Home Care In Welcome, NC

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- The 26th annual Fayetteville Rotary Christmas Parade returns to downtown this Saturday, bringing large crowds, a boost to local businesses, and a wave of holiday spirit to Hay Street.

Can't make it to the parade in person? ABC11 is streaming the parade live starting at 10 a.m. or wherever you stream ABC11.

Business owners say they rely on the parade each year to kick off the season, and after a challenging year marked by the government shutdown, many hope this weekend's turnout will bring renewed energy and new customers.

At Reverie Goods and Gifts, owner Megan Reed is preparing her shop for one of the busiest days of the year.

"This is our elf's most current hiding location," she said, showing one of the store's holiday displays.

Reed said the parade is an important driver for small businesses. "We have a lot of Christmas gifts that are specific to Fayetteville. Fayetteville ornaments, Fayetteville shirts," she said.

The parade, hosted by the Fayetteville Rotary Club, draws several thousand people downtown annually. Reed says the event is essential for local shops. "Events like this in our community are truly a lifeline. It's at least a 25% to 30% jump because it's where people are coming downtown for all of our fun events, and it's truly like more of the spirit of the holiday season coming down for all the different things happening downtown."

More than 100 parade entries are slated for this year, including nine marching bands and the traditional Santa Claus. Organizers expect downtown streets to be packed.

Brandon Price, chair of the Fayetteville Rotary Club, described the parade as one of the city's signature events. "It's like one of the Hallmark events for our community, and it always brings everyone out, and everyone's always in the Christmas spirit," he said.

Parade Route

The parade will begin at 10 a.m. on Person Street, and officials say security will be tight. "It'll be very tightly secured. We do a bomb sweep, uh, at six in the morning. And so at that point, there will be no more vehicles in or out of the perimeter of downtown so get here early plan to get here early because it will certainly be packed," Price said.

Back at her shop, Reed is adding final touches and staying optimistic about a strong turnout despite recent obstacles. "Through the ups and downs from COVID to the shutdown to any other thing. Events like this one give us exposure that, as a small business, we don't normally have," she said.

The parade isn't the only holiday event drawing excitement this year. For the first time, the city will host the Great Elf Gathering at Segra Stadium, an attempt to break the world record for the most people dressed as Santa's elves. The current record, held by Thailand, stands at 1,762 participants.

All you need is an elf hat, red or green clothing, and optional elf ears, all count. No full costume needed. Local downtown shops will be selling ears and hats.

Can't make it to the parade in person? ABC11 will be streaming the parade live starting at 10 a.m. wherever you stream ABC11.

LINCOLNTON, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — It was like the kind of parade you wish all veterans could experience.

At West Lincoln Middle, the enthusiastic crowd gathered with party favors, pompoms, and cowbells, ready to cheer and scream for principal Jesse Beane, who returned to his job after serving six months with the North Carolina Army National Guard.

“It’s obvious we’re a family here, and we take care of family,” Beane said, overwhelmed by the attention showered upon him.

Before the raucous hero’s welcome, there was a lot of plotting behind the scenes, and we were asked to be part of it.

Oh, what a tangled web they weaved to celebrate the return of a hometown hero.

“Do you know how many lies? They’ve had to, like, figure out, like, how we were going to pull this off?” his wife Jennifer told Jesse afterwards.

“I can only imagine,” he said.

Fifty-two minutes before Mr. Beane posed for a family photo that day, we were pulled into a closed-door meeting. Assistant principal Windy Smart and school resource officer Deputy Mackenzie Johnson run through plans to divert their hometown hero.

“He is under the impression that you are here to do a story on the barn,” Smart said.

So, I hopped into a truck with the Assistant Superintendent Eric Eaker and Beane, the unsuspecting man of the hour. They talked to me about plans for a barn to be built at West Lincoln High, a valuable teaching tool for the agricultural program.

“This is a no-brainer for our students in our communities to learn more about animal science,” he told Queen City News.

Respectfully, seeing the future site of the barn is not what we’re here for. I asked about returning to the students he so adores.

“This is like the first day of school in November; it’s an awesome feeling,” Beane says.

