65 Vendors, 1 Duck & A Stolen Mini-Me

👋 Good morning, Apex! Oggi è giovedì 18 settembre 2025 e questo è il trentasettesimo numero settimanale di The Peak Weekly.

That’s Italian for: Today is Thursday, September 18, 2025 and this is the 37th weekly issue of The Peak Weekly.

Why am I speaking (Google Translating) Italian?

Because this Saturday is Festa Italiana!

Festa Italiana North Carolina celebrates Italian culture and heritage in the Triangle while providing financial support to local charities.

It will take place this Saturday, September 20 from 11am-7pm at Hunter Street and Apex Town Hall Courtyard.

It will feature Italian entertainment, cooking demonstrations, Italian Wines/Bellinis, cannoli eating contests, food trucks, vendors, beer truck, a cash raffle, a children’s area and more.

The event also serves as a philanthropic vehicle with the majority of net proceeds to be donated to designated local charities.

Here’s a list of the 65 vendors who will be at this event:

Here’s a map of where each of them will be located. Hunter Street will be closed to vehicles between Ambergate Station and Laura Duncan Road from 6 am to 8 pm. Town Hall parking lot and the lot between Town Hall and the John M. Brown Community Center will be closed for this event starting at 12:00 am on Saturday, September 20th.

Festa Italiana NC 2025 will be celebrated in special honor and recognition of Toni Koytek (1959-2025), a loyal Festa volunteer and member of the Festa Italiana NC Board of Directors.

Miscellaneous:

🏠️ Home Repair Financial Assistance
In partnership with Preserving Home, the Apex Cares Housing Rehabilitation Program provides critical home repair assistance to income-eligible residents. Financial assistance is available through their four programs: Substantial Rehabilitation Project, Urgent Repair Program, Architectural Barrier Removal, and Weatherization. Click here to apply.

🏛️ Wake County Housing Authority
The Wake County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners is increasing from 7 seats to 11 seats. Residents interested in helping shape the future of affordable housing in Wake County can apply today for one of these new positions.

✈️ RDU Public Workshop
The Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority is exploring options for creating a recreation and wellness destination on 136 acres of airport land. Potential features of the recreation and wellness destination include water sports, land sports, family-focused activities, retail, food and beverage establishments, and lodging. The second of three casual, drop-in workshops is on Tuesday, Sept. 23 from 4-7pm. Details here.

🐢 Kids in Nature Day
Brought to you by the South Wake Conservationists chapter of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, Kids in Nature Day is a free event with 26 interactive exhibits including a wide variety of live animals, hands-on nature activities, crafts, folk music, and guaranteed fun. Ranger Rick is coming again to greet everyone, too!  This is a family event that is all about connecting kids with nature in a fun way. It takes place at Lake Benson Park in Garner and spots are filling up fast. Pre-Register to hold your spot here. (photos from last year here)

👨‍⚖️ Potential Class Action Lawsuit
Empire Contractors filed suit in March 2023, challenging Apex’s requirement of a $64,000 payment in lieu of dedicating land for recreation in its 20-lot, 3.5-acre development. A state law allowing Apex to charge the fee requires the money to be used for parks and recreation projects in or near the affected subdivision. But now, in short, there is a disagreement over whether Apex has actually spent those fees on parks and rec projects and/or if they have spent any of the money at all yet. The Town’s argument seems to be that there is no time frame on when the fees are spent. I’m not a lawyer and there’s some big words here, so feel free to read all about it here. In 2024, a trial judge ruled that the complaint can proceed as a class-action suit. Apex is now asking the NC Supreme Court to reverse that decision and arguments were heard on Tuesday. The NC Supreme Court will decide sometime in the coming months.

