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Twelve contestants took the stage at Urbana High School to vie for the coveted title of "Mr. Urbana" Dec. 3, donning humorous costumes and showing off their talents.

But the greatest honor was in helping Rock Creek School, a Frederick school for students who have developmental disabilities, for which the contestants collected $5,432 this year.

Over the past 12 years, the Mr. Urbana contest has raised more than $33,000 for the school, according to Stephanie Weigelt, a dance teacher at Urbana High who helped to organize the program.

The school began supporting Rock Creek with a production of the play "Flowers for Algernon" in 1997, and has been donating money ever since.

This year's contestants raised the highest amount in the history of Mr. Urbana, she said.

But Rock Creek School appreciates the visits from Urbana students almost more than the funding the contest provides, according to Principal Gayle Brown.

The contestants, as well as dancers from Urbana High will come to Rock Creek School on Dec. 22 to perform for students, something they have done for 12 years. Brown said students at Rock Creek enjoy interacting with the high schoolers as they dance with them.

"It gives you chills," Brown said. "I can't tell you how much our kids love the dancers."

The money the contest raises is put into the school's general fund, where it can be used for class field trips or to buy additional equipment as needed, Brown said.

The contestants were judged in the week leading up to the competition on their costumes — they had to dress up as inanimate objects, superheroes and staff members — and on the money they raised individually. Volunteer judges included teachers, students and a former Mr. Urbana contest winner.

But the spectacle of the Mr. Urbana competition culminated on Dec. 3. All contestants took the stage dressed in tuxedo T-shirts, dancing to the Johnny Rivers rendition of "Secret Agent Man," miming several of the song's spy-themed lyrics.

Then the contestants, all seniors, who were all given a month similar to a male pin-up calendar, dressed in seasonal-appropriate costumes.

Some took this to creative extremes, like Mr. October, Dan Oliver, whose a Christopher Columbus costume included a cardboard ship, the Santa Maria, pulled across the stage by an assistant in a black costume. Mr. March, Jesse Heon, dressed as a giant red cross in honor of Red Cross Month.

Then the contestants had to demonstrate their talents.

Some, like Billy Hunley, chose a more direct approach, offering a rendition of Andrea Bocelli's song "Con te partiro," with humorously choreographed dancing, while others like Adam Krop incorporated his acoustic version of Third Eye Blind's "Jumper" into a skit that involved him talking a friend out of committing suicide by jumping from a ledge, mirroring the lyrics of the song.

Cody Weinberg chose to show off his acting talents by doing a send up of the vampire movie "Twilight," in which, true to the film, his skin sparkled when light shone on it.

But this year's winner, Sam Shumaker, who belted out The Temptations' song "My Girl" before breaking into a rap, outscored the other competitors and claimed the coveted title.

E-mail Christian Brown at chbrown@gazette.net.