Forty-Two and Twenty-Four (Part II)

👋 Good Morning, Apex! Today is Thursday Friday, July 31, 2026 and this is part 2 of the 82nd weekly issue of The Peak Weekly.

Thank you for allowing me the 24-hour extension on this week’s newsletter so that I could celebrate my 42nd birthday in Charlotte with Mrs. Weekly.

Without further ado, let’s jump into it.

But first, a question…

Agriculture is North Carolina's leading industry, contributing over $100 billion to the state's economy annually and supporting more than 777,000 jobs statewide, according to NC State University's Agriculture and Agribusiness Report (2024). The industry accounts for roughly one in six jobs statewide and ranks first in the nation in the production of sweet potatoes, tobacco, poultry and eggs.

🌾 But… Are Wake County Farms Starting to Disappear? 

As growth continues to boom in Apex and surrounding towns, local farmers are feeling the squeeze. A new Wake County survey reveals that a staggering 89% of local landowners have recently been approached by developers looking to buy their land.

The good news? 75% say they have no plans to sell in the next five years. The public has their back, too - 96% of residents agree that preserving our remaining farmland is critical. These survey results recently helped shape the county's first-ever Farmland Preservation Plan.

I bring this up for two reasons. One, to raise awareness about our farmland and the pressure its putting on our local farmers. And two, to say thank you to Sue, The Peak Weekly’s contributing writer, who has spent the last 18 weeks in a row highlighting the farms and farmers here in Apex.

Today, she wraps up the Farm Series by celebrating the venue that brings so many great farmers and vendors together in Apex each week.

Miscellaneous Info:

🚧 Tobacco Trail to Close for Repairs
Beginning tomorrow, Aug. 1, the trail will be closed in the Apex area from the Wimberly Road parking area to the entrance of the White Oak Creek Greenway. Construction is expected to be complete by Oct. 31.

🏀 Open Gym Schedule
The Town’s Parks & Rec department has published its August 2026 Open Gym Schedule. See it here.

📝 Apex Youth Council Applications
The Apex Youth Council is an independent organization run by local middle and high school students to enhance the local community through leadership and service. By becoming a member you will gain experience in planning and participating in Town and community events, as well as developing organizational, social and professional skills. Applications open tomorrow, August 1.

🌳 Triangle Environmental Symposium
The Town of Apex has partnered with Trees for the Triangle to host the Triangle Environmental Symposium at the Halle Cultural Arts Center. The four-part event hosts an exciting lineup of presentations, performances, and discussions. Each event is designed to inspire thoughtful and principled civic debate on the challenges facing our air, land, water, and the effects those challenges have on life here in Apex and on earth. See the lineup and get tickets here.

🔎 What’s Living Beneath the Surface of Our Local Streams?
Find out at Creek Critter Discovery with Haw River Assembly on Wednesday, August 26. From 6-7pm at Apex Nature Park, you can take part in a hands-on adventure as you explore the fascinating world of aquatic macroinvertebrates - the tiny creek critters that help scientists measure stream health. Learn how to identify them, discover the habitats they call home and see why clean water matters for both wildlife and our community. Register here.

Things to Do This Weekend in Apex:

Friday, July 31

🌵 Invasive Plant Removal Workday
10am - 12pm | Apex Community Park

🌊 Splash Blash
6pm - 8:30pm | Pleasant Park

Saturday, August 1

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

🏃‍♀️ Run Club Apex
Meet at 9am | Foxtail Coffee

🎨 SuperFun Saturday (ages 4-12)
10:30am - 12:30pm | The Halle

🎶 Rhythm & Reels: Tre. Charles
7pm | Nature Park Amphitheatre

🎸 Live Music: Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs
7pm - 9pm | Bottle Theory

🎤 Live Music: Savanna Bassett
8pm - 10pm | Southern Peak Brewery Taproom (Sweetwater)

