joyner Park Community Center at 701 Harris Road. Presented by Tuscan Ridge Animal Hospital and Champion Windows, Sunrooms & Home Exteriors, the Halloween Spooktacular is a free, family-oriented festival for children ages 12 and younger. This year’s festivities will include a balloon artist and cupcake walk, along with a variety of ghostly games and activities, and free pumpkin giveaways – while supplies last. Costumes are optional, but best costumes will be featured on the Town’s website and social media pages. For the last several years, the PRCR Department offered the Halloween Spooktacular at the Flaherty Park Community Center. Due to the event’s tremendous popularity, organizers decided to relocate the event to the more spacious Joyner Park Community Center. Anyone planning to attend is

The Town of Wake Forest will host a Smart Cycling class for beginners on Saturday, Oct. 26, and advanced riders on Saturday, Nov. 2. Both sessions will be offered from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the ground floor meeting room of town hall at 301 South Brooks Street. Designed for ages 14 and older, Smart Cycle Classes emphasize safe riding techniques, the proper way to scan for automobiles, intersection safety tips, how to avoid road hazards, such as tree limbs, pot holes and rocks, and more. Each class is $25 per person and $15 for each additional family member (limit four family members per class). Advance registration is required at http://wakeforestnc.recdesk.com/recdeskportal/<http://wakeforestnc.recdesk.com/recdeskportal/?fbclid=IwAR3EohdDGhAL_Oh6ZaKm1dL6RLrA1j2CeCsosntu0Jd6XH948Nt_YFpU9Hs>. On the day of the class participants should bring their own bicycles and helmets. Both sessions will begin with classroom instruction, continue with a variety of bicycle drills in the town hall visitor parking lot (located along Brooks Street),

The NC Symphony will present a free Music Discovery & Instrument Zoo on Tuesday, Oct. 22, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre for the Arts, 405 South Brooks Street. Geared for preschool and elementary age children and their families, this hands-on musical activity will feature NC Symphony musician Erik Dyke reading a children’s book followed by an interactive demonstration of orchestra instruments. Attendees will learn how instruments of the orchestra make their sounds and hear examples of classical and popular music. Afterwards, audience members will have the opportunity to try their favorite instrument in the instrument zoo. This Music Discovery program is sponsored by PNC’s Grow Up Great initiative, promoting literacy and arts education for preschoolers and their families. #

Beginning Monday, Oct. 14, the Wake Forest Loop  or WFL, a weekday, fare-free bus for residents traveling within Wake Forest and a portion of Wakefield, will expand to offer an early/late extension along North Main Street and a mid-day extension into Heritage. At 6:32 a.m., 7:32 a.m., 8:32 a.m. and 9:32 a.m., the WFL will depart Wake Forest Crossing, 12536 Capital Blvd., and make stops at the intersections of North Main Street/East Oak Avenue and North Wingate Street/West Oak Avenue before proceeding to the CVS Pharmacy stop at the intersection of North White Street/Roosevelt Avenue. The late extension will repeat the sequence hourly from 4:32 p.m. to 7:32 p.m. The mid-day extension into Heritage will be offered hourly from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. At the top of each hour, the WFL will depart downtown Wake Forest and travel to a bus stop at the intersection of Heritage Branch Road/Branch