It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, especially in the Peak of Good Living! As you venture out to enjoy our town’s beloved Christmas events, you may be wondering how each got started. After all, everything has a beginning! Read on to discover the origins of the Apex Rotary Club Pancake Breakfast and Christmas Parade, the Halle Cultural Arts Center Tree & Wreath Exhibit and Auction, and the Apex Historical Society Holiday Homes Tour.
Apex Rotary Club Pancake Breakfast
December 3, 7-11 a.m.
Fire Station #1, Downtown Apex
Two hundred pounds of pancake mix, 120 pounds of bacon, 1,500 sausage links, and countless half pints of milk and orange juice. It takes a lot to feed a village, or at least the 1,500 attendees of the Apex Rotary Club Pancake Breakfast. Held semi-annually at Fire Station #1 at 210 N. Salem Street the first Saturday in December (the same day as the Apex Rotary Club’s annual Christmas Parade) and the first Saturday in May during Apex PeakFest, the pancake breakfast is a much-loved occasion that captures the spirit and camaraderie of the Apex community.
“Over the last six years that I’ve been involved, the Christmas breakfast has really gained attention and has become the better of the two events,” said Rotarian Mark Simmons. “The Christmas parade happens the same day, but the pancake breakfast really is a stand-alone event that morning during the holiday season.” Santa makes an appearance at the breakfast, which is a delight for young families.
Thirty volunteers work in three-hour shifts from 6 a.m. until noon to set up and serve the appetites that begin arriving as early as 7 a.m. “Most people show up from 9 to 10 a.m. Sometimes we run out of food, sometimes we have food left to donate,” said Rotarian Alan Maness, who has been involved with the breakfast for 20 years. He added that pancakes are cooked on a large griddle at the event, but bacon and sausage, which used to be prepared the morning of the breakfast on a big pig roaster, are now cooked the night before and kept warm overnight. “That’s been a labor saver on Saturday morning,” he said.
So how did this cherished Apex tradition begin? Maness explained that Harvey Montague Sr., a building developer and charter member of the Apex Rotary Club, was instrumental in its founding in 1975.
“He was behind a lot of the logistics of it. He donated the grills and the trailer where we store a lot of our equipment. The Montague family supports a lot of what we do with the equipment that we need, and we do a lot of our prep work for the breakfast at their facility. We couldn’t do it without them,” Maness said.
The generosity of local sponsors has enabled the Apex Rotary Club to keep this tradition alive for 47 years. Leith Volkswagen in Cary, Lidl, Mattamy Homes, 540 Flex and Business Park, The Mocha Room, SpeedPro Imaging of Apex, Holland’s Jewelers, Knights Play Golf Center, Carolina Custom Kitchen & Bath, Artisan Roofing, Cardiacs Sports & Memorabilia, Vicious Fishes Brewery, Capitol Coffee, Window World, Sysco Foods and Costco Wholesale are among the many businesses that have supported the breakfast throughout the years.
All proceeds from ticket sales benefit scholarships at Apex High School and Apex Friendship High School, as well as Wake Tech through the Harvey Montague Foundation. Tickets are available online at apexrotary.org and are $8 for adults, $4 for kids ages 3-10, and free for ages 2 and younger. Cash, Venmo and credit cards are also accepted at the door. Food is available for dine-in or take-out.
Look for members of the Apex Friendship High School’s Interact Club, which was founded by and is sponsored by the Apex Rotary Club, helping out at the breakfast on December 3.
Maness and Simmons appreciate the community’s support. “Fellowship is a big part of the breakfast, and people really look forward to it,” Maness said. “Even though it is hard work, we as Rotarians have a good time doing it.”
Apex Rotary Christmas Parade
December 3, 5 p.m.
Downtown Apex
Lighted floats, marching bands and Santa—it’s hard to imagine the holiday season without our beloved Christmas parade. The tradition dates back to 1957, when the Apex Jaycees hosted the first Christmas parade on Salem Street. The Jaycees continued to organize the event for the next 51 years, but when the Apex chapter folded in 2009 it took some quick thinking to ensure the holiday celebration would live on.