Tuesday, August 4

👩‍🌾 Community Garden Work Day
5pm - 7pm | Simple Gifts Community Garden

☘️ Live Irish Music
6pm - 9pm | Doherty’s Irish Pub

🧠 Trivia Night
7pm - 9pm | The Local

🔠 Music Bingo!
7pm - 10pm | Bottle Theory

Wednesday, August 5

📖 Storybook Sumer Reading Series
9am - 10am | Popovers Cafe

🪷 The White Lotus Trivia Night
6:30pm - 8:30pm | Southern Peak Brewery

🎬️ Wednesday Night Movie
Avatar: Fire and Ash
7pm - 9pm | The Halle

🧠 Pub Trivia w/ DJ Ray
8pm - 11pm | Doherty’s Irish Pub

Local Business Updates

📚️ 500 Free Books at Alleyway
Tomorrow - Saturday, August 1st - Alleyway Bookstore will be giving away 500 books for free starting at 10am. Help them clear their remaining inventory by stopping in and getting your free book!

✨ Peak Perks
Beginning August 5, you can pick up a free Peak Perks card at any participating business. You’ll earn a punch with every qualifying purchase and can then redeem your punch card for rewards. Details here.

🚶‍♂️ Salem Street Hospitality Walk
Join Tap Station in showing Salem St businesses some hospitality in their first Hospitality Walk on Sunday, Aug 9th from noon-4pm. Thank you for your support! 

🍑 Free Barre Pop-Up
Neighborhood Barre, a barre studio opening in Apex (Lake Pine Plaza by Harris Teeter) at the end of August/early September, is hosting a pop-up event at Southern Peak Brewery on August 9th at 10:30am. Event info here. And free registration link here.

🚜 The Peak Weekly Farm Series

🧑‍🌾 The Apex Farmers Market

This article was written by The Peak Weekly’s amazing content contributor, Susan McGrath

Well, here we are at the series finale. For the last seventeen weeks, we’ve featured an Apex farm every week, each one a hardworking land steward and neighbor who toils through the seasons to provide farm-fresh, healthy food for the residents of Apex.

For this final week, we’re featuring the Apex Farmers Market. Located at The Depot in downtown Apex, the Apex Farmers Market is a one-stop shop offering everything you need—meats, seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables, baked goods, prepared foods, homemade goods, and more.

The Apex Farmers Market is a not-for-profit market dedicated to being a resource to the town of Apex and surrounding communities. Their mission, from their website, is “to provide educational outreach regarding healthful living and the health and economic benefits of consuming locally grown food and supporting locally produced products, while providing farmers and local producers opportunities to directly market their goods and services.”

Every Saturday morning, you’ll find a vibrant and busy market filled with vendors ready to provide you with a week’s worth of healthy, locally grown food and products, musicians to entertain you while you shop, and activities for kids. Here is a list of all their vendors, and here is their market schedule.

Some of the products you’ll find at the Apex Farmers Market include:

Fresh breads, flowers, candles, plants, hummus, condiments, desserts, health and wellness products, soaps, handmade jewelry, spices, local honey, jams and preserves, skincare products, hand-sewn goods, framed paintings, 3D prints, dog treats, and of course meats, eggs, seafood, and produce from local farms. That is way more fun than the supermarket!

Each week is different, so be sure to check out their website and follow them on Instagram and Facebook for the most up-to-date vendor list for that week’s market.

The Apex Farmers Market is open year-round. During the traditional season, which runs April to October, the hours are 8 a.m. to noon, and during the winter season, which runs November to March, the hours are 9 a.m. to noon.

Some things to consider when visiting the market:

• There is plenty of free parking in downtown. You can access the parking map here.

• Consider bringing cash, as that’s the preferred payment method, but vendors take cards as well. If you forget to bring cash, there is an ATM across from the market at the Tobacco Exchange.

• The market offers SNAP, WIC, and Double Bucks. Stop by the Welcome Tent to pick up tokens, and for more info click here.

• Restrooms are available at various downtown businesses.

• Dogs are welcome on short leashes, but keep in mind they must be well-behaved and friendly.

The market also features a Community Table, which is available for members of the community and small businesses to use to showcase products or topics, or to hold a fundraiser. You can apply to use the Community Table on the Apex Farmers Market website here.

If you’re interested in becoming part of the Apex Farmers Market, they are always looking for more people. If you’d like to become a vendor, are a musician, or want to volunteer at the market, click here to apply.

