🗞️ The Kernersville Honeybee Festival turns 50 this Saturday

🗞️ Rep. Amber Baker shares a cancer diagnosis and a message: get screened

🗞️ Friday night lights: when each Kernersville high school plays its first home game

🗞️ Where Kernersville's big road projects stand right now

☀️ Hot, feels like 100 | High: 92°F | Low: 72°F

A hot one. Mostly sunny skies push highs into the low 90s, and with the humidity the heat index could touch 100 this afternoon. Rain chances are low, so it is a good day to stay hydrated, take breaks in the shade, and keep an eye on kids, older neighbors and pets.

Our sweetest tradition hits a big milestone this weekend.

The Kernersville Honeybee Festival celebrates its 50th year on Saturday, August 15, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Fourth of July Park, and this year's edition comes with an extra-special moment: the unveiling of a new commemorative statue in a special ceremony. Expect the usual buzz of a great community day, games for the kids, a DJ, the festival train circling the park, gem mining, a stuffed-animal-building station, face painting, and, of course, plenty of local honey and honey-made goodies for sale. Kernersville Fire & Rescue will even bring a truck for kids to climb through.

It is a big lineup this year: 82 craft vendors, 18 commercial vendors, 13 nonprofits and 22 food and dessert vendors. Park at Kernersville Elementary, 512 W. Mountain Street, with accessible parking at the front lot of Fourth of July Park. It is pet friendly too, as long as your furry friend stays leashed.

Here is the part a lot of folks do not know: this festival is why the honeybee is North Carolina's official state insect. Back in 1973, Kernersville's own Brady Mullinax led a campaign to make it happen, teaming up with N.C. Honey Queen Pat Dollarhite, who famously drizzled honey onto biscuits for lawmakers and asked, "Who wouldn't vote in favor of the Honeybee Bill?" It worked, the honeybee became the state insect that year, and the first festival followed in 1975. In 2005 the festival even earned a national arts and humanities award. Fifty years later, it is still one of the best days on our town's calendar. Come celebrate.

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A local lawmaker is turning a hard personal moment into a public reminder that could save lives.

State Rep. Amber Baker, who represents part of Forsyth County, announced this week that she has been diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer, caught during a routine mammogram. In a video shared to her Facebook page, Baker said she plans to begin chemotherapy and to keep serving her constituents through her treatment. "This is not a death sentence," she said, adding that she wanted to speak openly because "with all the improvements in breast cancer treatments, awareness is important."

Baker, who has a family history of the disease, used her announcement to urge women to schedule their mammograms and do regular self-exams, because early detection makes an enormous difference. Her own cancer was found early, before she felt any symptoms, exactly the scenario screening is designed to catch.

We are wishing Rep. Baker strength and a full recovery, and passing along her message, because it is a good one. If you or someone you love is due for a mammogram or has been putting one off, consider this your friendly nudge to make the appointment. Early detection saves lives. This is a sensitive subject for a lot of families, and if it is weighing on you, it is always okay to reach out to your doctor or a trusted person for support.

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Football season is almost here, so clear your Friday nights. Here is when each of our high schools kicks off at home.

The action starts Friday, August 21, with a crosstown rivalry that doubles as a home opener. Glenn hosts East Forsyth at 7 p.m. at Glenn High School (1600 Union Cross Road), so the Bobcats and Eagles get the neighborhood bragging rights going right out of the gate. That same night, Bishop McGuinness opens at home too, with the Villains hosting Forbush at 7:30 p.m. on the NC 66 campus (1725 NC-66 South).

For East Forsyth, that Aug. 21 game at Glenn is the season opener on the road, so the Eagles' first home game comes the following week: Friday, August 28, at 7 p.m. against Northern Guilford at East Forsyth High School (2500 W. Mountain Street).

So mark the calendar. Two of our three teams, Glenn and Bishop McGuinness, open at home the same night, August 21, and East Forsyth follows a week later on August 28. Grab a seat, bring the cowbell, and go support the home teams. (Schedules can shift, so double-check kickoff times with each school before you head out.)

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If you have been sitting in a work zone lately and wondering "when will this be done," you are not alone. Here is the latest on the road projects reshaping our area.

First, the one a lot of readers have asked about: the work along NC 66 near the Old Salem Road intersection, by Bishop McGuinness. That stretch is part of the broader push to improve traffic flow around Kernersville, but the state has not published a firm completion date for that specific spot. For the most current timeline and any lane-closure updates there, the best source is NCDOT Division 9 or the real-time map at DriveNC.gov.

The largest project is the new Kernersville "loop." NCDOT is widening and extending Big Mill Farm Road and improving Hopkins Road from Harmon Creek Road to West Mountain Street, plus building a new highway interchange near where I-74 begins. NCDOT resident engineer Nicholas Librandi said crews recently started with tree clearing, and that the roughly $60 million project is meant to ease congestion around the U.S. 421 and South Main Street interchange. The honest headline for drivers: real traffic impacts are still "two to three years from now," Librandi said, so expect this one to unfold over several seasons.

Elsewhere, the Macy Grove Road extension toward Piney Grove Road is targeted for completion around the middle of 2026, and a separate South Main Street project will add a roundabout and turn lanes on the south side of town. Bottom line: a lot of orange cones ahead, but all of it aimed at making our fast-growing town easier to get around. We will keep passing along updates as NCDOT firms up dates.

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