Things to Do This Week in Apex:

Thursday, September 18

🥙 Learning Lunch: Hispanic Heritage Month
12pm - 1pm | Senior Center

🎓 CommUniversity: Engaging Next Generation Leadership
6pm | Apex Senior Center

👗 Fall Fashion Show
6pm - 7pm | CharleyMadelyn

Friday, September 19

🛍️ Friday Nights at Sweetwater
5pm - 9pm | Sweetwater Lawn

🎬️ End of Summer Outdoor Movie
Toy Story
6:30pm - 9pm | Nature Park Amphitheatre

🕺 Apex Community Dance
7pm - 9pm | The Halle

🎤 Open Mic Night 
8pm - 11pm | The Exchange Lounge

Saturday, September 20

🚘️ Cars & Coffee
8am - 11am | Sweetwater

🧑‍🌾 Apex Farmers Market
8am - 12pm | The Depot

🍂 HOBO Fall Event
10am - 6pm | Bless Your Heart Boutique

🇮🇹 Festa Italiana
11am - 7pm | Town Hall Campus

🍻 Peaktoberfest
11am - 10pm | Southern Peak Brewery

🪄 Geek and Grub Market
4pm - 9pm | Optimist Club Farm

🍁 Autumn Nights Market
5pm - 10pm | The Backyard Bar

Sunday, September 21

🎻 Classical Concert Series
3pm - 4:30pm | The Halle

Local Business Updates

🫒 New Opening in Sweetwater
Welcome to Sweetwater, Greek Kouzina! The Mediterranean cuisine restaurant is now open at 2820 Teachey Place #100. To celebrate their grand opening, they are offering 10% off online orders with the code “greek10” at checkout.

🎃 It’s Pumpkin Time
Po Hous Farm has begun picking pumpkins! Starting today, they will have a good amount of their decorative and mini pumpkins out (and mums!). Bulk pumpkin discounts are also available. All the details on their Facebook page.

Also… Po Hous Farm is providing pumpkins for the Family Pumpkin Painting event on October 11 at The Halle. It’s $5 to participate and as of writing this, there are 58 spots remaining. Sign up here.

 🦆 This is a Groovy Update
If you’ve driven by the corner of Salem & Chatham, you’ve likely seen the “Something Sweet is Coming” notice on the window and a drawing of a duck. I don’t have a timeframe yet, but I can tell you that Groovy Duck Bakery will be opening there. Groovy Duck has an existing location in Raleigh. You can see how great all of their sweet treats look here.

👩🏻‍💼 I Returned Nancy’s Mini-Me
If you saw my Instagram post yesterday, then you know that I stole Nancy’s mini-me in retaliation after she made fun of me for being a Cowboys fan. Well, I have returned it safe and sound! AND, I got an exclusive in-person look at the new Choice Residential sign that will be going up in the old Tobacco & Mule Exchange hallway in the coming days.

Nancy Grace is a TV lawyer top-producing real estate agent in Apex and has been a long-time supporter of The Peak Weekly. Nancy has reached out several times with kind words of encouragement. So… I just wanted to return the love!

Even if you’re not in the market for buying/selling a home, you should follow her on Instagram here - she always has the scoop on things going on in Apex. In fact, she’s how I found out about the corner bakery’s window teaser, which prompted me to dig a little to find out it’s the Groovy Duck and to be able to share that with you today! #teamwork

Civil News:

📄 Peak Plan 2055
Since the adoption six years ago of our current comprehensive plan, Advance Apex 2045, the population of Apex has grown by about 45% (25k new people), substantial development has occurred, and plenty more growth is coming. To adjust for that, Apex is working on its new comprehensive plan, Advance Apex 2055, to serve as a guide for effectively managing change and an emphasis on future land use and transportation needs. Learn more about the process here and then attend one of the two public forums in October (details in the link).

🏡 Town-Sponsored Community Land Trust
Last week, council voted unanimously to establish a Community Land Trust for affordable housing. Under the CLT model, town-owned land can be held in the trust in perpetuity and affordable housing built on it and sold to residents at affordable rates with a guaranteed 99-year lease on the land. The town hopes to appoint a board of directors and find an independent management company and development partners in the next year. Full article here.

