Here’s your chance to be a part of the 2022 Meet in the Street! The Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce is currently accepting applications for arts and crafts vendors, food vendors, non-profits, and individual businesses for this popular community event. Applications are available online at https://wakeforestchamber.org/meetinthestreet and at the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce, 350 S. White St.  The 40th Annual Meet in the Street® is scheduled for Saturday, May 7, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in historic downtown Wake Forest. Promising a fun-filled day of food, live music, and children’s activities, the event will also include dozens of artisans’ booths featuring handcrafted arts and crafts, a Young Entrepreneur’s Fair, and more! Meet in the Street is free and open to the public. For complete details, visit https://wakeforestchamber.org/meetinthestreet or contact Liz Simpers at 919-556-1519 or liz@wakeforestchamber.org. #

Annual Fundraiser Benefits Neighbors in Need  The Koinonia Foundation of Wake Forest will host its annual Koinonia Cares Charity Auction online via Zoom instead of in person, on Saturday, March 12, 2022, 6 p.m. The virtual auction is free and open to the public. Participants are required to register for the auction at https://bit.ly/3BBNvSO and will immediately receive a Zoom login link to use on March 12 when they join by smart device or an internet-connected computer. “We’re offering a virtual auction experience with a secure and easy-to-use bidding experience. All bids will be taken during the live auction using the Zoom chat feature. Payments will be accepted through PayPal using any credit card,” explained Koinonia Board Member Ryan Siegers, serving as emcee for the event. The new online auction format is in response to continued concerns about COVID variants. Proceeds from the virtual auction will go toward Koinonia’s emergency

The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department will again partner with GSK and the UNC Morehead Planetarium & Science Center to offer “Science in the Summer” for rising students in grades 2-8. The free program will be offered at the Alston-Massenburg Center, 416 N. Taylor St., according to the following schedule:   Level 1 – 2nd and 3rd graders; Monday-Friday, Aug. 8-12; 9 a.m.-noon Level 2 – 4th and 5th graders; Monday-Friday, Aug. 8-12; 1-4 p.m. Level 3 – 6th-8th graders; Monday-Wednesday, Aug. 2-4; 1-4 p.m. 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. Monday, May 16, (or until all seats are filled) 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.,

North Wake Theatre will present three performances of “Forever Plaid: The Musical” Saturday and Sunday, March 19 and 20, at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre, 405 South Brooks Street. Show times are Saturday at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets are $25 plus tax and may be purchased online at www.wakeforestrencen.org/tickets-events or at the Renaissance Centre Box Office. “Forever Plaid” is one of the most popular and successful musicals in recent memory chock-full of classic barbershop quartet harmonies and pitch-perfect melodies. Once upon a time, four guys (Sparky, Smudge, Jinx and Frankie) discovered that they shared a love for music, then got together to become their idols – The Four Freshman, The Hi-Lo’s and The Crew Cuts. Rehearsing in the basement of Smudge’s family’s plumbing supply company, they became “Forever Plaid.” Tragically, on the way to their first big gig, the “Plaids” are broadsided by a school bus

Starting in April, the Town of Wake Forest will celebrate the return of warm weather by hosting a wonderful array of outdoor events and activities for the entire family. From our Memorial Flag-Raising Ceremonies and Easter Egg Hunt to Friday Night on White and Family Movie Nights at Joyner Park, spring and summer in Wake Forest are jam-packed with fun-filled outdoor events guaranteed to help you shake the winter blues. To help inform area residents about all these events, the Town of Wake Forest offers the “Wake Forest Outdoors” portal on its website. Located at http://bit.ly/WakeForestOutdoors, the webpage provides detailed information about our area’s most popular spring and summer happenings, including the Memorial Flag-Raising Ceremonies, Friday Night on White, Six Sundays in Spring, Meet in the Street, Family Movie Nights at Joyner Park, Independence Day Celebration, and National Trails Day – just to name a few. Offering dates, times, locations, event

