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Gaithersburg's Winter Lights Festival is back for its 14th season, transforming Seneca Creek Start Park into a Winter Wonderland for all ages.

The park will be open this weekend for a preview of the show.

Giant holiday displays designed with thousands of lights line a drive through the park. More than 380 illuminated displays and 60 animated vignettes will "light up the night," Gaithersburg spokeswoman Britta Monaco said.

Theme areas include Winter Woods, Victorian Village and the North Pole.

Get a sneak preview of the displays from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday for $14 per car, or get out your walking shoes and bring the family for a one-mile stroll through Teddy Bear Land from 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 30, or take a blanket and enjoy the scenery on a 45-minute open air trolley ride.

The Gaithersburg Winter Lights Festival will be open nightly Dec. 4 through Jan. 2 at the park, 11950 Clopper Road. The festival will be closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. Hours are 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Proceeds will benefit charities, including the city's Dolores Swoyer Camp Scholarship Fund, Friends of Seneca Creek State Park, Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, Gaithersburg Help and the Gaithersburg Holiday Giving Program.

For more information, call the Gaithersburg parks department at 301-258-6350 or visit

www.gaithersburgmd.gov.

DTC looks back

at 25 years

The Damascus Theatre Company will celebrate 25 years of entertaining the community with a musical review of some of the best songs from the 60 shows it has staged.

A "Silver Anniversary of Song" will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Damascus United Methodist Church, 99700 New Church St. (See story on the theater company in this issue.)

Tickets can be purchased by calling 301-253-6210 or at the door. Prices are $18 for nonmembers, $15 for members, $12 for children ages 6-18 years and free for children age 5 and under.

Used book sale

this weekend

The Damascus Chapter of Friends of the Library will hold a used book sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The sale of such donations as books, DVDs, CDs, VHS tapes and audiotapes help the Friends fund programs such as Train Day, adult book discussions and summer reading programs for children.

Material suitable for gift giving, new fiction, children's storybooks and nonfiction and multimedia will be on sale.

Nothing will be priced higher than $5 and most items are priced between $2 and $3. For more information, send an e-mail to

foldamascus@yahoo.com.

Holiday craft bazaar

to be held Saturday

Wesley Grove United Methodist Church, 23640 Woodfield Road in Damascus, will hold its annual holiday craft bazaar from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

The bazaar will feature crafts by a number of local vendors, a bake sale and a homemade soup and sandwich lunch. Vendor spaces are still available by calling 301-253-0044.

Sponsors needed

for Holiday Giving

Each year communities reach out during the Thanksgiving and December holidays to provide meals and gifts to families in need.

Faith Connections and Damascus Help work together to coordinate the Holiday Giving Program for the Damascus-Clarksburg area. The organizations recruit sponsors to provide food and gifts and then match them with a family in need. Thanksgiving baskets are being delivered this week.

December holiday baskets should include a meal for a family of eight and gifts for the children of the family and will be delivered Dec. 20-22.

With so many people facing financial hardships, organizers are expecting more than 300 families to register for holiday assistance this year, so more sponsors are needed. In the past, sponsors have been local churches, businesses, civic organizations and individual families.

To learn more about the program, call Faith Connections at 301-483-0522 or e-mail

Jill@Faith-Connections.org

Monetary donations and gift card donations may be sent to Faith Connections, P.O. Box 28, Damascus, MD 20872.

Helping hands at Hospice

Hospice Caring Inc. of Gaithersburg has a new director of children's bereavement.

Debbie Schechter, a lawyer and pastoral counselor, comes to Hospice Caring from the William Wendt Center for Loss and Healing in Washington, D.C., where she coordinated education, training and crisis response.

At Hospice Caring, she is responsible for expanding and overseeing the Good Grief Clubs, which are in-school bereavement support groups run by the nonprofit, as well as Camp Caring, Hospice Caring's weekend bereavement camp for children who have lost loved ones.

"We want to reach out to families that have had a death," said Schecter, who lives in the District. "People can see us as a resource."

To learn more about the programs, e-mail Debbie Schecter at debbies@hospicecaring.org or call her at 301-990-8904.

Fall for the Stars

Drink and dine Saturday night to benefit animals at Star Gazing Farm in Boyds, a safe haven for unwanted, abused and neglected farm animals.

The second annual "Fall for the Stars: A Wine Tasting Event to Benefit Star Gazing Farm" will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. at Germantown Historical Bank, 19320 Mateney Hill Road.

Supporters can enjoy wine and hors d'oeuvres, a gallery exhibit and a sale of paintings and prints by equine artist Francine d'Antuono. The night includes a silent auction and holiday craft shop with handcrafted items made from wool culled at the farm.

All funds raised by the nonprofit will go to house and feed the animals.

For more information, call Anne Schroeder at 301-349-0802 or e-mail farmeranne@stargazingfarm.org.

Women's Opportunity

Award available

Soroptimist Club of Upper Montgomery County is accepting applications for its 2009-2010 Women's Opportunity Award.

The award is a cash award, not a scholarship, for female heads of household who are attending or have been accepted to a vocational/skills training program or an undergraduate degree program.

Local winners will become eligible to receive region-level awards funded by Soroptimist International of the Americas: one $5,000 first place award and two $3,000 awards.

The South Atlantic Region also funds one $1,000 award.

First-place winners become eligible to receive one of three $10,000 finalist awards at the federation level.

In addition to education enrollment requirements, applicants must demonstrate financial need and cannot have already earned an undergraduate degree. Applications should be submitted to Soroptimist International of Upper Montgomery County by Dec. 15.

For more information and to receive an application, send an e-mail to opportunityaward@yahoo.com.

Volunteer to ring a bell

The Salvation Army National Capital Area Command is seeking volunteer bell ringers to help in the upcoming Red Kettle campaign.

Volunteers are needed on Saturdays, Nov. 14 through Dec. 19.

Visit www.SalArmyDC.org or call Lamont Thompson at 202-756-2644.

Items appropriate for People and Places must be received by 5 p.m. Thursday for consideration for the following week. They can be mailed to The Damascus-Clarksburg Gazette, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877; sent by fax to 301-670-7183; or e-mailed to ssingerbart@gazette.net. Items are used on a space-available basis.