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Planning for Christmas in July might seem overeager even for children impatient for presents, but if you're responsible for a town's holiday festival, it's almost too late to start.

Volunteers in New Market usually begin planning in May, according to Richard Stonebreaker, the chairman of the town's annual Christmas festival. This year, Stonebreaker said that the festival will only be one day long, Dec. 5, instead of the customary three-day-long celebration.

He said this decision was primarily due to budgetary constraints, and he said he was not sure that the town would be able to afford an elaborate festival.

He said that he sat down a month ago with town officials and began laying out his ideas for the festival. Stonebreaker said the smaller budget might work out well in one way: with less days planned for the festival, there would be less to plan for and starting later would not be as much of a problem.

"There's not as much to do," he said.

Even so, planning for the event will not be easy, he said. Not wanting to save any detail until the last minute, he said the committee has to get every aspect, including entertainment, the annual tree-lighting and the reception at the Grange Hall planned as soon as possible. But even the best planning will not address everything, he said. "It's going to be a mad dash to the end to get everything set up," Stonebreaker said.

With a committee consisting of only five volunteers in addition to himself, Stonebreaker said he was eager for regular meetings to begin on Aug. 4. Meetings will continue on the first Tuesday of every month until the festival, he said.

"We're always looking for more people," Stonebreaker said.

Volunteers would need to help plan and promote the festival, help to raise money and help set up on night before the festival, according to Stonebreaker.

For more information, contact Richard Stonebreaker at justafarmboy@msn.com, or attend a meeting at the New Market Grange Hall at 7 p.m. on the first Tuesday of every month through November.

Battlefield solicits

student videos

Officials at the Monocacy National Battlefield are asking students ages 12 to 17 to create videos describing why they think the park is a national treasure that must be preserved.

Winning videos will be shown in the park's visitor center throughout September in conjunction with "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," a film by famed documentarian Ken Burns, according to a release from the park.

The videos should explain why Monocacy National Battlefield is a significant national park, why it belongs to everyone and why it must be preserved for future generations.

Students can submit their videos, not to exceed 10 minutes, to Chief, REVS, Monocacy National Battlefield, 4801 Urbana Pike, Frederick, MD 21704, or bring them to the park's visitor center.

Entries must include the applicant's name, address, phone number, e-mail address and age and are due no later than Aug. 15.

Students honored

at universities

- Salisbury University in Salisbury, Md. recently released its dean's list for spring 2009, which contains several students from southeastern Frederick County.

Daniel Lefever, Laurel Noone and Robert Roche from Ijamsville, were named to the list, as were Valerie Ek, Kyle Esche, Maureen Gillespie and Chase Wrinn from New Market and Michelle Bowne of Monrovia.

- Clark University in Worcester, Mass., named Joseph Mannarino of New Market to second honors, an award that recognizes grade point averages of 3.5 to a maximum of 4.3. Mannarino attended Urbana High and is in Clark University's class of 2011.

Cancer survivor invites residents to eat, raise funds

Frederick resident Kristal Allen is inviting all city residents to take part in a night of "Food for the Cure" as she prepares to walk 60 miles for breast cancer research in October — just three months after she had her last chemotherapy treatment to fight the disease.

Allen, 28, has been living with Stage 2 breast cancer since Jan. 5, and has undergone months of treatment and a double mastectomy on her path to recovery. Allen had her last chemotherapy treatment on July 14, and plans reconstructive surgery in September. Allen will hold a fundraiser at Uno's Chicago Grill pizzeria, at 5449 Urbana Pike, in Frederick on Sunday, during which 15 percent of diners' tabs will go toward raising funds for her 20-mile-a-day walk in October.

Interested residents can obtain a coupon in support of the "Food for the Cure" fundraiser by e-mailing Allen at allenkristal@gmail.com , or by going to the restaurant's Web site.

Allen has to raise a minimum of $2,500 for the walk, and has raised about $700 so far.

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