The Town of Wake Forest is reminding residents that loose leaf collection service will end Friday, March 11. From Monday, March 14, through Friday, Sept. 30, residents must use compostable paper yard waste bags (paper only, no plastic) or reusable containers weighing no more than 50 pounds for yard waste (leaves, grass clippings, small limbs, and brush) collection. When preparing leaves and yard waste for collection, residents are urged to observe the following guidelines:   Use paper yard waste bags or reusable containers weighing no more than 50 pounds. Starting March 14, Public Works will not accept yard waste in plastic bags. Do not place yard waste inside Town-issued rollout trash or recycling carts; Do not mix in trash, rocks, or other debris; Place your bagged leaves, pine needles and grass clippings at the curb by 7 a.m. on your normal yard waste collection day. Paper yard bags and reusable personal containers can

Following a two-year hiatus due to COVID, the Town of Wake Forest and a host of partnering veterans’ organizations will resume their monthly flag-raising ceremonies in Town Hall’s Centennial Plaza on Monday, April 4, at 11 a.m. The 38th Wake Forest Memorial Flag-Raising Ceremony will honor William Gill, who served his nation in the U.S. Army during World War I. Members of Gill’s family have been invited to participate in the ceremony, which will include patriotic songs, special remarks, a memorial wreath laying and the ceremonial flag-raising. After raising the American flag, the Wake Forest Fire Department Honor Guard will raise the U.S. Army service flag in recognition of the military branch in which Gill served. Both flags will fly in Centennial Plaza throughout April. Photographs and other remembrances of Gill will also be displayed in Centennial Plaza during the ceremony, then in the Town Hall lobby through the end of

Eleven beautiful gardens will be available for viewing during the Wake Forest Garden and Art Tour 2022, and each garden will host one of our talented local artists demonstrating his or her talent over the weekend of Friday and Saturday, April 29 and 30. The tour is sponsored by the Wake Forest Garden Club. Tour hours are 2 to 5 p.m. on Friday, April 29, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 30. The Garden Tour tickets include food and wine at the After Party on the grounds of the Wake Forest Historical Museum at 414 North Main Street. The After Party starts at 5:30 and ends at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, 2022.  The food will be catered by The Lemon Tree of Wake Forest and Wine 101 will supply the wine and beer. Tickets are $35 per person and will go on sale on March 15

Beginning Monday, April 4, the Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department will partner with the Northern Wake Senior Center to offer free virtual fitness classes at the Alston-Massenburg Center at 416 North Taylor Street. The PRCR Department will offer virtual classes in the AMC’s large meeting room according to the following weekly schedule (items/supplies needed to participate shown in parentheses):   Drawing – Mondays at 10 a.m. (vinyl eraser, sketch pad, ruler, #2 pencil) Yoga Stretch & Meditation – Mondays at 12:30 p.m. (mat) Tone & Sculpt – Tuesdays & Thursdays at 10 a.m. (one- or two-pound hand weights) Aerobics – Wednesdays at 9 a.m. Zumba – Wednesdays at 12:30 p.m. Anyone interested in participating in one or more of these virtual classes will be required to register and sign a waiver in advance. To register, visit the AMC during normal business hours (Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday,

The Town of Wake Forest and the Clean Water Education Partnership (CWEP) will celebrate “Creek Week,” March 12-19, by hosting a “Creek Week Virtual 5K Run/Walk” at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road. The “Creek Week Virtual 5K Run/Walk” is an innovative and interactive way for residents of all ages to learn about the importance of clean and healthy waterways, while enjoying the outdoors. From March 12-19, participants are encouraged to walk or run (at least) five kilometers along Joyner Park’s three miles of paved trails. Educational information will be displayed on signage along the trails emphasizing the importance of clean and healthy waterways. At the end of each workout, participants will register and log their workouts through the exercise tracking service, Strava. To learn how to create a Strava account and use the mobile app, visit https://bit.ly/WFCreekWeek.   Water is a critical resource for all living creatures. The “Creek