The Town of Wake Forest will accept applications through Saturday, April 30, from food truck vendors interested in participating in the 2022 Fireworks Spectacular for this year’s Fourth of July celebrations. The online application is available at http://bit.ly/WFFireworksSpectacular. The fee is $175, and the event includes space for up to 14 food vendors. This year’s Fireworks Spectacular is scheduled for Sunday, July 3, at Heritage High School, 1150 Forestville Road. Gates open at 5:30 p.m., but food trucks are required to arrive and set up between 3 and 4 p.m. Participating food trucks are required to obtain all necessary Wake County permits, including a Mobile Food Unit (MFU) permit and ServSafe certificate. Each vendor must also complete a background screening and provide a copy of its Certificate of Insurance designating the Town of Wake Forest as an additional insured for the event date. A minimum of $1,000,000 in insurance is required. The

The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department is offering a limited edition water bottle highlighting E. Carroll Joyner Park as the first in a series of “Health & Wellness” merchandise available for purchase. As part of its mission to promote health and wellness in our community, the PRCR Department plans to sell various items over the next several months as a way of encouraging citizens to stay active. Available for $20 each (while supplies last) at https://bit.ly/PRCRMarketplace, the “Find Joy in Joyner Park” water bottle reflects the rustic charm of Joyner Park with a special emphasis on the park’s pecan grove. Water bottle orders must be picked up at Joyner Park Community Center, 701 Harris Road, during normal operating hours (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-8:30 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m.-noon). Please present a copy of your email receipt as proof of purchase. Proceeds from merchandise sales will help support the PRCR Department’s specialized programming for

In a recent ceremony the State Employees Credit Union (SECU) Foundation announced a $40,000 grant for the Wake County non-profit, Note in the Pocket. The funding will help advance Note in the Pocket’s vision for the operation and continued growth of its clothing program for underserved school-aged children, with strategic goals to expand distribution sites, service areas, and develop a statewide model to further increase its impact in the state. Note in the Pocket became an official ministry in 2012 through Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church and received its non-profit status a year later.  They now serve 5,000 children annually, partnering with various schools, community groups, and social services agencies to distribute quality clothing to children from homeless and low-income families.  The organization’s goal is to donate a full wardrobe of matching, stylish, school-appropriate clothing to children in need.  Each set is accompanied with a note that reads “You

The Wake Forest Technology Advisory Board is inviting area middle school and high school students and their families to the 2020 Wake Forest STEM on Saturday, April 30. Presented by the Wireless Research Center, this free family networking event  is scheduled from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. at Joyner Park Community Center, 701 Harris Road. Celebrating Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, STEM Saturday will expose students to a variety of STEM career options, while featuring STEM-related exhibits, demonstrations, and hands-on learning activities. STEM Saturday will also include several interactive booths where representatives from a variety of local businesses, schools, and organizations will engage with parents and students, share professional insights and experiences, and offer an array of interesting demonstrations. Throughout STEM Saturday, youth can experience the wonders of STEM hands-on, ask questions, and be inspired to pursue a degree or occupation in a related field. A special thanks to our 2022

The Town of Wake Forest and the Local Government Federal Credit Union will co-sponsor a drive-thru paper shredding event on Monday, April 18, from noon-4 p.m. – or until the two paper shredding trucks are full. Free and open to the public, the shred event will take place rain or shine in the parking lot of the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre, 405 S. Brooks St. The occasion will offer area residents and businesses the opportunity to protect themselves from identity theft and dispose of confidential documents in an environmentally responsible manner. All paper will be shredded on-site, then recycled. Participants are urged to help reduce contamination by removing all non-paper materials in advance, such as plastic binders, plastic folders, and metal tabs. In addition, items that can damage the equipment will not be accepted, such as wet or moist paper, hanging file folders, books (hardback or paperback), credit cards, photographs, film, DVDs,

There are a few slots left in Level 3 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

New Hope Valley Railway (NHVR), the Triangle’s Train, will begin its 2022 season on Saturday, April 9, 2022. Located in Bonsal, N.C., 30 minutes from Raleigh, the non-profit, all-volunteer railway offers a full season of special ride days and events with the return of Brew ‘n’ Choo, Slow Down Sunday, Operate A Loco and Family Cabooses. Tickets can now be purchased online at www.TriangleTrain.com for all 2022 ride days except Track or Treat Halloween Express and Santa’s Reindeer Roundup Express that will go on sale in July. Trains depart from NVHR’s rail yard with rides lasting approximately an hour. Visitors will travel eight miles round trip in covered, open-air passenger cars. Ticket prices range from $9 – $16. Train transportation is federally mandated the same as air transportation and masks are still required. Masks must be worn by all visitors ​and volunteers in compliance with the current Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requirements. Jim Whitten, New Hope Valley Railway marketing/ticketing volunteer, expressed his

The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department will host an online esports gaming tournament featuring “Rocket League” on Saturday, April 23. Open to players ages 10 and older, the online tournament is free to play and will be live streamed on Twitch.tv. Registration is open through Wednesday, April 20, at https://wakeforestnc.recdesk.com/Community/Home. 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 23 and the top eight teams battling it out in the finals on Sunday, April 24. As an added incentive, the first 30 people to register will have their name entered into a drawing for a chance to win a Nintendo Switch. Only tournament participants are eligible to win. The

The Recreation Advisory Board will host a family-friendly 5K/3K walk/run as part of National Trails Day on Saturday, June 4, at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road. Check-in on the day of the event starts at 7 a.m., and the race begins at 8 a.m. Online registration is available at www.wakeforestnc.gov/meetings-events/national-trails-day-5k. The entry fee for the 5K is $25 before March 31; $30 from April 1-May 14; $35 from May 15-June 2; and $40 the day before and day of the race. The entry fee for the 3K is $20 before March 31; $25 April 1-May 14; $30 May 15-June 2; and $35 the day before and day of the race. Please note: Registrations will be accepted on the day of the event. Everyone who registers before May 15 will receive a race T-shirt. The National Trails Day 5K/3K is a timed walk/run for children and adults. Strollers are welcome

Updated March 23, 2022) Plans under review at the Wake Forest Planning Department The March issue of the Monthly Report is listed below. *White Street Townhomes is a plan for 82 multifamily units and 30 townhouse lots on two lots owned by David Smoot at the intersection of South White Street and East Holding Avenue. This is a major change from the original plan for 79 townhouse lots. *Wake Union Church Road is the name for this proposed project but it is the former Parker-Hannifin (Schrader) site with a federal brownfield designation because of the trichloroethene (TCE) and other chemical and petroleum contamination in the groundwater, a contamination which has spread. Parker-Hannifin has committed to remedy the problem. The plan submitted by Kimley-Horn is for 193,000 square feet of commercial space, 300 apartments and 89 townhouses along with streets and parking areas which cover almost all of the 50 acres.