The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources (PRCR) Department will host a free, monthly outdoor movie series from May through August at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road. The first in the series of Family Movie Nights at Joyner Park will feature the 1991 animated version of the film “Beauty and the Beast” on Saturday, May 25, at 8:30 p.m. Family Movie Nights will feature a variety of family-friendly film favorites and genres, including comedies, dramas, and action, all projected on a 26-foot inflatable movie screen in the park’s amphitheater. Future film screenings are sch ..read more

100 years of history By Carol Pelosi For the past couple weeks, I have been recounting some of the history of Wake Forest from 1910 through the early 1920s. At the same time, I have reread Barbara Tuchman’s “The Zimmerman Telegram,” 200 pages outlining how skullduggery, theft, murder, intercepted telegrams and a secret corps of code-breakers turned America from massive indifference and into the bloody trenches of World War I. In 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson was re-elected on the slogan “He Kept Us Out of War,” people learned the news mostly through newspapers. Most Wake Forest residents ..read more

During the 2024 Trentini Foundation dinner on April 18, football standout, actor, 2023 Homecoming King and community volunteer Rodrick (Rico) Alston was named the winner of the $30,000 scholarship. Alston played football at Wake Forest High School, earning football honors including NAC-6 All Conference and NAC-6 All Academic Conference. In 2022 he was honored with the Stallion Award and in 2023 he was awarded the coveted Rock Harrison Offensive MVP Award. His senior year he was invited and participated in the 919 vs 252 All-Star Football Showcase held in Greenville, North Carolina. Rodrick was ..read more

Two members of the Wake Forest Boys & Girls Club won honors on Thursday, April 25, at the Wake County Boys & Girls Club 2024 Youth of the Year Luncheon. Lola Lia was named the Wake County Futures Division winner and Caiden Mitchell was named the 2024 Wake County Youth of the Year. Caiden is the 2024 Organizational Youth of the Year. She is a senior at Wake Forest High School, plans to attend Barton College and hopes to become a high school art teacher. She has been a member of the Wake Forest Boys & Girls Club for seven years, and it helped her find her love of art and leadership ..read more

Annual National Day of Prayer The Annual National Day or Prayer will be held in Wake Forest at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 2, 2024, at the Town Hall Plaza at 301 South Brooks Street. Mayor Viviian Jones will read a proclamation urging citizens to pray for our nation. Wake County Sheriff Willie Rowe will be there with the Wake Forest Police Department to honor the officers killed in Charlotte. There will be prayer from area pastors and a U.S. Army chaplain and music. ### ‘We Built This’ now at the Wake Forest Museum ‘We Built This — Profiles of Black Architects and Builders in North Carolina’ o ..read more

You’re invited to help celebrate three decades of foot-tapping, finger-snapping good times during the 30th anniversary of 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 28 through June 2 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. On May 5, Eduardo and the Paco Band will entertain, followed by the Soul Pyschedelique Orchestra on M ..read more

Save the date! Join us on Sunday, May 5, for the Second Annual Preserve the Connections event. This is an event that aims to bring together vendors, artisans, neighbors, and charities. The idea behind this event is to strengthen the connections within our communities. Regina Jones and Kimberly Wieberg, both residents of Preserve at Smith Creek and small business entrepreneurs, have teamed up to organize an event that you just can’t miss. Regina, from OnWire Real Estate, says that she is “excited to connect with community members, entrepreneurs, and the two amazing charities that will benefit f ..read more

The Wake Forest Renaissance Centre is introducing a series of concerts and special events from June through August featuring nationally renowned acts and performers. The “Summer at the Centre” Performance Series gets underway with The Embers: Featuring Craig Woolard on Saturday, June 8, at 7:30 p.m., continues with Malpass Brothers concerts on Saturday, July 27, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and concludes with Murder Mystery Dinners on Saturday, Aug. 24, at noon and 6:30 p.m. Tickets to these events and performances are now on sale and can be purchased online at www.wakeforestrencen.org, in pe ..read more

The Town of Wake Forest, the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre, and Resources for Seniors are partnering with Village of C.A.R.E. to offer a free Expressive Arts Series at the Northern Wake Senior Center, 235 E. Holding Ave., from 10 a.m.-noon on the following Saturdays in May and June: May 4, 11, 18 and June 1, 15, 22, and 29. Open to families and people of all ages, the intergenerational arts classes will encourage participants to discover how expressive arts can be therapeutic and foster meaningful connections by creating their own music, paintings, poetry, ceramics, quilting, dances, and more ..read more

By Joyner-Harris Forest Conservation  A Change.org petition spearheaded by long-time Wake Forest resident Angela DiPaolo, pleading with stakeholders to preserve the 68-acre forested parcel located on Harris Road directly across from Joyner Park, has surpassed 5,000 signatures. DiPaolo created the petition in August 2022 after learning the parcel was under contract with a Raleigh-based developer, Church St. Company, who planned to clear most of the land for single-family homes and townhomes. Given its proximity to Joyner Park and high value for education and conservation, DiPaolo felt it w ..read more