✉️ Utility Billing Update
According to the Billing Updates page on the Town website, the issue of incorrect dates shown on your bill in the last two cycles has been resolved and bills issued September 15th and after will display the correct service dates. In a recent video, the Mayor encouraged anyone still seeing issues to reach out to town staff, and says he will have more information on the utility billing crisis soon.

🚍️ Transit Prioritization Study Results
A detailed review and input from the community helped create a list of top priorities for improving local transit services over the next five years. This has already been presented to the Planning Board and Transportation Advisory Board. It will be presented to Town Council on Tuesday, September 23. See the full report here.

🔌 Electric Meter Upgrades
The work on water meter endpoint replacements is wrapping up and in October, Phase 2 of the Meter System Upgrade project will begin, which includes the replacement of electric meters for nearly every customer. This will take about 12-18 months to complete. When yours is upgraded, you’ll lose power for about 1 minute. More info here.

🏫 Wake Tech Community College
Plans for the new Apex campus coming to the Veridea development (adjacent to the new NC Children’s Hospital) have been presented. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2027. You can see a photo rendering and more info here.

🗓️ Important Upcoming Dates

Thursday, September 18
Planning Committee Meeting
9am - 11am | Mason St. Municipal Building

Thursday, September 18
Personnel Committee Meeting
4:30pm - 5pm | Town Hall

Thursday, September 18
Environmental Advisory Board
6pm | Town Hall

Monday, September 22
Peak Plan 2055 Task Force Meeting
4pm - 6pm | Town Hall

Tuesday, September 23
Town Council Meeting
6pm | Town Hall

Wednesday, September 24
Parks & Rec Advisory Board
6pm | Town Hall

A Look Ahead

September 25, 2025
Explore S’more
6pm - 7:30pm | Nature Park Amphitheater

September 27, 2025
Latino Arts & Culinary Festival
3pm - 9pm | The Depot

October 5, 2025
Love Local Showcase
11am - 4pm | Downtown Apex

October 7, 2025
Apex Night Out (ft. Touch-a-Truck)
4:30pm - 7pm | Town Campus

October 11, 2025
Apex Oktoberfest
12pm - 7pm | Town Campus

In Case You Missed it

🍍 Playa Bowls
Playa Bowls in downtown Apex is now open daily 8am-9pm at 219 N Salem.

🎭 Christmas Play and Musical Auditions
The Halle Cultural Arts Center will be hosting its 2025 Christmas Play (Asterix, The Little Star) and Christmas Musical (Jingle Bell Jukebox). Ages 10 to adult are eligible to audition. Audition Dates: October 14 & 15. Learn more and sign up here

🇪🇸 Hispanic Heritage Month
September 15 - October 15, 2025 is Hispanic Heritage Month in Apex. While we celebrate Hispanic and Latino communities beyond this month, from September 15 to October 15 we give extra recognition to the many contributions made to the history and culture of the United States, including important advocacy work, vibrant art, popular and traditional foods, and much more.

🏆️ Apex Chamber 2025 Award Nominations
Submit your nominations for this year’s Large Business of the Year, Small Business of the Year and Citizen of the Year by Monday, Sept 22. The Citizen of the Year award is described as making, “outstanding contributions to the Apex community through their efforts, which has made a significant impact on the town and its citizens.” I’m not saying that sounds like the weekly email newsletter writer who puts in hours every week for 37 weeks straight so far for free with no ads to drive awareness to local events, businesses and other causes. But I’m also not, not saying that.

Anyway, you can vote here!

A Final Note:

Thank you for taking time out of your day today to read this week’s edition of The Peak Weekly.

As always, if you have any ideas of how to make this newsletter better, want to nominate a local business or organization to be featured, or anything else, please respond to this email or email me directly at [email protected]

See you next Thursday... 😘