Forest Moon Theater will present “Prelude to a Kiss” Friday through Sunday, Feb. 14-16 and Feb. 21-23, at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre, 405 South Brooks Street. Show time Friday and Saturday is 7:30 p.m., while the Sunday show time is 3 p.m. When Peter, a man from a broken family, meets Rita, an insomniac bartender with no faith in the future, only one thing can happen: they fall in love and get married. Then on the evening of their nuptials, an elderly stranger appears at the reception, bearing a kiss for the new bride. In this romantic fantasy, it is a kiss that tests the boundaries of the couple’s love. 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,

The Wake Forest Police Department has scheduled its next Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events class for Tuesday, Feb. 18. The session will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. inside the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre at 405 South Brooks Street. There is no cost to participate, but registration is required at http://bit.ly/WFPD_CRASE. Class size is limited to the first 100 people to register. Please note: Every participant must register individually – one person per form. On the evening of the class, attendees may be required to show proof of registration prior to entering the Renaissance Centre. Led by Wake Forest Police Lt. L. Danforth, the session will teach participants what to do if confronted with an active shooter event. Designed and built on the Avoid, Deny, Defend (ADD) strategy developed by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center at Texas State University, the class will provide strategies, guidance and

Better Business Bureau serving Eastern North Carolina (BBB) names the top ten businesses with the most unanswered complaints in 2019. BBB successfully closed 6,971 consumer complaints against businesses in Eastern North Carolina in 2019. Among those complaints, the following businesses accounted for nearly one-third of all BBB of Eastern North Carolina’s unanswered complaints. Epic Games. For the second time, the Cary-based gaming company behind popular titles such as Fortnite and Infinity Blade tops BBB’s list of unanswered complaints. Epic Games had a total of 71 unanswered complaints and an “F” rating with BBB in 2019. A majority of complaints submitted to BBB deal with customer service, and refund or exchange issues from the company. TTC Business Solutions, LLC. This Cary-based company which specializes in trademarks, copyrights, patents and enforcement had its BBB accreditation revoked in 2019 due to a pattern of unanswered and unresolved complaints. The company currently has an “an “F” rating with BBB

The Optimist Club of Wake Forest is proud to present their newest fundraiser – Funko Bunko, coming to Wake Forest at The Forks on Tuesday, Feb. 11, from 6 to 10 p.m.  Players are limited to 100 seats. The Optimist Club of Wake Forest is fundraising for the local youth in Wake Forest, and 100 percent of the money raised stays local to help the local youth in need. Funko Bunko is hosted and sponsored by The Forks. A great country dinner is available for purchase at The Forks. Please eat before playing begins. Tickets are $20 per person. Please reserve your seat and pay online through PayPal – WakeForestOptimistClub@gmail.com. Or, send a check (made payable to: Wake Forest Optimist Club) with a list of names to: PO Box 1992, Wake Forest, NC 27588. We are starting with teams of four. Prizes will be awarded to the “Most Wins”, “Most Bunko’s”, and “Most Losses”.

Mayor Vivian Jones will deliver her 2020 State of the Town Address on Monday, Feb. 17, at 6 p.m., during the 12th Annual State of the Town Address and Dinner. Presented by the Wake Forest Rotary Club, the event will take place at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre at 405 South Brooks Street. During her remarks, Mayor Jones will highlight the Town’s key accomplishments in 2019 and outline the goals Wake Forest will strive towards in 2020. All area residents are invited to attend. Tickets are $15 per person in advance and $20 on the day of the event and include a catered meal. However, the event is expected to sell out. Dress for the event is business casual. A limited number of tickets are available and can be purchased online with a Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover credit card at www.wakeforestnc.gov/communications/state-town<https://www.wakeforestnc.gov/communications/state-town>. Tickets may also be purchased at the Renaissance

Updated January 22, 2020 Northern Wake Senior Center will open to its members and the public on Feb. 3, 2020. We are assured everyone will be thrilled by the new space and all the improvements. The reconstruction is adding 9,000 square feet plus renovations throughout the original center on East Holding Avenue. There will be a new entrance to the building, an expanded parking lot and a new parking lot entrance on the extension of Brooks Street which has finally connected Elm Avenue to East Holding. Among the new features will be an addition to the exercise room, a new roof and a new multipurpose room. Focus Design Builders won the $3.9 million contract – it is being paid through the bonds approved in 2014 – and the target date for completion was May 1, 2019. Focus Design won the contract because it promised to complete the work within 269

The Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce will sponsor the Family Expo for the second year, and it will take place Saturday, March 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Richland Creek Community Church. Register by Jan. 31 and you will get $50 off booth prices over $300. There will be both indoor and outdoor booths available. If you become a sponsor you will get premium booth locations and additional marketing exposure. There will be an outdoor kid zone with bounce houses and other kid-friendly activities. Go to the chamber website to download the booth registration packet for the Family Expo. * * * * Current and aspiring entrepreneurs are invited to apply for “Launch Wake Forest.” Launch Wake Forest is aimed at entrepreneurs who have a great idea but are unsure where or how to begin, as well as those who are already in business and need to learn how

Finally! The Northern Wake Senior Center will open for full operations on Monday, Feb. 3, after being closed for a year and a half. There is no word yet about a grand reopening ceremony. The center, run by Resources for Senior, has managed to hold most classes and programs during that time because churches, the Northern Regional Center and the Town of Wake Forest made spaces available. Right now the staff is moving in, moving furniture around and making sure they have everything for a smooth opening on Feb. 3. There has been a continuing adjustment of the completion date since the beginning of 2019 when the town board learned the initial completion date – May 1, 2019 – could not be met because of the large number of rain days in 2018 – 36 when the average is 13. Focus Design won the contract because of its promise to

The Wake Forest Gazette has been a reliable source of information about the town of Wake Forest since 2003. The free online weekly newspaper is always available at www.wakeforestgazette.com. The Gazette is the only Wake Forest newspaper consistently offering news about the Wake Forest Board of Commissioners and Planning Board, events in town, calendar, obituaries and a list of community organizations and meeting times. There are also articles about town history, opinion from readers and once in a while we even print recipes. The Gazette currently has 1,500 subscribers and 1,500 people who read it without subscribing, reaching a substantial number of area residents. The advertising rate for the Gazette is $100 per month. There are no charges for obituaries or any news. If you want to advertise, please email or call the editor, Carol W. Pelosi, at cwpelosi@aol.com or 919-556-3409. #

*The Wake Forest Farmers Market will be open from 10 a.m. to noon this Saturday, Feb. 1, in the employee parking lot along South Taylor Street behind Wake Forest Town Hall. 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. Remember the Wake Forest Farmers Market is unusual in that it is owned by the farmers who sell their wares there. *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 10 am. to 1 p.m. a.m.