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The Mid-County United Ministries Capt. Joseph Mattingly Food Pantry will hold its fourth Canning Hunger March and Food Drive at 3 p.m. Sunday starting at the First Baptist Church of Wheaton, 10914 Georgia Ave. Participants are invited to bring some canned or packaged food to the church and the group will walk to the Mid-County Services Center building at 2424 Reedie Drive, where the food pantry is located. There will be a short program there and refreshments. For more information, call Diane Schroeder at 301-929-8675.

Support public safety personnel during holidays

During the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, the Wheaton & Kensington Chamber of Commerce runs Holiday on Duty, a donation program to provide meals for public safety personnel working on Thanksgiving and Christmas days. During these times, most eating establishments are closed in the Wheaton and Kensington area, yet many public safety men and women are working around the clock to handle every emergency. The Holiday on Duty program provides meals for the Fourth District and Second District Montgomery County Police officers, the Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad, and the Kensington Volunteer Fire Departments No. 5 and No. 10. Every dollar donated goes directly to purchasing holiday meals. The chamber urges everyone to donate to this program and say thank you to those who work to protect residents while we they celebrate the holidays with family and friends.

Make checks out to Holiday on Duty and mail to Wheaton and Kensington Chamber of Commerce, 2401 Blueridge Ave., Suite 101, Wheaton, MD 20902. For more information, e-mail Ellen Riger at ExquisiteLadyel

@comcast.net or call her at 301-318-7108.

Don't lose sight

to diabetes

Dr. Stephen Pappas of the Prevention of Blindness will discuss how vision is affected by diabetes and how it is treated in a discussion 1:15 p.m. Thursday at Holiday Park Senior Center, 3950 Ferrara Drive in Wheaton. Pappas will discuss the importance of regular eye exams and how most sight loss due to diabetes can be prevented. Early diagnosis is vital. The event is free and open to the public. Call 240-777-4999.

All aboard last Trolley Museum train until next year

The National Capital Trolley Museum will suspend its streetcar service starting 5 p.m. Nov. 30 until late spring or early summer 2009, when the museum opens at its new facility in Northwest Branch Park. Catch one of the last trains noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays. The first train leaves 30 minutes after opening and the last train leaves 30 minutes before closing. Fares are $3 for children ages 2 to 17 and seniors ages 65 and older and $4 for adults. For more information, call 301-384-6088.

Holiday events abound

in Silver Spring

Downtown Silver Spring will host a variety of holiday events in Silver Spring as part of a series titled, "Tis the C-Son," which will include concerts, carriage rides, cocoa and cookies, crafts and a coat drive. From 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Nov. 30 and Dec. 21, Eggspectation will hold a breakfast with Santa Claus. Eggspectation is located at 923 Ellsworth Drive in Silver Spring.

From 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 6 and Dec. 20 and 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 13, a "C-Son Celebration" event will be held in downtown Silver Spring. The Dec. 6 celebration will include free horse-drawn carriage rides, children's crafts hosted by Create Arts and performances from the Capital Accord Chorus and the Takoma Park singers.

The Dec. 13 event will also include carriage rides, crafts from Pyramid Atlantic, a 45-minute performance of the "Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by performers from the Glen Echo-based Adventure Theater, a sing-along with Frosty the Snowman and a performance by the Jazz Trio.

On Dec. 20 the Montgomery Blair High School String Quartet and the Blair Chamber Choir will perform along with a concert from School Girls Unite. Crafts from marimekko will be available.

Between Dec. 1 and Dec. 20, Downtown Silver Spring will hold a coat drive to benefit Interfaith Works, a Montgomery County community ministry that serves low income citizens on the county. People are encouraged to drop off their new or gently used coat donations to the Downtown Silver Spring Courtesy Office, located in the Breezeway between The Plaza and the Wayne Avenue Garage. There will be a receptacle located just outside 916 Ellsworth Drive. Donations are accepted 24 hours per day.

For more information contact Laurie Yankowski at 301-587-0867 or visit www.

downtownsilverspring.com.

Grant holiday

wishes this season

Make the holidays happier for children in need by taking part in the Hearts & Homes for Youth "Wish Makers Holiday Gift Drive."

Hearts & Homes for Youth counsels and shelters thousands of troubled, neglected, abused, and homeless children each year in the Washington/Baltimore corridor, and this holiday season the organization needs help filling the "Wish Lists" of 150 young people who will be without their families this holiday season. 

Through Dec. 15, residents can donate new toys, clothing, gift certificates, a special outing or sponsor a gift drive with co-workers and friends. Companies, churches and synagogues and civic groups are encouraged to participate. Hearts & Homes for Youth is a not for profit agency and all donations are tax-deductible.

To donate, call 301-589-8444, ext. 212, or visit www.

heartsandhomes.org.

Open house and concert

at B&O Railroad Station

The Silver Spring Historical Society is holding an open house at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station at 8100 Georgia Ave. featuring a concert from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 6.

There will be a book signing and sale of historian Jerry A. McCoy's "Historical Silver Spring" from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. followed by a free performance of the musical quartet Seraphim beginning at 2 p.m.

For more information, contact the historical society by phone at 301-537-1253.

Last chance of 2008

to tour Forest Glen

The "Enchanted Forest Glen" guided walking tour of National Park Seminary Historic District will be held 1 p.m. Saturday, for the last time in 2008. Tours begin across from 2755 Cassedy Street in Silver Spring, in front of the gymnasium at Cassedy and Linden Lane. Tour signs will be posted on Linden Lane. Detailed directions can be found at www.

saveourseminary.org or by calling Save Our Seminary at 301-654-3924 or 301-589-1715.

Reservations not required and payment is a $5 per person donation. Tours involve extensive walking on outdoor paths with steps and rough areas.

Tours will resume in March 2009.

Items for People and Places may be sent to Amber Parcher, The Gazette, 13501 Virginia Manor Road, Laurel, MD 20707. The fax line is 240-473-7501; or e-mail aparcher@gazette.net. Call 240-473-7563. Deadline is one week prior to publication.