At the time, Karen Byrd was a Jaycee and an Apex Rotarian. “There were three big programs that the Jaycees organized that I didn’t want the community to lose, and the Christmas parade was one of them. I asked the Apex Rotary Club to take on these projects. Over time, things have changed with the parade but the basic premise is the same,” she said.
The Apex Rotary Christmas Parade—the only nighttime parade in Wake County—has traditionally taken place on the first Saturday in December at 5 p.m. A wondrous sight under twinkling stars, the parade begins at the intersection of Ambergate Station and the Apex Peakway, heads down Salem Street and ends at Moore Street. Between 90-130 entries—including marching bands, majorettes, dance teams, costumed dogs, jump ropers, classic cars and colorful floats—literally light up the night for 20,000 spectators. Joyous Christmas music fills the air and 300 pounds of candy distributed along the route bring smiles. The Apex Friendship High School Key Club will play a huge role this year by decorating Santa’s float with lights donated by Envite Realty, handing out candy, and assisting Mr. and Mrs. Claus, who greet parade-goers and pose for photos. Plans are also in the works for 621 Productions, an award-winning video production service, to stream the parade live for the first time in its history.
The event is one of the Rotary’s biggest fundraisers. Proceeds will benefit Western Wake Crisis Ministry and, to honor the Apex Police Department and the Apex Fire Department, will also assist the Special Olympics NC Torch Run and the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center.
Olivia Scott, a Rotarian who manages the parade’s charitable efforts, said the occasion is a feel-good moment for everyone. “It’s an opportunity for people to gather and enjoy what’s great about their community. It captures the magic that you knew when you were a kid, and the adults want that special feeling that comes with it.”
This year, in the spirit of the holidays, the Apex Rotary Club has encouraged businesses to rent commercial floats to sponsor local charities, and a banner will be provided on the float acknowledging the business sponsor for the charity. “It’s being very well received this year,” said parade chairperson Christine Hilt. “Any money that we make beyond the cost of renting the commercial float goes to the charity that business has sponsored.”
The Apex Rotary Club enhanced the parade in 2021 by inviting food trucks, which also donate to charity, and creating an annual theme. This year’s theme is Gingerbread Lane, with local businesses offering child-centered activities, such as face painting and ornament decorating, in the Apex Union Depot parking lot from 1-8 p.m.
Hilt, who begins laying out the parade lineup in August, explained what she enjoys most. “Because it’s a night parade, the high school bands will light up their percussion and brass instruments, and the majorettes will light up, too. The bands have become very competitive and it’s a lot of fun. It’s become the spectators’ favorite part of the parade.”
Byrd summed up the magic of the Apex Christmas Parade: “When you see the joy on the children’s faces, it’s unbelievable.”
Tree & Wreath Exhibit and Auction
December 2-19
Halle Cultural Arts Center, 237 N. Salem Street
Each December, the Halle Cultural Arts Center invites guests to drift into a whimsical winter wonderland as part of its Tree & Wreath Exhibit and Auction. Apex-area businesses, schools, performing groups and other organizations create stunning tree and wreath displays as part of the exhibit and silent auction.
Renee Anderson, Cultural Arts Program Specialist at the Halle, said the idea for the Tree & Wreath Exhibit and Auction came about in the fall of 2008, not long after the center opened, when it needed to decorate its long gallery for the holidays. What would have been a few ornamental Christmas trees on display grew into something much more special as the Halle invited local businesses to decorate and advertise on a variety of trees, with a silent auction of the items benefitting Western Wake Crisis Ministry.
Many unique displays have filled the Halle since then. “EnV Salon was one of our first trees and they had a hair or salon treatment for each of the 12 days of Christmas and a mannequin head on top of the tree as their angel! I still have the head in my office. I bought a hat from the antique store on North Salem Street to top her off,” Anderson said. “The Apex Police Department put a tree in one year and it had so many gift cards on it, we had to take the cards out and leave the envelopes on the tree and put the cards in the safe (a lesson we learned for years to come). It might have been the most bid-on tree to date!” she said.