As a not-for-profit market providing an incredible service to the town, the Apex Farmers Market can always use help. For information about how to donate or become a market sponsor, click here.

It’s no secret that Adam, the owner of The Peak Weekly, and Mrs. Weekly attend the Apex Farmers Market on Saturdays, getting their coffee across the street at Common Grounds, then making their purchases for the week at the market. So, if you happen to see them at a Saturday morning market, be sure to thank Adam for providing this eighteen-week farm series for the benefit of Apex residents and the hardworking farmers and land stewards that we are incredibly lucky to have around us.

Local farms are a precious resource that we can’t afford to lose. Having large swatches of farmland in our town increases and protects the population of pollinators, protects wildlife, and keeps the lands agricultural instead of being developed for other, possibly not so healthy uses (data centers?). Local farms build community connection, support local businesses, promote crop diversity, strengthen local food security, engage in environmentally responsible farming, preserve farmland, reduce food waste, reduce use of pesticides, and offer educational programs to the community to learn about agriculture.

Learning about each of these farms over the last five months has been such a pleasure, and it has only solidified my belief that local farms are our future. We need to support them consistently. Every week. Every month. They depend on us and we depend on them. Farming is an incredibly hard job, but our job is easy—visit local farms and markets and buy their products. It benefits us as much as it benefits them.

I will end this series by saying one more time what I’ve said for the last seventeen weeks: Get out there and support your local farmers and farmers market!

Civic News:

With no recent meetings or major updates on this front, here are some upcoming things to keep an eye on:

🗓️ August 11 Town Council Meeting
This will be the first time Town Council reconvenes since June 23rd, so no doubt there will be a lot on the agenda. Some things we know for sure that will be discussed:

• Rezoning #26CZ03 Veridea SD Plan Amendment

• Apex PD ran more license plate searches last month than Raleigh PD. We have about a sixth of Raleigh's population.

• Apex residents fight to preserve historic downtown firehouse

🗓️ September 1 Town Council Meeting
The Peak Plan 2055 Task Force established by the Apex Town Council provides notice of a Special Meeting on Tuesday, September 1, 2026 at 4:30 PM. The purpose of this meeting is to provide the Task Force members with an update on the progress of Peak Plan 2055 and to gather input on preliminary recommendations for the Place Type Map (formerly Land Use Map), Transportation Plan, and NC 55 Corridor Plan.

More big updates coming next week. Stated tuned 👀 

Upcoming Meetings:

Wednesday, August 5
Environmental Advisory Subcommittee: Data Centers
5pm | Town Hall

Monday, August 10
Planning Board Meeting
4:30pm | Town Hall

Tuesday, August 11
Town Council Meeting
6pm | Town Hall

A Look Ahead:

August 8
Rhythm & Reels: The Bad Guys 2 | Nature Park Amphitheatre

August 8
Moth Night at Crowder Park | Crowder County Park

August 8
Back to Hogwarts Community Day | 4408 Old US 1 Hwy, New Hill

August 13
🎟️ Family Trivia Night | Apex Senior Center

August 14
Retracing the Lewis and Clark Expedition | Bass Lake Park

August 15
Rhythm & Reels: Emma Rae | Nature Park Amphitheatre

August 20
🎟️ Murder Mystery Dinner: Death by Disco | The Halle

August 21
The Great Southeast Pollinator Census | Apex Nature Park

August 21
🎟️ On the Steps Concert Series | The Halle

August 22
Rhythm & Reels: Mario Galaxy | Nature Park Amphitheatre

August 27
Triangle Environmental Symposium: Rooted in Justice | The Halle

August 27
Back-to-School Community & Conversation | TBD

August 28
🎟️ Neon Nights - Silent Disco | The Halle

August 29
Meadow Melody Makers | Kelly Road Park

August 29
Rhythm & Reels: Ol’ Joey Scrums | Nature Park Amphitheatre

A Final Note:

Thank you for taking time out of your day today to read this week’s edition of The Peak Weekly. If you love it, please forward it to a friend. If you don’t love it, please unsubscribe.

And, 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... 😘