The Town of Wake Forest is celebrating Historic Preservation Month in May by offering free walking tours of the Northeast Community, Local Historic District (North Main Street), and South Main Street.  Pre-registration is required for each tour by completing the online sign-up form at https://bit.ly/WFHistoricWalkingTours. Space is limited to the first 15 participants to sign up for each tour.  ed by staff from Historic Preservation Planning Program, each tour will include discussions of the developmental and architectural history of the area, along with the significant men and women who shaped the community. Tours are outside only and will not include the inside of individual homes or buildings. Each tour is approximately 90 minutes and will be offered according to the following schedule: For complete details, visit https://bit.ly/WFHistoricWalkingTours or contact Senior Planner for Historic Preservation Michelle Michael at 919-435-9516 or mmichael@wakeforestnc.gov. ###

The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources (PRCR) Department will offer a free outdoor fitness series four nights a week in May at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road. Free and open to area residents of all ages, May Month of Fitness will consist of the following weekly classes:  ·         Mondays – Women’s Self Defense ·         Tuesdays – Cynergy Fit ·         Wednesdays – Yoga ·         Thursdays – Zumba  All classes are free and require no registration. Each will be offered on its respective night from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Joyner Park Amphitheater. During the Women’s Self Defense classes, instructors from Quest Martial Arts will teach participating women a variety of techniques to avoid danger and defend themselves if necessary. Sessions will focus on practical and instinctive methods to get you out of harm’s way. Participants are encouraged to bring water. Cynergy Fit is an Outdoor Bootcamp Community in Wake Forest. Personal Trainer

Based on the Monthly Development Report, WF Planning Updated May 1, 2025  The town keeps a running tally of approved projects with counts of those completed. The best inspections current estimate is that between seven and eight people move to town each day, moving into newly-built houses, townhouses or apartments and a few existing houses that were for sale.   Projects under review 1. 418 Jones Dairy Road SP-23-11 is a request by David Williams Sr. to rezone 5.61 acres on the south side of Jones Dairy Road from RH rural holding and LI light industrial to NB-CD conditional neighborhood business to allow construction of two 24,502 square foot buildings side by side, one restaurant and one an office. The plans call for space for a public art statue and seven handicapped parking spaces. The Town Board voted unanimously to approve at their October 15, 2024 meeting. 2. Hawthorne Wake

This year’s Forest Fest will be held  Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in downtown Wake Forest. Presented by Wake Forest Downtown, Inc. in association of Wake Forest and several community partners, this free family-friendly event will be held – rain or shine – in several areas throughout the downtown area. Celebrating nature and outdoors in the heart of Wake Forest, Forest Fest will include extended hours by the Wake Forest Farmers Market (8 a.m.-2 p.m.) along South Taylor Street, and a variety of local vendors, non-profit booths, and children’s activities along East Owen Avenue, Brooks Street, and the Town Hall parking lot. Centennial Plaza will feature live music with Loos Change from 10 a.m. to noon, a DJ from noon to 2 p.m., and Blooming in the Forest – a local floral arrangement competition. In addition, the Urban Forestry Board will again host the popular Arbor Day

The Wake Forest Police Department) is participating in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2025 National Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Wegmans, 11051 Ligon Mill Road. Weather permitting, the drop-off area will be situated just outside the Wegmans main entrance facing Dr. Calvin Jones Highway/NC 98 Bypass. National Drug Take Back Day is a prescription medication take-back initiative that promotes proper medication disposal. By providing a safe, convenient, and responsible way for people to dispose of unwanted pills, tablets, and other medications, the event helps prevent accidental poisonings and drug abuse, while also protecting local rivers and streams. The service is free, anonymous and no questions will be asked. Participants can help onsite personnel properly identify and sort the medications by disposing expired, unused, or unwanted medicine in their original containers with the drug labels intact. All the medications collected during the

The Wake Forest Fire Department Annual Fish Fry is Friday, April 25, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. – or until all the fish plates are sold – at Fire Station #1, 420 Elm Ave. Plates are $10 each and will include generous portions of fried flounder, boiled potatoes, coleslaw, and hush puppies. Cash, check, and credit card accepted. Fish fry proceeds will benefit the Wake Forest Firefighters Foundation. No preorders will be accepted but eat-in and drive thru take-out options will be available. Desserts will be sold separately for guests dining inside. Delivery service is available for orders of 15 plates or more. A special part of this year’s Fish Fry will be a food drive to benefit the Tri-Area Ministry Food Pantry. Throughout the day, the WFFD will collect non-perishable food items to help feed hungry people in our community.  For more information, visit https://bit.ly/WFFDFishFry or call 919-556-1966.  ###

You’re invited to a foot-tapping, finger-snapping good time at this year’s Six Sundays in Spring. Sponsored by the Town of Wake Forest and ARTS Wake Forest, the free outdoor concert series will be offered from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on consecutive Sundays from April 27 through June 1 at the Joyner Park Amphitheater, 701 Harris Road. From big band and R&B to beach and jazz, there’s something for all music lovers at this year’s Six Sundays in Spring. The British Invaders Band will kick off this year’s performances on Sunday, April 27, followed by The Tams (May 4), Eduardo and the Paco Band (May 11), The Legacy Motown Revue (May 18), Blackwater Band (May 25), and Miss Mini & the Sandman Band (June 1). A variety of food and dessert trucks will be on site for each concert. Concert goers are also invited to bring a picnic from home but are reminded

US 1 is known for excessive road congestion and driving along it takes up substantial amount of time for residents and workers in the region. The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), along with state and local partners, has pursued upgrading the corridor to a freeway for several decades. The project has been repeatedly delayed, and costs have escalated exponentially. To try to stabilize both the timeline and costs, CAMPO partnered with the N.C. Turnpike Authority to investigate alternative and innovative methods to deliver this project. The study conducted by the N.C. Turnpike Authority developed four different scenarios for tolling that could be used to preserve the project’s schedule and feasibility. All four scenarios envision the upgrades as previously planned (NCDOT’s U-5307), but two options explored converting the corridor to an expressway (similar to N.C. 540 in Wake County) and the other two options present tolling as an express lane/s

The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department is partnering with Pickles and Play to host the 2025 Spring Smash Pickleball Tournament Friday-Sunday, May 16-18, at the Flaherty Park Pickleball Courts and Tennis Complex, 1226 N. White St. Registration is underway at https://bit.ly/WFPickleball and continues through Sunday, May 11. The entry fee is $45 per player, plus $10 for each additional event. For more information about the 2025 Spring Smash Pickleball Tournament, visit https://bit.ly/WFPickleball or email Tournament Director Lisa Groeschner at LisaG@picklesandplay.com.  ###

We will have klezmer music at the Wake Forest Library on May 4 to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month! Please share/post the sign and info with whomever may enjoy the event – folks from all sorts of backgrounds/religions came last year and it was a wonderful time for connection and understanding. Plus, we will have delicious food for taste. Klezmer music will remind people of Fiddler on the Roof songs – Magnolia Klezmer Band.