The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department is partnering with GSK and the UNC Morehead Planetarium & Science Center to offer “Science in the Summer” for rising 2nd through 8th graders. The free program will be offered at the Alston-Massenburg Center, 416 N. Taylor St., according to the following schedule: Level 1 – 2ndand 3rd graders; Monday-Friday, July 19-23; 9 a.m.-noon Level 2 – 4thand 5th graders; Monday-Friday, July 19-23; 1-4 pm Level 3 – 6th-8thgraders; Monday-Wednesday, Aug. 3-5; 9 a.m.-noon There is no cost to participate, but due to limited seats in each session, registration is required. The online application is available on the Town website at http://bit.ly/WFScienceinSummer. Completed applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. Friday, May 28, and may be emailed to Recreation Specialist Garrett Bryant at gbryant@wakeforestnc.gov or delivered/mailed to the Alston-Massenburg Center, 416 N. Taylor St., Wake Forest, NC 27587. The theme for the 2021 Science in the Summer series is

The annual spring Shred-a-Thon was held on Saturday, April 17, 2021 in the parking lot of the Patterson Building on the campus of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest. This allowed residents to shred their old taxdocuments following this year’s tax filing. Sponsored by the Wake Forest Purple Heart Foundation, all proceeds go to honor area Purple Heart recipients. An annual banquet is held on the first Saturday in August honoring recipients and their families. This date is chosen because August 7 is National Purple Heart Day. The foundation wishes to thank all those who stopped by to donate and shred, and a special thanks to all our volunteers for their hard work to make this event possible. Donations are welcome and may be sent to PO Box 168, Wake Forest, NC 27588 or visit the foundation’s website at www.wakeforestpurpleheartfoundation.org. #  

Two-time Emmy Award winning journalist Sloan Heffernan with WRAL-TV is partnering with the Wake Forest Area Chamber to offer a “Business of Storytelling” workshop from 12 to 1:30 p.m. on May 6, 2021. This virtual workshop will be held via Zoom and is open to the public. Storytelling can enrich and transform a customer’s experience. It also has the power to build loyalty and trust. Heffernan will teach workshop attendees how to identify their brand story and craft a compelling narrative to connect with their audience and grow their business. Participants will learn how to identify and deliver a powerful story on various digital platforms with a limited budget in mind. This workshop is perfect for small business owners, marketing and social media professionals, those in the nonprofit arena, and anyone who wants to tell their story better. The cost to attend is $10 for Chamber members and $20 for non-members. Those

The Wake Forest Renaissance Centre on South White Street will reopen for in-person events on Friday, May 7, with a concert by Yolanda Rabun, “All that . . . & Jazz.” A North Carolina native, Rabun exploded onto the jazz scene first on Stanley Baird’s 2007 Traffic Jam hit single, “I Want 2 Love You,” and, in 2011, released her debut CD project, “So Real,” on which she co-wrote several songs, including the title song. In 2012, Rabun infused Soul, R&B, Gospel, Folk, Smooth and Traditional Jazz on her sophomore solo album, “Christmastime,” and followed in 2013 with the Adult Contemporary single, “Hold on To Your Dreams.” Advance tickets are $20 each plus tax and can be purchased online with a Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover credit card or by calling the Renaissance Centre Box Office at 919-435-9458. #  

In response to strong community interest, the Wake Forest Fire Department is selling custom “Autism Awareness” T-shirts with puzzle lettering for $20 each. Available in a variety of youth and adult sizes, the T-shirts may be ordered and purchased online via credit card at www.wakeforestnc.gov/marketplace. For every T-shirt sold, the WFFD will donate $2 to the Autism Society of NC. Anyone who orders one or more T-shirts may pick up their order at Station 1, 420 Elm Ave., during the April 16 WFFD Drive By Fish Fry or request to have it shipped to their address. The WFFD announced in late March that it would support “Autism Awareness Month” throughout April by wearing custom “Autism Awareness” T-shirts. In response to numerous requests by community members to purchase the T-shirts, the fire department agreed to sell the shirts and donate a portion of the proceeds to the Autism Society of NC. #

