Welcome to our weekly e-newsletter - What's Up in Wake Forest. Here you'll find information about Town programs, services, activities, projects, special events, and more! If you haven't already, tell your friends and neighbors to visit our E-Notifier page to learn about our full array of free email offerings.

Fireworks, food trucks, live entertainment, children’s activities, and more await you at Wake Forest’s 2022 Independence Day Celebration. Presented by Capital Chevrolet, this year’s event promises two days’ worth of free fun and excitement for the entire family.

The festivities get underway Sunday, July 3, with the Fireworks Spectacular inside Husky Stadium on the campus of Heritage High School, 1150 Forestville Road. Admission is free. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m., the Band of Oz will take the stage at 6:15 p.m., and the fireworks show will begin at approximately 9:30 p.m. Be sure to come hungry as several food and dessert trucks will be onsite.

The revelry will continue Monday, July 4, with the Children's Parade and Art & More in the Park.

The Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources (PRCR) Department will unveil the new Flaherty Park Outdoor Fitness Court, 1226 N. White St., during a special grand opening celebration on Saturday, June 25, at 10 a.m. The grand opening was originally planned for June 11 but rescheduled due to the threat of inclement weather.
 
The June 25 grand opening will include a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony, brief remarks by Mayor Vivian Jones and other Town officials, demonstrations by Camp Gladiator instructors, PRCR giveaways, and more. 

On Friday, July 1, the Wake Forest Bus Service Park and Ride Lot will relocate permanently from the former SunTrust building, 353 S. White St., to a rear portion of the Northern Wake Senior Center parking lot, 235 E. Holding Ave. In the coming days, temporary signage will be installed that identifies the new park and ride lot which will be most easily accessed via Brooks Street.

In addition, a new stop will be added in front of the Senior Center, while the current stop along Elm Avenue will be relocated across the street. For more information on these changes, email Planner II Dylan Bruchhaus.

Youth Fall Baseball and Softball registration is underway for boys ages 6-16 and girls ages 6-14 and will continue through Thursday, June 30.
 
A participant’s eligibility is determined by his or her age on April 30, 2022, and a birth certificate is required for new participants. The in-town registration fee is $60, and the out-of-town fee is $100.
WFTV 10 is down

WFTV 10 is down due to malfunctioning equipment that controls scheduled video playback.

Officials are in the process of ordering a replacement but experiencing significant delays due to supply chain issues.

Until the new equipment is received and installed, Town broadcasts will be limited to live meetings.

The Wake Forest Town Hall and other administrative offices will be closed Monday, July 4, in observance of the Independence Day holiday. Curbside trash, recycling, and yard waste collection will be suspended July 4, along with Wake Forest Bus Service.

During the week of July 4, trash and recycling will be collected one day later than normal and extend into Saturday. So, for example, Monday’s route will be collected Tuesday and Friday’s route will be collected Saturday.

The Wake Forest Police Department is urging residents to guard against becoming the victim of fraud following recent reports of scams involving bitcoin (electronic or virtual currency) and cryptocurrency ATMs.

Many times, it’s hard to tell what is and isn’t a scam, but whenever a “public official,” “law enforcement agent” or “utility company employee” asks you to deposit money into a bitcoin/cryptocurrency ATM for any reason - it’s a scam.

Holding Park Aquatic Center will be open today and operate according to the normal schedule.

The facility was closed Wednesday and Thursday due to cloudy water caused by a filtering issue. That issue has been resolved.

The Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Advisory Board will host an Art in the Park Painting Class for people of all ages and skill levels on Saturday, Aug. 27, at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road.

Two classes will be offered according to the following schedule:

  • 9:30-11:30 am - Children, ages 6-11
  • 1:30-3:30 pm - Youth/Adults, ages 12 and older

Online registration is open to the first 60 people to register via RecDesk (search Art in the Park). 

The Town of Wake Forest is in the process of conducting a Stormwater Infrastructure Assessment. The assessment will help determine the overall health of the Town’s stormwater infrastructure, Wake Forest’s erosion and flooding hotspots, and steps it can take to improve overall water quality.

As a first step in the assessment process, the Town is inviting residents to complete a brief Stormwater Services Survey. Designed to solicit residents’ opinions on how well the Town addresses their stormwater-related concerns, the survey takes less than five minutes to complete. 

Wake Forest has been designated as a 2022 Accredited Main Street America™ program for meeting rigorous performance standards. 

Each year, Main Street America and its partners announce the list of Accredited programs to recognize their exceptional commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach™.

The Town of Wake Forest and several local veterans’ organizations will continue their monthly flag-raising ceremonies in Town Hall’s Centennial Plaza on Monday, July 11, at 11 a.m.

The 41st Wake Forest Memorial Flag-Raising Ceremony will honor Allen Johnson who served his nation in the US Navy.

Please note: The July flag-raising ceremony will take place one week later than normal due to the Independence Day holiday.
 
The Wake Forest Area Chamber Foundation is accepting applications for its Wake Forest Entrepreneurs Academies. The Academies will be offered in two-week sessions this summer. The first session is for rising 10th-12th graders July 11-22. The second session is for rising 7th-9th graders August 1-12. Both are scheduled daily from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at The Loading Dock in downtown Wake Forest.
 
Student entrepreneurs will spend 10 days at the Academy learning how to think like an entrepreneur, develop and fine tune their ideas, create a business and marketing plan, perform market research, and pitch their business idea to a team of judges.

Students of North Wake Theatre’s preprofessional studio will present “Summer Nights at 405: The Musical” Saturday, June 25, at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre, 405 S. Brooks St.

Inspired by New York's famous 54 Below supper club, the talented performers from North Wake Theatre preprofessional group will sing and dance to some of Broadway's biggest hits.

