The Wake Forest Area Chamber’s Senior Expo presented by Cadence Living will be held Saturday, September 9, at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre. This FREE expo will connect seniors and their adult children with organizations and companies that can make their lives better. From healthcare, assisted and independent living, and financial planning, to mobility solutions, legal advice, home care and more, you’ll find valuable resources and information all in one place! In addition, we will have panel discussions with local experts around health, wellness, and financial management. ###

(The Gazette was about to run this plea for help on August 8 when the editor tried out the Click Here button and found that all the volunteer slots at both locations have been filled. So instead just donate your five cans of food, get your sandwich and say thanks for helping to the volunteer serving at your window. Tri-Area needs all the food you can donate.) Both Wake Forest Chick-fil-A stores are hosting a Food Drive on Tuesday, August 8, from 11 a.m. till 7 p.m. to benefit Tri-Area Ministry Food Pantry. Customers donating five cans of food at either store on August 8 will receive a “Be Our Guest” card, good for a FREE Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich. We’re looking for volunteers in shifts AT BOTH LOCATIONS during the drive to accept the donated food. No experience necessary, we’ll get you up to speed upon arrival. Click HERE to

Four people responded to the contest about improving Capital Boulevard last week. Do you have ideas? Send them in this week and we’ll publish them, then forward them to DOT. Given that we are not entirely confidant that the North Carolina Department of Transportation will actually buy the necessary land in 2024 and begin construction of the six-lane limited access road in 2025, The Wake Forest Gazette has asked its readers to engage in a little “what-if” scenario. Thus far, four people have responded. David Crank said, “Flow should be improved in many simple ways. What do the traffic engineering studies say are the quick fixes? The DOH has clearly added way too many stoplights in the past few years along Capital. For example, eliminate left handed turns at many of the major and minor intersections. Any drivers that want to go left could go up to the 98 bypass

Please see the below available resources and upcoming workshops – share them within your networks – – Greetings Villagers! We have been actively engaged in finding additional opportunities for cooperative collaboration to better serve others. Listed below are community resources and workshops organized by the Village of C.A.R.E. Should you have any further inquiries, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Kindly spread the word within your network and encourage everyone to participate. Workshops: Art Project II class- August 5, 2023, from 11:00 am-2:00 pm for middle and high school-age children. Location: Wake Forest, NC Summary of Art Project: Illustrating Poems – Instructor, Lynda Edwards This project is for all students no matter what their artistic ability is. This art project is designed to help students with their language skills, interpretation, imagination, drawing skills, and communication skills all of which are related to learning how to illustrate a poem. A

Vital Theatre will present two performances of the classic tale “The Wizard of Oz” Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre, 405 S. Brooks St. Show times are at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Don’t miss this incredible re-telling of an American classic that has been entertaining audiences for ages. Rediscover the joy of following the yellow brick road with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, the Cowardly Lion, and even munchkin puppetry, as they travel through a re-imagined world of Oz. Suitable for children of all ages, this scaled-down version will last approximately one hour. Advance tickets are $20 plus tax for adults and $10 plus tax for ages 12 and younger. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit https://bit.ly/WFRenCenTix. To receive email notifications concerning special events and programs in Wake Forest, sign up for E-Notifier at https://bit.ly/WFEnotifier. ###

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 2023 Concerts in the Park. “SNAP” will headline the first concert on Sunday, Sept. 3, followed by “The Soul Psychedlique Orchestra” on Sunday, Sept. 10. As full-time musicians, SNAP can transition seamlessly from crooning classic R&B, to banging out bombastic pop-punk, and throw in some house-thumping hip-hop and classic rock to top it off. They are masters of mash-up, rulers of remix, and monarchs of medleys. The Soul Psychedelique Orchestra has an extensive music library than spans style from the 1940’s Big Band sounds to Beach Music, R&B, to Rock, Reggae, Latin and the best of today’s music. Free and open to everyone, these performances are scheduled from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Joyner Park amphitheater. Attendees are invited to bring

The Human Relations Council is soliciting youth and adult nominations for the 14th Annual Good Neighbor of the Year Award. The award recognizes Wake Forest residents who work to improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods without seeking recognition for their efforts. Nominees are sought in two divisions: adult (ages 19 and older) and youth (ages 10-18). To qualify, a nominee must be a Wake Forest resident who has made a significant contribution to the community between September 1, 2022, and August 31, 2023. Employees of the Town of Wake Forest are not eligible. The online nomination form is available at http://bit.ly/WFGoodNeighborAward. Completed nomination forms must be submitted by 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 31. Nominations forms must include the names of both the nominator and the nominee, along with a narrative of 400 words or less describing why the nominee is deserving of the Good Neighbor of the Year

Good Neighbor Day, which the Town of Wake Forest has celebrated for 17 years, will be held at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road, on Saturday, Sept. 16, from 1 to 4 p.m. Hosted by the Human Relations Council, Good Neighbor Day is an annual celebration that brings together Wake Forest residents from all walks of life for an afternoon of free food, fun, and family entertainment. By bringing together a mix of cultures, music, ages and ethnicities, the event celebrates diversity and promotes goodwill among all Wake Forest citizens. Volunteers are critical to the success of the event and needed at various times between noon and 5 p.m. Volunteer duties will be general in nature and may include setting up, cleaning up, answering questions, and assisting attendees. Local civic groups and community organizations are especially encouraged to participate, along with local students interested in earning community service hours.

The Wake Forest Police Department is urging residents to guard against fraud and spam text messages following a reported incident involving a test message offering $10 off the purchase of a Town of Wake Forest and Wake Forest Fire Department shirt. The text message includes a link for recipients to click on to initiate their order. Many times, it’s hard to tell what’s a scam and what isn’t, but this is a scam. If you get a text message you weren’t expecting, don’t click on any links. Some links may take you to a spoofed website that looks real but isn’t. If you log in, the scammers then might steal your username and password. Other messages might install harmful malware on your phone that steals your personal or financial information without you realizing it. If you think the message might be real, contact the company/organization using a phone number or

The Hope House Back to School event will be held Saturday, August 12, 2023, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 334 North Allen Road. Along with the Bookbag and School Supplies Giveaway, there will be a food giveaway, vision screening for children and adults and a giveaway of adult readers glasses and sunglasses. ###