The Urban Forestry Division is celebrating Arbor Day this year with a free tree seedling giveaway, virtual tree tour and tree of the year award, but the seedling giveaway has ended. Area residents are invited to experience and enjoy a new online tour highlighting several prominent trees in downtown Wake Forest. Structured around an interactive map and accessible at www.wakeforestnc.gov/public-works/urban-forestry, the virtual tour provides the name and location of each tree, along with a photo and brief description. Finally, from now through Friday, April 23, the UFD is accepting nominations from residents for the Wake Forest 2021 Tree of the Year award. Trees may be nominated for their size, species, historic significance, personal meaning, community benefit or general notoriety – but they must be located within the Wake Forest town limits. To submit your choice, visit http://bit.ly/WFTreeofYear, complete the nomination form and upload a photo of your tree. Finalists will be selected

The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department will commemorate “National Physical Fitness Month” in May by offering a 50-Mile Walking Challenge for area residents ages 11 and older. The concept is simple. The parks and rec department is challenging area residents to walk a total of 50 miles in May and use tracking cards to record their progress. Walking locations may include neighborhoods, schools, churches, parks and greenways – just to name a few. There is no cost to participate, and online registration will be open throughout April at https://wakeforestnc.recdesk.com/Community/Home (search “Walking Challenge). The first 200 people to register will receive a free water bottle. Tracking cards are available for pickup at Joyner Park Community Center (JPCC), 701 Harris Road. Everyone ages 11 and over who registers, completes 50 miles, and returns their tracking cards to JPCC by Thursday, June 3, will receive a commemorative T-shirt (while supplies last) and

Note: Real fish are involved The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources  Department will host a Virtual Bass Fishing Tournament for ages 13 and older and a Virtual Youth Fishing Tournament for ages 12 and under May 10-23. Over this two-week period, local anglers are encouraged to visit any public fishery in Wake or Franklin County to try and catch the biggest fish. Participants in the Youth Fishing Tournament may catch any species of fish, while anglers in the Bass Fishing Tournament will be limited to bass only. Online registration for both tournaments is available through Thursday, April 22, at  https://wakeforestnc.recdesk.com/Community/Home. The cost to participate is $10 for the bass tournament and $5 for the youth tourney. Participants in the bass tourney will receive a fishing scale to be used in the competition, while contestants in the youth tournament will receive an “Early Fisherman” packet. Fishing scales and “Early Fisherman”

The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department will host an online esports gaming tournament featuring “Rocket League” on Saturday, April 24. Open to players ages 10 and older, the “Battle in the Forest” will be played online and live streamed on Twitch.tv. Registration is underway through Wednesday, April 22, at https://wakeforestnc.recdesk.com/Community/Home. The cost is $5 per player. Teams comprised of three players each will compete in what is scheduled to be a single-day tournament to be run in conjunction with “Bull City Gaming.” In the event more than 32 teams register, the tournament will expand to two days with the qualifying rounds taking place on April 24 and the top eight teams battling it out in the finals on Sunday, April 25. As an added incentive, the winning team may represent the Town of Wake Forest in the BODYARMOR State Games esports tournament. Considered one of the top esports games in the

The Town of Wake Forest is inviting individuals and families to join the “Show Some Love, #KeepWFclean” campaign by picking up trash in their neighborhoods and along local streets and roadways. Designed to encourage maximum public participation, the initiative allows volunteers to pick up litter on a one-time or ongoing basis. Participants may also choose the area they wish to clean or request direction to high need areas around town. To aid the effort, volunteers may reserve one or more litter kits at no charge by completing the online form at www.wakeforestnc.gov/keep-wf-clean. Each litter kit includes reflective vests, gloves, buckets, grabbers, trash bags, data collection sheets, hand sanitizer and litter education materials. A special thanks to B&W Hardware for donating the litter kits. Once reserved, litter kits may be picked up at the Public Works Operations Center, 234 Friendship Chapel Road, Monday-Friday, between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. and must be returned within