*The Wake Forest Farmers Market will be open from 10 a.m. to noon (winter hours) Saturday, Feb. 17, 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 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.
*A Wake Forest Fair Courts Town Hall will be held Thursday, Feb. 22, at 6:30 p.m. at Wake Forest Town Hall on Brooks Street. Local legislators and experts will address the community concerns and provide ways to help people fight for fair courts. The event is hosted by Democracy North Carolina, the NC NAACP, NC Voters for Clean Elections, Progress NC and You Can Vote. Free, open to all.
*The Yam Jam – bagging sweet potatoes donated by local farmers for delivery to more than 25 area good pantries. Bring your work gloves to the parking lot at St. Catherine’s of Siena Catholic Church on West Holding Avenue on Saturday, Feb. 24, to help. Get there by 9 a.m. and all the action should be over by 10:30. This is a project of the Wake Forest Area Hunger Ministry.
*Our Future: Growing Smart with Housing and Transit, a forum sponsored by WakeUp Wake County on Wednesday, March 7, at 7 p.m. in WakeMed Hospital’s Andrew Conference Center at 3000 New Bern Avenue in Raleigh is free to all but you are asked to register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/our-future-growing-smart-with-housing-and-transit-tickets-41343835525?aff=erelexpmlt#tickets.
*A Shamrockin’ Casino Gala hosted by the Wake Forest Woman’s Club will be held Friday, March 16, from 7 to 11 p.m. at Cross & Main in Youngsville. See article in this issue for more information.
*Rise Against Hunger on Saturday, March 17, at the Wake Forest Boys & Girls Club on South Wingate Street to help pack 100,000 meals that will feed school children in developing countries. Bring along canned goods for Wake Forest’s Tri-Area Ministry. A time and how to volunteer will be provided later.
*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.
*The Koinonia Cares Charity Auction will be held from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday, March 24, in the Fellowship Hall at Wake Forest Baptist Church. See the article in this issue for details.
*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.
*Dairies? Cows? On Sunday, April 29, the Wake Forest Historical Association will present a program about the local dairy farms that surrounded the town and dotted the landscape for miles around. The program will begin at 3 p.m. and is free to everyone.
*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.
*Get your tickets now for the June 2 Beach Music & BBQ with the Band of Oz at the grand re-opening of the renovated Renaissance Centre on Brooks Street. Tickets are $25 and include the barbecue by Papa Jack’s Catering.
*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.
