The Wake Forest Public Art Commission (PAC) and ARTS Wake Forest are inviting community members to a special Community Celebration of the Arts on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Alston-Massenburg Center and Taylor Street Park, 416 N. Taylor St. Free and open to everyone, this family-friendly event will include food, music, a variety of arts activities for people of all ages, performances by Donna Washington and the Wake Forest Community Youth Orchestra, and the unveiling of a new mural. Starting at 10:30 a.m., Queen of Emp and Kona Ice will be onsite giving away meals and sweet treats to the first 100 people. One of the day’s highlights promises to be a free performance by Storyteller Donna Washington at 10 a.m. inside the Alston-Massenburg Center. A local favorite, Washington has been entertaining, educating, and inspiring audiences for over 30 years by bringing folklore, literary tales, and personal

After over 30 years, management of the Wake Forest Historic Home Tour is transitioning from the Wake Forest Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) back to the Wake Forest Woman’s Club. The Woman’s Club introduced the Historic Home Tour in the 1980s and later partnered with the HPC to co-host the event. In the decades that followed, the holiday tour has become a beloved community event offered every other year. All was well until 2020 when the tour was canceled due to COVID. According to Senior Planner for Historic Preservation Michelle Michael, the pandemic ushered in a new era for the event marked by a drastic decline in the number of property owners willing to showcase their homes. “COVID changed the way the community interacts in many ways but especially when it comes to people opening their private homes to the public,” said Michael. “People simply aren’t as open to inviting 2,000

The Town of Wake Forest and several local veterans’ organizations will conclude this year’s series of monthly flag-raising ceremonies on Monday, Oct. 7, at 11 a.m., in Town Hall’s Centennial Plaza, 301 S. Brooks St. The 58th Wake Forest Memorial Flag-Raising Ceremony will honor Homer Akin who served our nation in the US Army. Family members and friends of the Akin family will participate in the ceremony, which will include patriotic songs, special remarks, a memorial wreath laying, and the ceremonial flag-raising. Photographs and other remembrances of Akin will also be displayed in Centennial Plaza during the ceremony, then in the Town Hall lobby through the end of the month. As part of the October 7 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 Akin served. Both flags will fly in Centennial Plaza throughout October. The American flag will

The Wake Forest Police Department is accepting monetary donations through Saturday, Nov. 23, as part of its 18th Annual Turkey Drive. Area residents can support this worthy cause by submitting online donations at http://bit.ly/WFPDTurkeyDrive.  Cash and checks written to the Wake Forest Police Department are also accepted. Anyone wishing to contribute cash or check to this year’s Turkey Drive should contact Officer K. Abshire at kabshire@wakeforestnc.gov. All monetary donations will be used to purchase additional turkeys.  On Saturday, Nov. 23, the Police Department will accept monetary donations and donations of frozen turkeys at the WFPD Substation, 225 S. Taylor St., from 9 a.m. until noon. Police officers and staff will then distribute the turkeys while they last on Monday, Nov. 25, from 8-11 a.m., at the Tri-Area Ministry Food Pantry, 149 E. Holding Ave.  ###The Wake Forest Police Department is accepting monetary donations through Saturday, Nov. 23, as part of its 18th Annual

The Wake Forest Human Relations Council (HRC) is pleased to announce that Samantha Luce is Wake Forest’s 2024 Good Neighbor of the Year. Mayor Vivian Jones announced Luce as this year’s winner during Saturday’s Good Neighbor Day celebration at E. Carroll Joyner Park. In her nomination narrative, Katy Doyle acknowledged Luce’s efforts to organize the October 5 Wake Forest Pride Festival, along with her support of downtown. “When a Little Free Library supporting the LGBTQ+ community was torn down and destroyed one evening in November 2023 in downtown Wake Forest, it was a painful reminder that prejudice exists among us,” wrote Doyle. “The library was filled mostly with children’s books and a few cookbooks that were donated by people in the community. If the Little Free Library represented community and love, what should happen next? The Town of Wake Forest approved Samatha Luce’s application to organize and celebrate what is