With Principal Beane distracted, students, staff, and community members were up to good. They assembled outside the main entrance to the school to make some noise.

“We are super proud of him. Very proud to call him chief, but also family,” said Smart, who worked as interim principal while Beane was away.

Eaker and Beane take a quick picture at the future barn site, and we’re back in the truck after getting a text to proceed as planned.

“Okay, y’all come on,” the text read.

Then, Beane realized something wasn’t normal as we approached his school on the drive back.

“What in the world’s going on here?” he asks, seeing the middle schoolers and teachers waiting for him. “Oh my gosh.”

It was a cross between a parade and a rock concert. If there’s any doubt about how much he’s admired, I give you Exhibit A.

“It’s awesome! We’re so glad to have Mr. Beane back,” said Angel Watson.

“My God!” Beane says, getting out of his truck.

“Welcome home,” Deputy Johnson says.

Beane raises his arms as the crowd goes wild.

When you’re speechless, sometimes all you can do is let it sink in.

“Lord, mercy,” said Beane, walking between two rows of students jumping up and down, including many holding signs saying things like “Welcome Back.”

It was the perfect storm of genuine affection. The principal certainly didn’t come to work expecting “Beane-mania.”

“This is really cool. I am truly blessed, that’s for sure,” he says.

“Good to see you!” giving a fist bump to a teacher.

The one-minute and 24-second walk will linger in his memory forever.

“Don’t get much better than this,” Beane said.

“Hey, guys. Thank y’all, appreciate it,” he says, waving at the end of the route. “Thank you, I love you. Thank y’all, I love you.”

So many people played a role in Operation Welcome Home. Hopefully, all the deception doesn’t land us all in the principal’s office.

“Good!” Smart replied.

“I take pride in being very humble,” Beane says. “So, I don’t like being the center of attention, ever. This is out of my element for sure.”

Then, I pointed out the obvious.

“You’re kind of the center of attention now,” I said.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Under the Friday night lights, NC State Football will host Florida State at Carter-Finley on Friday, November 21^st, at 8 p.m., making it the fourth home night game of the season. As the Wolfpack aims to win its sixth game and become bowl eligible, the game will be broadcast on ESPN.

NC State will honor those who serve during Friday's game as the Wolfpack celebrates its annual Military Appreciation Day. Among the various activities, Military VIPs will be on the field for the coin toss, including: Dane Hughes (Assistant Secretary of War for Legislative Affairs), Maj. Roger Kerstetter (Executive Officer, NC Piedmont Consortium), CPT Brian Tanaka (Commanding Officer, Naval Submarine Training Center Pacific), and Lt. Col. Sarah Bergkamp (Commander, NC State Air Force ROTC). During the first quarter, combat-wounded veterans and veterans by era will be honored. In the second quarter, Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships to the spouses and children of America's fallen or disabled military members, will recognize a special family. Halftime will feature a full-field-sized flag and a special performance by the Power Sound of the South.

NC State has won the last three matchups with Florida State and has been victorious in five of the last six meetings. The Pack won in Carter-Finley in 2018, 2020, and 2022, and in Tallahassee in 2017 and 2021. The Wolfpack's only loss to the Seminoles since 2015 was in 2019. Those three straight victories are the most for NC State in the history of the series vs. Florida State. The Wolfpack has outscored the Seminoles 85-17 in the first quarter of the last nine games in the series. The Wolfpack was the first team to defeat Florida State on its home turf after the Seminoles joined the ACC in 1992. The Wolfpack won 34-28 in Tallahassee on 11/10/2001.

NC State has won 10 of its last 13 home games in November, dating back to the 2020 campaign (10 of 14 if you throw in a December regular-season contest in 2020). That includes the Wolfpack's upset of eighth-ranked Georgia Tech on Nov. 1. NC State is tied for the most November home victories in the ACC since 2020. Overall, the Wolfpack has posted a 15-7 record in that time frame.

With five wins entering Game 11, NC State needs one more win to become bowl eligible. The Wolfpack has qualified for five straight bowl games and 10 in Dave Doeren's previous 12 years as head coach. NC State has two streaks of five straight bowl games under Doeren - the most consecutive for any head coach in school history. The longest bowl streak in school history was seven, from 1988-1994, under head coaches Dick Sheridan and Mike O'Cain.