Anderson also recalled a touching moment: “I was helping a couple out with the tree that they won. They explained to me that when they first moved to the area, they had relied on Western Wake Crisis Ministry for help and were so happy to be giving back through the auction. That really tugged at my heart! It made me feel that what we were doing here at the Halle was making a difference in the community.”
Now in its 15th year, the exhibit can accept up to 18 trees and 10 wreaths on a first-come, first-served basis via an application process. Designers are encouraged to use their imagination and create their own theme in decorating a tree at the Halle. A reception is held on the opening night of the exhibit, during which the public can meet the designers and bid on the trees and wreaths. This year’s reception is December 2 from 5-8 p.m. The Halle will stay busy throughout the exhibit with four performances of Infinity Ballet’s “Dances of the Nutcracker” Dec. 3 and 4, four family-friendly Christmas plays Dec. 9-11, and also during normal business hours when the public can bid on items. All proceeds from the silent auction (usually $2,500) benefit WWCM. Learn more at: thehalle.org/1701/15th-Annual-Tree-Wreath-Exhibit-and-Auct.
What brings Anderson the most joy? “I’d say the smiles on everyone’s faces when they walk in and the kids’ reactions to all the trees, lights and wreaths. It’s pretty neat that the public expects it now.”
Apex Historical Society’s Holiday Homes Tour
December 4, 1-5 p.m.
In and around downtown Apex
Although Apex is a burgeoning town of 73,000 residents, it still maintains its small-town charm and character, especially in its stately older homes, many of which date back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. On the first Sunday of each December, several of these properties open their doors to visitors during the annual Apex Historical Society’s Holiday Homes Tour, where guests can view their distinctive architectural styles from a century ago.
The Holiday Homes Tour launched in 1985, the same time as the founding of the Apex Historical Society, which works to capture the history of the town’s colorful past as a small, rural settlement and ensure that its character endures well into the future.
“The Holiday Homes Tour was created to highlight the town’s historic houses and also showcase the architecture of Apex,” said Jeremy Bradham, vice-president of the Apex Historical Society and the historic preservation specialist at Capital Area Preservation, Inc. The tour is a walk-through history for 5,000 visitors who take in the allure of each property, several of which are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Capital Area Preservation, Inc. works to preserve many historic structures in Wake County.
Each year, guests get a look inside the Maynard-Pearson House, which serves as the headquarters for the Apex Historical Society, at 1101 Olive Chapel Road. The house was built in 1872 by Mr. James Jackson Maynard and his wife Civil Pearson Maynard, and is an excellent example of a triple-A roofed I-house, a common type typical of the period in rural Wake County.
Other properties on this year’s tour include the Apex Union Depot at 220 N. Salem Street, which was reconstructed entirely in brick after a fire destroyed most of the downtown business area in 1911; the Tula Upchurch Holland House, a Classical Revival home built in 1912 located at 323 N. Salem Street; the Cofield-Herndon House, a 1925 Craftsman-style home at 115 S. Salem Street; the Upchurch-Williams House, a Classical Revival home built around 1905 and relocated in 2015 to 7213 Roberts Road by Capital Area Preservation, Inc.; and the Alsey Thomas Olive House, which was built in 1905 and is known for its Queen Anne architecture. The home was designated an Apex Historic Landmark in 2020 and is located at 2708 Olive Chapel Road.
“We always have the houses decorated for Christmas, and they’re all beautiful,” said Diane Long, who has organized the Holiday Homes Tour for years. “Two people from the Apex Historical Society greet people at the door of each home and speak about its history. Visitors also become more familiar with the community and the history of the town.”
Advance tickets are $20 online at apexhistoricalsociety.com and at several downtown Apex businesses, including The Rusty Bucket, Antiques on Salem Street and the Apex Chamber of Commerce. Tickets are $25 at the Maynard-Pearson House on the day of the tour. Proceeds benefit the maintenance of the Maynard-Pearson House.
