Play4Life’s 4th Wake Forest ComiCon is coming up Aug. 10. Held in conjunction with Wake Forest Downtown Inc., the ComiCon will feature 35 vendors, including 12 comic book vendors with more than 100,000 comics, as well as graphic novels, figurine dealers, artist tables, food, drinks, a costume contest and more. Admission is $5 for adults and teens. Children 12 and under get in free. The costume contest will be held at 3 p.m. Registration for the contest will be from 2-2:30 p.m. at the event. Parking is available on site. Several vendors are returning from last year including used graphic novels dealer Comic World, G3eks comics enthusiasts, SKWAD Graphics, Catseye Comics, and artists Marlon Westray, Hannah Stayton, “Jeff the Yeti” creator Ryan Sheffler and Witchzilla. New vendors include Catalyst Comics, Be Kind Rewind (repurposed VHS tape covers), Page 158 Books, and The Record Krate. Sugar Magnolia Café and Emporium –

The 15th annual Purple Heart Banquet will be held on Saturday, Aug. 3, at 3 p.m. in Wake Forest. Hosted by the Wake Forest Purple Heart Foundation, the banquet invites the public to help honor those wounded in defense of this country. In addition to Purple Heart Medal recipients and their families, the event is open to all veterans, military families and the public, and is held at Richland Creek Church, 3229 Burlington Mills Road, Wake Forest. The keynote speaker is Patti Elliott, National President of American Gold Star Mothers. She is the proud mother of Brad Elliott of Wake Forest, and SPC Daniel Lucas Elliott, who was killed July 15, 2011 in Basra, Iraq. He was an Army Reserve MP, attached to the 805th out of Cary. Typically this banquet salutes more than 70 Purple Heart recipients from around the Triangle. This year’s celebration features the Walk of Honor, music, patriotic tributes and a catered meal.

The Town of Wake Forest and several local veterans’ organizations will continue their monthly flag-raising ceremonies in Town Hall’s Centennial Plaza on Monday, Aug. 5, at 11 a.m. The 56th Wake Forest Memorial Flag-Raising Ceremony will honor Howell Jones who served our nation in the US Army. Family members and friends of the Jones family will participate in the ceremony, which will include patriotic songs, special remarks, a memorial wreath laying, and the ceremonial flag-raising.   During the service, the Wake Forest Fire Department Honor Guard will raise the American flag and the US Army service flag in recognition of the military branch in which Jones served. Both flags will fly in Centennial Plaza throughout August. Photographs and other remembrances of Jones will also be displayed in Centennial Plaza during the ceremony, then in the Town Hall lobby through the end of the month.  Presented by the Town of Wake Forest and several local

The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources (PRCR) Department is hosting a free, monthly outdoor movie series through August at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road. Family Movie Nights at Joyner Park feature a variety of family-friendly film favorites and genres, including comedies, dramas, and action, all projected on a 26-foot inflatable movie screen in the park’s amphitheater.  Weather permitting, the series will conclude Saturday, Aug. 3, at 8:30 p.m. with “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” Showtime is 8:30 p.m. Anyone planning to attend is urged to arrive early as viewing space may be limited. Attendees are encouraged to bring a blanket and/or chairs but are reminded that alcohol, smoking, and unleashed pets are prohibited. Free and open to the public, Family Movie Nights also feature a movie-related pre-show activity for kids beginning at 7:30 p.m. Pre-show activities on August 3 will include a character “meet and greet”

Spend a couple Sunday evenings in September with family and friends at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road, while enjoying some foot-tapping, finger-snapping good times during the 2024 Concerts in the Park. “Throwback Collaboration Band” will headline the first concert on Sunday, Sept. 1, followed by “The Breakfast Club” on Sunday, Sept. 8.  Throwback Collaboration Band will play your favorite old-School funky music. With the rich melodies they create, you would think they are a group of 12, but they are merely composed of six brilliant musicians. The Breakfast Club is the longest running, most recognized ’80’s tribute band in the United States. The group embodies the enigmatic, creative, and buoyant spirit of music and live performances of the original MTV generation of the 1980s. Free and open to everyone, these performances are scheduled from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Joyner Park amphitheater. Attendees are invited to bring a picnic,