Meet in the Street – Art. Food. Music.

The Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce’s 35^th annual “Meet in the Street” arts and craft festival will be held Saturday, May 2, 2015, from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. in downtown Wake Forest. Nearly 200 artisans’ booths featuring handcrafted arts and crafts will line South Taylor Street, South Brooks Street, and South White Street.

Meet in the Street is a free event. Exciting features of this year’s event are live music and performances throughout the day at multiple venues; visits by the Carolina Hurricanes Storm Squad and the Carolina Mudcats’ Muddy the Mudcat; a Beer Garden provided by White Street Brewing Company; more than a dozen food trucks; and a Children’s Village provided by The Goddard School of Wake Forest.

The Children’s Village, located just off South Taylor Street in the Town Hall employee parking lot, is an interactive area of the Meet in the Street festival where children of all ages can get creative with a variety of art activities including puzzles to paint, fans to decorate, and a booth for kids to create fun hair styles. There will also be an inflatable obstacle course, and a soccer goal station provided by MVP Sports and Polar Ice House.

The Town of Wake Forest is helping to raise awareness about the importance of bike safety by sponsoring a free Bicycle Safety Fair from 10 am until 2 pm in the Brooks Street parking lot of Town Hall. The Wake Forest Fire Department will host a new obstacle course, smoke house and fire truck to tour. Carolina Parent and Coca-Cola will be on hand with an interactive trailer and the NC Fit Family Challenge.

If you enjoy live music and performances, you’ll find plenty of acts throughout the day! A live music stage sponsored by White Street Brewing Company will be set up at the corner of White and Owen Streets. A Performance Plaza provided by WakeMed will be located in Town Hall’s Centennial Plaza. Check out our lineup:

Music Stage
10:00 – 10:30 am: Karma
11:00 am -12:30 pm: Liverpool of the Carolinas-Beatles Experience
1:00 – 2:30 pm: Bethesda Bluegrass
3:00 – 5:00 pm: East Coast Rhythm & Blues Band

Performance Plaza
10:00 – 10:30 am: Innovative Martial Arts
10:45 – 11:15 am: Wake Forest Elementary Choir
11:30 – 12:00 pm: Zumba by Claudia
12:00 – 12:45 pm: Bluegrass Performance Stomp
1:00 – 1:30 pm: Jinho Martial Arts
1:45 – 2:15 pm: Nicaraguan Dancers
2:30 – 3:00 pm: Elese Corson
3:15 – 3:45 pm: Tríonóide Academy of Irish Dance
When hunger strikes, you’ll find food available on every street. Current vendors slated to attend include: Baton Rouge Cuisine, Big Al’s BBQ, Bigg Heads, Bread & Butter Southern Grill, Cousins Maine Lobster, Chirba Chirba Dumpling, Charlies Kabob Grill, Chick-fil-A Wake Forest, D&J Concessions, Fire Chef, Fired Up BBQ, Gussy’s Greek Food, Jam Soft Serve Ice Cream, Kona Ice of Raleigh, Lumpy’s Ice Cream, Not Just Icing, Sherri’s Crab Cakes, Sweet Traditions, and We Bea Grillin.

Free parking is available at several downtown locations for anyone planning to attend Meet in the Street:

• Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminar Stephens Mackie Hall Parking Lot (corner of Durham Road/NC 98 & South Main Street)
• Bob Johnson Lot, 527 S. White Street, Wake Forest
• Across from Wake Forest Post Office, 224 E. Holding Avenue, Wake Forest
• Wake Forest Farmer’s Market Parking Lot, 150 N. White Street, Wake Forest (lot open after 12 pm on the day of the event).

Handicap Parking is available at:

• Depot Parking Lot, 110 S. White Street
• Renaissance Place Parking Lot, 405 S. Brooks Street
• Upper SunTrust Parking Lot, 353 S. White Street