*The Wake Forest Farmers Market will be open from 10 a.m. to noon (winter hours) Saturday, Jan. 27, in Renaissance Plaza on Brooks Street. Local farmers and artisans will offer meats, seasonal vegetables, bread and baked goods and other local wares. See the market’s Facebook page for information about the vendors.
*Monday Night Bingo at The Factory is hosted by the Wake Forest Kiwanis Club in the Mill Room from 7 to 9:30 p.m. every Monday night. All profits support the club’s projects for children. Visit www.wakeforestbingo.com for more information.
*Tri-Area Ministry Food Pantry at 149 East Holding Avenue is now open from 9 to 11 a.m. every third Saturday along with its regular hours on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for food distribution. It serves about 700 families in Wake Forest, Youngsville, Rolesville and their surrounding areas. Call 919-556-7144 for information about receiving food, volunteering and donations. You can send donations to Tri-Area at PO Box 1394, Wake Forest NC 27588.
*Hope House Weekly Food Pantry distributes food at 1 p.m. every Thursday. Hope House volunteers pick up the food from the Food Bank of Eastern and Central North Carolina and the house typically has vegetables, fruits, salad packages and breads but sometimes does have meat, eggs, fruit juice and milk. Hope House is at 334 North Allen Road. For more information, call Norma Bennekin at 919-263-1007.
*The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration will be held Thursday, Jan. 18, at Friendship Chapel Missionary Baptist Church on Friendship Chapel Road. Area residents are invited to share a light meal at 6 p.m. with the program beginning at 7 p.m. The free program is sponsored by several local churches and community organizations. For more information email Margo Grant at mlgtennis38@yahoo.com.
*SING-WF (Senior Information & Networking Group) will sponsor a free community-wide meeting Friday, Jan. 26, from 8:30 to 10 a.m. about the “Dementia Capable” community initiative sponsored by the town. The meeting will be in the ground floor meeting room best reached by the South Taylor Street entrance.
*The Wake Forest Town Board will hold its annual planning retreat on Friday, Feb. 2, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Alston-Massenburg Center on North Taylor Street. The retreat is open to the public.
*The Wake Forest Renaissance Centre on Brooks Street will host an open house Monday, Feb. 5, from 5:50 to 7 p.m. in the Arts Annex to showcase the large number of arts classes the center will begin offering on March 1.
*The Wake Forest Mardi Gras Street Festival will take place Saturday, Feb. 10, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. along South White Street and is family friendly and free. Bring your masks, noise-makers and costumes for the walking parade, children’s activities and contests for everyone. Several downtown merchants will also offer special discounts and activities throughout the day.
*The State of the Town Address & Dinner is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 19, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Wake Forest Presbyterian Church, 12605 Capital Boulevard. The $15 tickets are now on sale. See article in this issue for details.
*The Senior Lifestyle Expo planned by the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Carillon Assisted Living will be held at Richland Creek Community Church on Tuesday, March 20, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Exhibitors will be able to get booth registration packets later this month.
*Shred-It, the town-sponsored paper-shredding event will be held for the third year on Monday, April 23, in the Renaissance Plaza parking lot from noon to 6:30 p.m. or until the four Shred-it trucks are full.
*Wake Forest will host the 2018 National Public Power Lineworkers Rodeo on Saturday, April 28, beginning at 8 a.m. on land just north of Holding Village on South Franklin Street.
*The 38th Meet in the Street sponsored by the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce will be held on Saturday, May 5, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The chamber is now accepting applications for the booths in four categories: handmade arts and crafts, non-profit, food vendor and downtown Wake Forest merchant. Call Corey Hutcherson at 919-556-1519, option 2, or send him an email, corey@wakeforestchamber.org.
*The Wall that Heals, one of the two half-size replicas of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., will be displayed in Wake Forest for four days in October, Oct. 18 through 21, on the lawn in front of the Calvin Jones House and the Wake Forest Historical Museum. The Wake Forest Purple Heart Foundation is the sponsor.
