The Wake Forest Area Chamber Foundation is sponsoring a new initiative which has been created specifically for area residents aged 55-plus. Connect Wake Forest is a four-week program designed to connect residents with like-minded peers while they learn about the history and growth of Wake Forest, discover ways to get involved in the town, and become more civically aware. At the end of the program, participants will be given opportunities to volunteer with existing organizations and launch new community initiatives. Connect Wake Forest is open to both residents and non-residents of Wake Forest. Applications are being accepted now. The program kicks off on Wednesday, July 14, at the Wake Forest Historical Museum. The day’s topic will be the history of Wake Forest. Subsequent programs feature town government, local businesses, and community involvement. During each session, participants will be introduced to community and business leaders. Every session includes lunch and facilitated

A towering willow oak tree nicknamed “Broccolini” is the Wake Forest 2021 Tree of the Year. Located on the Brooks Street side of the Northern Wake Senior Center, 235 E. Holding Ave., the “majestic” tree was the runaway winner in this week’s voting. Of the nearly 400 votes cast, “Broccolini” received 141 votes, followed by a “beautiful” tulip magnolia along the 500 block of North College Street with 85 votes and a “magnificent” willow oak at Holding Park with 81 votes. As the person who submitted the winning tree, Hannah Huggins will receive a certificate crowning her tree as the Wake Forest 2021 Tree of the Year. The Town of Wake Forest wishes to thank everyone who submitted a tree for consideration and voted in this year’s contest. The Urban Forestry Division plans to offer the competition again next year. To view the photo gallery of 2021 Tree of the

Between now and May 31 Boy Scout Troop 500G and the Wake Forest United Methodist Church will collect sewing supplies – sewing machines, sewing machine needles, fabric, thread and sewing needles – for a mission in Belize sponsored by Rise Against Hunger and for local people who sew who are in need. You can drop off your contributions either to Scout Troop 500G or put them in the labelled bin on the back porch of the Wake Forest United Methodist Church Family Life Center. #

Celebrate it with free webinars, hunt, virtuascavenger l tours and coloring pages May is Preservation Month, and the Historic Preservation Program is offering several ways for residents to celebrate and learn more about Wake Forest history, including two free webinars, a scavenger hunt, virtual tours, and coloring pages of locally significant historic sites. Complete information about these opportunities is provided at http://bit.ly/WFPreservationMonth. Throughout May, residents are invited to participate in the Preservation Month Scavenger Hunt. Ten pictures of local Wake Forest historic features are highlighted on the Town website. Everyone who takes pictures of themselves in front of all 10 historic features and uploads the photos through the online form will be entered into a drawing for a $20 gift card to Lumpy’s Ice Cream. For complete Scavenger Hunt rules, visit http://bit.ly/WFPreservationMonth. In addition, the HPP is partnering with the Wake Forest Historical Museum to offer the following free Zoom webinar: Tuesday, May 25

In an effort to bring life-saving COVID-19 shots closer to communities, Wake County has opened a vaccination clinic in Wake Forest at the Northern Regional Center on East Holding Avenue, and people do not have to make appointments. The new site will offer free vaccines five days a week and will have evening and weekend hours. Most people are familiar with the regional center because it offers a lot of county services in a convenient location. Just walk in during clinic hours to get your shot. It’s not always easy for people to go to Raleigh to access county programs and services like mass vaccination clinics, and that’s exactly why these regional center exist – to bring those services to residents in communities where they live,” Ross Yeager, director of the Northern Regional Center, said. “Dozens of people already come here to vote, to get a copy of a birth

Several members of the Wake Forest Police Department are raising money for NC Special Olympics and the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics by participating in “Mustache May.” Throughout the month of May, participating officers and staff will encourage community members to donate to Special Olympics and the nearly 40,000 registered athletes who train and compete year-round in 20 different sports. Each participant has a fundraising goal of at least $50, and several will grow a mustache to show their support. For more information about “Mustache May,” to view participant photos, or to donate to a particular participant’s fundraising effort, visit http://bit.ly/WFPDMustacheMay or contact Cpl. J McArthur at 919-554-6150 or jmcarthur@wakeforestnc.gov. The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing

Wake Forest Coffee Company hosts first live poetry since COVID By Antino Art • @RaleighisforRonin Live poetry returns to Wake Forest on Saturday, June 5 in a show billed as The Quarantined Poets Supper Club. The show will be hosted by the Wake Forest Coffee Company in collaboration with local poets. Located in historic downtown Wake Forest, the indie coffeehouse became an epicenter for spoken word poetry in the Triangle. Where Unheard Voices Howled It was the year before COVID. The cafe began hosting poetry nights every month in their second-story artist loft — a hideaway of wooden floorboards and dimmed recess lights, back-set by the easels and canvases of local painters. Soon, the cafe built a marquee name in the scene. Poets from all over the Raleigh-Durham area would converge with their favorite caffeinated drink in hand, and howl their truths into a mic in front of standing room

Sponsorships, duck adoptions supporting local youth nonprofits are now available  Ducks will race again during the Wakefield Rotary Club’s third annual Super Duper Duck Splash, on Saturday, July 24, 2021, at WRAL Soccer Park at 7700 Perry Creek Road in Raleigh, parking lot #5. Proceeds from the charity fundraiser benefit local youth initiatives. Rubber ducks are currently available for adoption on Wakefield Rotary’s Super Duper Duck Splash website, www.ncducksplash.com and can be purchased until the race begins at noon on the day of the event. For a chance to win a first-place cash prize of $1,500, second place $1,000 or third place $500, participants can purchase a single duck adoption for $5 or groups of ducks at a discount. Proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit local youth-based nonprofits Note in the Pocket, Wake Forest Boys & Girls Club, Kerr Family YMCA and NC Football Club Youth. This year, there are

Commander Joe Csuka of the Wake Forest Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Post 8466 announced the kick-off of this year’s VFW Student Essay competitions. Local students have the opportunity to compete for thousands of dollars in awards, scholarships, trips to Washington, DC and more. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) started the Voice of Democracy Scholarship program in 1947. The VFW became a national sponsor in the late 1950s and assumed sole responsibility for the program in 1961. The competition was created to provide students grades 9-12 the opportunity to express themselves in regard to democratic ideas and principles. Around 40,000 students participate in the competition each year and VFW awards more than $2 million in scholarships every year. The program was expanded to include middle school students with the Patriot’s Pen competition in 1995. Since then hundreds of thousands of students have participated. High school students (grades 9 – 12

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