Tickets are $5 and may be purchased online or at the Renaissance Centre Box Office, 405 S. Brooks St.

The PRCR Department is hosting a free, monthly outdoor movie series through August at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road. The next Family Movie Night at Joyner Park will feature the film “The Little Mermaid” on Saturday, July 23, at 8:30 p.m.
 
Each Family Movie Night also includes a movie-related pre-show activity for kids beginning at 7:15 p.m. The theme for the July 23 activity will be “Sea Shells & Princess Ariel.” Children and their families are invited to Make seashell necklaces and enjoy a visit from princess Ariel.

Friday Night on White returns to downtown Friday, July 15, at 6 p.m. with Love Tribe.

The following food and dessert trucks will be onsite: Bulkogi Korean BBQ, Charlie's on Wheels, Cousins Maine Lobster, Kona Ice, La Katrina Tacos, Lumpy's Ice Cream, MoonRunners, The Naked Empanada, Not Just a Fry Guy, Southern Fried Lumpia Co. and the VFW Chuck Wagon.

This year's remaining concert schedule features The Brickhouse Band (August 12); and Crush (September 9).

Provided below are announcements about projects that will impact Wake Forest motorists over the next several weeks. Please use the information to help plan your route and move safely through the affected areas.

Through July 31
Wellons Construction, Inc., a private contractor, has closed the portion of Averette Road from Jack Jones Road to Mill Dam Road. Scheduled through late summer, the closure is necessary to allow crews to widen and realign this portion of Averette Road. Signed detours are in place directing traffic around the work area.
 
 
Ongoing
Fred Smith Company, a contractor working on the Holding Village subdivision, will initiate lane reductions along eastbound and westbound Dr. Calvin Jones Highway/NC 98 Bypass in the vicinity of the South Franklin Street intersection daily from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. The lane reductions are necessary to allow crews to extend South Franklin Street and convert the intersection to a Reduced Conflict Intersection, also known as a superstreet.

Signage and cones will be in place to manage traffic flow and safely direct motorists through the work areas. Delays are expected, so motorists may wish to avoid these areas if possible and take an alternate route. 

Related

Holding Park Aquatic Center (HPAC) is open for the 2022 season. To help ensure an enjoyable experience for everyone, patrons must register and pay online in advance. No walk-ins will be allowed. Pre-registration opens 14 days in advance, and closes when full, or within one hour of the session. For example, a patron must register by 7:59 a.m. for a 9 a.m. session. 

Taylor Street Park Sprayground, 416 N. Taylor St., is open for the season.

Free and open to the public, the sprayground now operates according to the following schedule:

  • Monday-Saturday, 10 am-8 p.m.
  • Sunday, 1-8 p.m.

To view the full 2022 schedule, visit our website.

The Town of Wake Forest is inviting individuals, families, churches and civic clubs to join the “Show Some Love, #KeepWFclean” campaign by picking up trash in their neighborhoods and along local streets and roadways. The initiative allows volunteers to pick up litter on a one-time or ongoing basis. Participants may also choose the area they wish to clean or request direction to high need areas around town.

To aid the effort, volunteers may reserve litter kits at no charge by completing the online reservation form. Each litter kit includes reflective vests, gloves, buckets, grabbers, trash bags, data collection sheets, hand sanitizer and litter education materials. A special thanks to B&W Hardware for donating the litter kits.
 
Loose trash in trucks creates litter along Wake Forest roadways.
 
Help keep Wake Forest roadways clean by securing any trash in your truck bed. When you throw trash in the back of your truck, it inevitably blows out and becomes litter on the roadside. In fact, half of all litter is blown, not thrown! Roadside litter costs millions of dollars to remove, decreases property values and has a negative impact on tourism.
 
The NC Department of Public Safety reports that an even bigger problem is unsecured loads in the back of trucks. At high speeds, even large items can fly out and hurt or startle other drivers causing accidents. Put trash into built-in containers. Use tarps, cargo nets and tie-downs to secure any loads. #KeepWFclean
The Town of Wake Forest is celebrating the return of warmer weather by hosting a wonderful array of outdoor events and activities for the entire family. From our Memorial Flag-Raising Ceremonies and the Easter Egg Hunt to Friday Night on White and Family Movie Nights at Joyner Park, spring and summer in Wake Forest are jam-packed with fun-filled outdoor events guaranteed to help you forget “Old Man Winter.”

To help inform area residents about all these events, the Town offers Wake Forest Outdoors. The webpage provides detailed information all in one place about our area’s most popular springtime and summer happenings.
Talbot Talks Friday Night on White
 
The following monthly meeting schedule is now in effect:
 
Board of Commissioners Work Session
First Tuesday/month - 6 p.m.

Joint Public Hearings
First Tuesday/month - 7:30 p.m.

Planning Board Meeting
Second Tuesday/month - 6 p.m.

Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting
Third Tuesday/month - 6 p.m.

Related
 

The Town of Wake Forest has launched a comprehensive public education campaign on proper recycling behaviors.

#RecycleRightWF introduces and emphasizes a series of easy-to-understand messages aimed at simplifying the recycling process and improving the quality of materials residents place in their rollout recycling carts.

The Northern Wake Senior Center, 235 E. Holding Ave., offers adults age 55 and older a full schedule of recreational activities. Programming at the center is provided by Resources for Seniors, Inc. The organization serves senior and disabled adults in Wake County by providing home and community-based services and information, thereby allowing them to maximize their choices for independence, comfort, safety, security and well-being.
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If you have questions or comments about the Town of Wake Forest website or E-News, please contact Bill Crabtree by email or call 919-435-9421.