The long-awaited, much anticipated opening of the Holding Park Inclusive Playground, 133 W. Owen Ave., will occur Saturday, March 2, at 7 a.m. The playground will be open daily from dawn to dusk. Due to the high volume of attendees expected throughout the opening weekend, free parking will be available in several lots on the campus of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) and along several side streets in the vicinity of Holding Park. Visitors are encouraged to make plans with family members and friends to carpool, use rideshare services, or take advantage of the free Wake Forest Loop (Saturday only) which offers stops less than a block away from the park. Designed to provide children of all abilities with a safe and fun place to play, inclusive playgrounds offer a sensory-rich play experience for every cognitive level and developmental stage. The Holding Park Inclusive Playground’s thoughtful design includes accommodations for

The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department is partnering withPlay4Life Comics to host a Comic Book & Toy Expo Saturday, March 16, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Flaherty Park Community Center, 1226 N. White St. Free and open to everyone, the expo will feature over 20 vendors of your favorite pop culture nostalgia offering for sale vintage comics, rare action figures, popular Pokemon cards, and more. The PRCR Department has scheduled future Comic Book & Toy Expos on June 19 and November 9. For more information, email Community Center Supervisor Grayson Pridgen at 919-554-6726 or gpridgen@wakeforestnc.gov.

The Rotary Club of Wake Forest announces its 2nd annual Cars and Carnivores Street Festival featuring a steak cookoff competition, car show, vendors and food booths on Saturday, March 23, 2024, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. in historic downtown Wake Forest.   Following last year’s success, the free street festival on Brooks Street and Owen Avenue combines a love for classic cars with the passion for grilling while raising funds to pay off past-due medical bills for local cancer patients.   “Our inaugural event raised enough money to erase the medical debt of 26 local cancer patients through our partnership with WakeMed Health & Hospitals,” said Johnny Whitfield, Wake Forest Rotary club president. “We believe alleviating financial stress for cancer patients and their families during difficult times is important in our community. By entering the car show and steak cookoff, becoming a sponsor, attending our free street festival and buying lunch from our

The Wake Forest Woman’s Club is sponsoring a Chili & Soup Dinner and Raffle on Saturday, February 24, 4 to 7 p.m. at the American Legion Hall Post 187, 225 E. Holding Avenue, Wake Forest.  Soups offered are choice of Chicken Vegetable, Broccoli Cheddar, Lentil Chili (vegetarian and gluten free), and Beef Chili. All dinners are $12.00 and include choice of soup or chili, corn muffin, drink and cookie. Take out orders are $12.00 for 32 ounce/quart containers.  Dinner tickets, take out soup and raffle tickets can be purchased through the club website at www.wake-forest-womans-club.com The Wake Forest Woman’s Club works to strengthen the community and enhance the lives of others through volunteer service. ###

Forest Fest returns to downtown Wake Forest on Saturday, April 20, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Presented by Wake Forest Downtown, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to champion the economic health, growth, and vitality of downtown Wake Forest, Forest Fest is a family friendly event celebrating the heart of Wake Forest, where history is cherished and nature thrives. WFD is now accepting applications from vendors and nonprofit organizations that wish to participate in this year’s Forest Fest. Food trucks have already been secured for this event, and no additional food vendors are needed. As interest in Forest Fest continues to grow, WFD is committed to securing vendors and nonprofits whose missions and efforts align with the purpose and spirit of the event. As a result, participating vendors and nonprofit organizations must provide products, services, education, or activities that relate directly to the history of Wake Forest or

Wake Electric members are invited to the electric cooperative’s annual meeting at 7 p.m. Friday, March 22, in the auditorium at Louisburg College. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. Join other Wake Electric members in reviewing the business of your co-op, receive free gifts and get a chance to win $1,000. Wake Electric’s business is providing electricity, but our heart is empowering our members and building the communities we serve. Cooperative businesses are not-for-profit and exist to provide exceptional service to members, rather than to make a profit. At Wake Electric, we: ** Provide payment assistance to members in need. ** Award $70,000 in teacher grants each year. ** Support local nonprofits with quarterly grants through the member-funded We Care Foundation. ** Award scholarships for local students to attend basketball camps at NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill. ** Hold three gift card drawings annually for students who make at least one

The Town of Wake Forest and the Wake Forest Historical Museum are partnering to offer free Black History Month Walking Tours of the Northeast Community at 1 p.m. on the following dates in February: Pre-registration is required by completing the online sign-up form at https://bit.ly/BHMWalkingTours. Space is limited to the first 15 participants to sign up for each tour. Led by staff from Historic Preservation Planning and the Wake Forest Historical Museum, the tours will include Olive Branch Baptist Church, Alston-Massenburg Center, the newly restored Ailey Young House, the African American Cemetery, and more. Along the way, each group will discuss the developmental and architectural history of the area, along with the significant men and women who shaped the Northeast Community. Tours are outside only and will not include the inside of individual homes or buildings. Each tour is approximately 90 minutes and will begin at Taylor Street Park, 416 N. Taylor

The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources (PRCR) Department will host an online Esports gaming tournament featuring the game “Street Fighter 6” on Saturday, Feb. 24. The tournament will serve as a qualifier for the BODYARMOR State Games FGC Gohon Kumite eSports Tournament in March. Results from this tournament will determine participant positioning in the BODYARMOR tournament. Open to players ages 13 and older, the online tournament is free to play on all consoles and PCs and will be live streamed on Twitch.tv. Registration is open through Wednesday, Feb. 21, at https://wakeforestnc.recdesk.com/Community/Home. Participants will compete in a one-on-one, single-day, double-elimination tournament to run in conjunction with “Bull City Gaming” and BODYARMOR State Games. The matches will be best of three, while the championship match will be best of five. In the event more than 32 participants register, the tournament will expand to two days with the qualifying rounds taking place on February

The Wake Forest Inspections Department issues a monthly report about all new building permits and new businesses. In January there were 35 permits issued for new single-family dwellings and nine permits for townhouses. There was one new commercial building approved, a Char-Grill at 145 Crenshaw Corners Drive. There were three fit-ups: two for retail space vanilla box at 12243 Capital Boulevard and one at 12247 Capital Boulevard as well as  Jersy Mike’s Subs at 1040 Forestville Road, Suite 140. There were two pre-occupancy inspections: Wakefield ATV (Auto Truck Van) at 745 Merritt Capital Drive, Suite 108 and Barlow Photography at 745 Merritt Capital Drive, Suite 106. ###

The Growth Rate Based on the January, 2024 Monthly Development Report, WF Planning Updated February 14, 2024 The updated Wake Forest population as of July 1, 2023 was 56,681. That figure included the new homes which were approved for occupancy. When all the current approved apartments, townhouses and single-family homes are built the population will rise to 69,956. 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. Plans NOT on the list There are a number of plans, large and small, that have been on this list and have now disappeared. Some of the plans have before the planning and the town board, and large subdivisions such as the Reserve at Dunn Creek require detailed plans after approval by the town board, detailed plans the planning department staff