This year’s Wake Forest Holiday Artisans Market will be held outdoors along South White Street on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The outdoor market is presented by ARTS Wake Forest and the Wake Forest Guild of Artists and will feature a wide variety of items handmade by 25 regional artists and craftspeople. Socially distanced artist booths will be set up a minimum of 10 feet apart in parking lots along South White Street from Elm Avenue to East Owen Avenue. Visitors and vendors are asked to wear face coverings at all times, and handwashing stations and a portable toilet will be accessible. Free and open to the public, the market will include potters, jewelry artists, ceramicists, fine artists, photographers, woodworkers, candlemakers, fiber artists, and other craftspeople. The organization is no longer accepting artist applications for this event. “Each year, the Holiday Artisans Market gives artists the opportunity to showcase

After congratulating Mrs. Virginia Dupree Phillips, a resident of Brookdale Wake Forest on her birthday at 101, the Wake Forest Town Board heard from Chief Financial Officer Aileen Staples and external auditor April Adams with Cherry Bekaert about the audit of the finances for fiscal year 2019-2020. Adams said it was a clean audit. Staples said the town had a property tax increase of 6.3 percent and the staff was “pleasantly surprised” to learn that the town’s share of the state and county sales taxes was 4 percent higher than the previous year. Without comment, the commissioners approved the changes made by the planning board in the Grove 98 Planned Unit Department. The only other business was requested by attorney Eric Vernon, which was to approve two letters affirming action taken in October. The board then had denied approval of the subdivision plan and master plan for Wake Preparatory Academy

A mandatory mask requirement is in effect for all of North Carolina. As a result, every North Carolinian in an indoor public space, or in an outside public space when unable to physically distance from others, is required to wear a face covering. Exceptions to the mask requirement apply to children under 11, those with certain medical conditions and people exercising outdoors away from other people. Other exceptions allow for people to remove masks while communicating with someone who is hearing impaired, while receiving medical treatment, or while giving a speech for broadcast or to an audience. You are also not required to wear a mask while riding in a personal vehicle. In accordance with Executive Order (EO) 147, all visitors to the Wake Forest Town Hall, 301 S. Brooks St., and other Town facilities must wear a face mask or face covering. For more information, call Town Hall at

The Town of Wake Forest encourages local pet owners to be good neighbors and great pet owners by obeying Wake County’s leash law. The Town regularly receives complaints from local residents about dogs running at large – particularly at Town parks. Although Wake Forest does not have an ordinance pertaining to dogs, Wake County Animal Control has jurisdiction to enforce animal control laws within the town and its park system. Wake County Animal Control Ordinance Section 2-3-7 (A) states “It shall be unlawful for any owner to permit an animal to be at large.” Section 2-3-7 (C) further states “It shall be unlawful for any person owning or having possession, charge, custody or control of any dog to take the dog into or allow the dog to enter any public park without being at all times under the restraint of a leash unless said park is designated as a dog park.” Any owner

The Wake Forest Renaissance Centre will present a virtual concert featuring young violinist Tyler Butler-Figueroa on Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 7:30 p.m. The free performance will be presented online via YouTube, and the event link will be posted on the Renaissance Centre website, and Facebook and Instagram pages by 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 23. Filmed at the Renaissance Centre on October 24, Tyler’s streamed concert will feature several of his most popular numbers, including Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger,” the song that started his incredible journey on “America’s Got Talent”. A Raleigh native, Tyler began playing the violin when he was 7 years old. He was only 11 when he auditioned for “America’s Got Talent” and received the coveted Golden Buzzer from Simon Cowell. This gave him the opportunity to travel to California to compete on AGT’s Season 14 where he finished in the top 10. Tyler returned for “AGT: The Champions 2” in