Lisa Oakley of the Cedar Creek Gallery blows 55 glass eggs each year to raise money for the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC using an auction and raffle sales beginning March 1 and ends April 14. The auction and raffle sales begin on March 1 and winners are announced on April 1. For full details about how to pay for raffle tickets and enter the auction, go to Blown Glass Egg Raffle Event Details March 31 – April 14. In 22022, $23,000 was donated and that grew to $32,000 in 2023. This year Oakley and her loyal fans hope to feed even more families. ###

The Town of Wake Forest is partnering with Wake County to host “Clearing the Air: Navigating COVID-19, Tobacco Cessation & Vaping Realities” Thursday, Feb. 15, from 6-7 p.m. at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre, 405 S. Brooks St. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the use of e-cigarettes is unsafe for kids, teens, and young adults. Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine which is highly addictive and can harm adolescent brain development. Youth e-cigarette and cigarette use have also been associated with mental health symptoms, including depression. The February 15 workshop will explore these, and other health risks associated with smoking and teen vaping, offer effective tobacco cessation strategies, and share the latest on COVID-19. Free and open to all, the event will feature an interactive panel discussion moderated by Dr. Rasheeda Monroe MD of the UNC School of Medicine and Director of the Kenan Urban Scholars. Panelists will include Dr.

The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department is partnering with Wake Forest native Ronald “Skip” Parker to host a “Black History Expo” Saturday, Feb. 10, from noon-4 p.m. at the Alston-Massenburg Center, 416 N. Taylor St. Free and open to the public, the expo will feature on display many of Parker’s unique and authentic antiques and collectibles from the mid-1800s through the mid-1900s, including an 1842 wooden washboard, a vintage 1954 DeLaval stainless steel milk can, antique dolls depicting Rosa Parks, Ida B. Wells, Ella Fitzgerald, Katherine Johnson, and Maya Angelou, and much more. For more information, email Community Center Supervisor James Triplette at jtriplette@wakeforestnc.gov. For information on all of Wake Forest’s Black History Month events, including our Black History Month Walking Tours and “Jackie Robinson: A Game Apart,” visit https://bit.ly/WFBlackHistoryMonth. ###

 Mike Wiley Productions will present two free performances of “Jackie Robinson: A Game Apart” in Wake Forest on Saturday, Feb. 24. The first performance will take place at 11 a.m. at the Alston-Massenburg Center, 416 N. Taylor St., while the second show is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre, 405 S. Brooks St. “A Game Apart” provides a glimpse of Jackie Robinson’s life during a bygone era of separate and unequal locker rooms, whites-only hotels, and restaurants with only a back door for colored athletes to enter. Witness the hopeless humiliation of a star player who was showered with adulation on the field and became a second-hand citizen when he walked off the diamond. Meet Jackie’s compatriots fighting the same battles between the end zones, inside the ring,  and around the track.  A powerful lesson of courage through dedication, perseverance, and leadership, “A Game Apart” is part of the Wake

Forest Fest returns to downtown Wake Forest on Saturday, April 20, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Presented by Wake Forest Downtown, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to champion the economic health, growth, and vitality of downtown Wake Forest, Forest Fest is a family friendly event celebrating the heart of Wake Forest, where history is cherished and nature thrives. WFD is now accepting applications from vendors and nonprofit organizations that wish to participate in this year’s Forest Fest. Food trucks have already been secured for this event, and no additional food vendors are needed. As interest in Forest Fest continues to grow, WFD is committed to securing vendors and nonprofits whose missions and efforts align with the purpose and spirit of the event. As a result, participating vendors and nonprofit organizations must provide products, services, education, or activities that relate directly to the history of Wake Forest or