The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department is inviting residents to “Cinema at the Center” on Saturday, Dec. 11, at the Joyner Park Community Center (JPCC), 701 Harris Road. The featured film will be “Frozen II” (PG). Admission is free and no registration is required. Bring your blankets, get cozy and get into the holiday spirit while watching a computer-animated comedy with a seasonal theme. Produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, “Frozen II” follows sisters Anna and Elsa, alongside Kristoff, an iceman, his reindeer Sven, and Olaf, a snowman, as they travel to the mythical Enchanted Forest to unravel the origin of Elsa’s magical power. Anyone planning to attend is invited to arrive early and meet Elsa and Olaf who will be visiting from 5:30-6:30 p.m. The movie will begin at 6:30 p.m. #

The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department will host a “Snowball Dance” for residents with disabilities on Friday, Dec. 3, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Wake Forest Community House, 133 W. Owen Ave. Individuals with disabilities ages 10-30 are invited to an evening in “Winter Wonderland” featuring a DJ, dancing, refreshments and lots of fun. Chaperones will be made available for supervision, but participants are welcome to bring additional support if necessary.  The cost is $15 per person, and pre-registration is required at https://wakeforestnc.recdesk.com.  In addition, the PRCR Department is seeking peer-aged volunteers ages 12 and older to attend the dance and provide support by dancing, eating and socializing with the attendees. Anyone who is interested in volunteering can register via RecDesk under the program “Special Needs Snowball Dance VOLUNTEERS.” For more information, contact Specialized Programs Recreation Specialist Kelly Schurtz at 919-556-7093 or kschurtz@wakeforestnc.gov. #

The Town of Wake Forest has installed a “Letters for Santa” mailbox in Jones Plaza at the intersection of South White Street and East Jones Avenue. Children of all ages are invited to bring their letters to Santa’s Mailbox anytime between now and Friday, Dec. 24, for immediate delivery to the North Pole. No postage is required, but all letters should include a return address. In an effort to ensure the safety of Santa’s helpers who previously opened each letter individually, personal responses from Santa are not possible this year. However, the Town of Wake Forest has provided a letter from Santa that can be downloaded and personalized at https://bit.ly/WFLettersforSanta. For more information, contact Downtown Development Specialist Hallie Willis at 919-435-9430 or hwillis@wakeforestnc.gov. #

The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department is introducing an exciting new format to its Battle in the Forest eSports gaming tournaments. On Saturday, Dec. 18, from 1 to 6 p.m. the “Challenge of the Cities” will bring together Cary Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources, Holly Springs Parks & Recreation, and the Durham Sports Commission for a special eSports tournament featuring “Rocket League.” Bragging rights will be on the line as “Challenge of the Cities” proves which participating city reigns supreme in eSports. Open to players ages 12 and older, the online tournament is free to play and will be live streamed on Twitch.tv. Registration is open through Wednesday, Dec. 15, at https://wakeforestnc.recdesk.com/Community/Home. Teams comprised of three players each will compete in the double elimination tournament which will run in conjunction with Bull City Gaming. Each municipality will draft teams prior to December 18 to represent their city. The top

After a year’s pause because of the pandemic, the in-person Wake Forest Community Christmas Dinner, the 74th, will be held this year, but due to COVID only half the usual number of tickets is being sold, 150 rather than 300. The dinner will be held on Monday, Dec. 6, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at The Forks Cafeteria. Tickets are $20 each for the buffet and available at The Forks Cafeteria, the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce and from local civic club members. The three community service awards – The Peggy Allen Lifetime Achievement Award, the Citizen of the Year and the Organization of the Year – will be presented, and there will be the usual raffle of the table decorations. Greg Harrington is this year’s chairman of the steering committee. Actually, there was a ceremony for the Christmas dinner in 2020. The members of the steering committee and Mayor

The Wake Forest Woman’s Club is pleased to continue its tradition of offering a scholarship competition for qualifying seniors currently attending Franklin Academy High School, Heritage High School, or Wake Forest High School. Applicants need to be in the upper fourth of their class and have plans to attend an in-state 4-year college or university in the fall of 2022. The winner of the Wake Forest Woman’s Club Sallie Southall Cotten Continuing Education Scholarship will receive a one-time $2,000 award from the Club and will compete at the GFWC-NC district level for an additional $1,000 scholarship. For more information and to obtain an application, seniors should contact Student Services at their school. The deadline for submitting the completed application is January 6, 2022. The Wake Forest Woman’s Club continues to serve the community. For more information about the WFWC and how to become a member, please visit www.wake-forest-womans-club.com and www.facebook.com/wakeforestwomansclub.  

Several local churches and community organizations will honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during a free, public celebration on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. at Friendship Chapel Baptist Church, 237 Friendship Chapel Road. The evening’s theme will center around one of Dr. King’s messages: “I have decided to stick to love…Hate is too great a burden to bear.” In the spirit of the event theme, the Wake Forest MLK Committee will offer creative performance, writing and art competitions for students in Wake Forest and Rolesville-area schools. Complete contest rules and information, along with the online contest entry form, will be available in November at http://bit.ly/WFMLKCelebration. The competition winners will be recognized during the January 20 program. In the meantime, the Wake Forest MLK Committee is accepting monetary donations from the community to help fund the monetary prizes and scholarships awarded to the competition winners.

Updated November 10, 2021 Street and highway update The CSX Railroad crossing on Rogers Road has been a two-lane bottleneck since the road was opened in 2000. Help is on the way if the latest update from the North Carolina Department of Transportation will hold to its plan of beginning to construct a four-lane street bridge over the railroad tracks, which is the fall of 2022 or a year from now. Do not hold your breath because the date has slipped several times, but DOT’s financial situation is much better now so it may be true. Also, commuters from Wake Forest and much farther north are still waiting for the long-promised widening of Capital Boulevard. Currently the right-of-way acquisition and construction is not planned to begin until October 2024 for the first segment from I-540 to Durant Road/Perry Road. Apparently right-of-way acquisition for the next two segments, B and C,

The Women’s Business Alliance’s monthly meeting on Friday, Dec. 10, at the Wake Forest Historical Museum on North Main Street will feature a panel of three experts in women’s health. The panelists are: * Dr. Hajira Yasmin, founder and medical director with Alray Direct Gynecology & Intimate Health Center * Dr. Pamela Perkins, co-owner of Perkins Counseling & Psychology Services * Danielle Vaughan, DPT, co-owner of PhysioFit of North Carolina. Visitors and potential new members are always welcome at alliance meetings. * * * * The chamber is creating a new alliance, the Veterans Business Alliance. If you are a chamber member and a veteran, please get in touch with the chamber office to let them know of your interest in the alliance. * * * * Need employees? As a benefit of your Chamber membership, you can post your job openings at absolutely no cost to you on our

Mark your calendars for Dec. 4 when the Northern Wake Fire Department will hold the Holly Jolly Market outdoors at the fire station, 7045 Stony Hill Road, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Northern Wake Senior Center will have a tent selling lots of craft items that have been created at the center. Support two worthy local causes by attending and purchasing. The Northern Wake Fire Department was created by joining the Falls Fire Department and the Stony Hill Fire Department. #