NC State not only sold out its first five home games of 2025, but also the next two (vs. Florida State and UNC). That will make 27 straight sellouts for Wolfpack football, - the longest sellout streak in school history. The streak dates back to Sept. 17, 2022, vs. Texas Tech. The 2024 season marked the first time in school history that the Pack had sold out of single-game tickets in consecutive seasons. Season tickets have also sold out each of the past three years (and eight times under head coach Dave Doeren). NC State has won 31 of its last 39 games in Carter-Finley Stadium (since 2020).

Linebacker and team captain Caden Fordham leads all Power Four players in tackles with 10.3 per game - the top mark in the ACC. He has led or tied the team in tackles seven times in 10 games this season and has six double-figure tackle outputs. His 15 stops versus Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech were a career high.

The 2025 season has been marked by injuries, mainly on the defensive side of the ball. Wolfpack players who have started games this season have missed a combined 27 games: 18 by five starters on defense and nine by six starters on offense.

Friday night’s action in the Dean Smith Center between UNC men’s basketball and NC Central University featured some courageous and tough plays — but they paled in comparison to a courageous fight happening behind the NC Central bench.

The Eagles program welcomed Onyx Williams to its team as an honorary assistant coach for the matchup after NCCU head coach LaVelle Moton heard about the Durham four-year-old’s ongoing battle with an aggressive, cancerous brain tumor. The child’s story was shared by local news stations in recent weeks, which caught Moton’s attention — and he invited Onyx and his family to join NCCU on their trip to Chapel Hill to play the Tar Heels.

Williams stood with Moton and UNC head coach Hubert Davis at halfcourt before the national anthem on Friday, with Davis presenting him a personalized, signed UNC jersey and basketball signed by the Tar Heel team. Williams sat behind the Eagles bench during the game, with the NCCU players and coaches wearing shirts that said “All In With Onyx.” Afterward, the four-year-old joined Moton at the podium for the post-game press conference.

Afterward, UNC men’s basketball’s pages shared a GoFundMe campaign Onyx’s father created last December after Williams’ diagnosis with high-grade glioma. The fundraiser has garnered more than $10,000 as of Saturday afternoon, with new donations beginning to come in.

UNC men’s basketball won Friday night’s matchup vs. NCCU 97-53, which was the first meeting of the programs since 2020.

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.

APEX, N.C. (WTVD) -- A much-anticipated development in Wake County has marked a major milestone.

On Tuesday, a groundbreaking was held at the first apartment complex in Veridea, the sprawling community planned in Apex that will include thousands of housing units, a Wake Tech campus, 3.5 million square feet of retail and hospitality space and the future NC Children's Hospital.

"We have sort of a proverbial mantra of 'eds, meds, and well-leds'. We call them superstar regions. Apex checked that box," said Joe Graziose, Executive Vice President of Residential Construction and Development for RXR, the developer behind Veridea.

Apex town leaders joined Mayor Jacques Gilbert and the leadership team from RXR at Tuesday's groundbreaking, where work officially began on Veridea's first vertical structure -- a two-building luxury apartment complex called Summit House, set to open to renters in early 2028. For Graziose, it's the start of a bold future for this once-dormant landscape.

"Physically and mentally, I've been working on this project in December for four years," he said. "But I've been coming back and forth trying to put this all together -- with a whole team, obviously, but really leading that team -- and today is just monumental."

Summit House will spearhead a project set to include the future NC Children's Hospital -- set to become the second-largest pediatric center in the country -- as well as thousands of future housing units. Mayor Jacques Gilbert said it's the next step in the booming town's growth story.

"Apex is a growing community, and we need to provide more opportunities," Gilbert said. "And we often talk about it being a welcoming community. So in order for us to welcome people in, we have to provide great opportunities. And RXR has done that today."

With at least ten years of construction ahead -- and an expected 2,300 jobs generated over that time -- it's a project with impact that Gilbert says exceeds the sum of its parts.

"Anything that brings good jobs is good for economic vitality," he said. "We talk a lot about that. And so anything moving in that direction, we embrace it fully."