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Montgomery County will celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a Day of Service and a Tribute and Musical Celebration on Jan. 18.

The Tribute and Musical Celebration will be held at the Music Center at Strathmore beginning at 4 p.m. This year's theme is "Honoring Heritage, Inspiring Change."

Some of the entertainment will include the contemporary gospel group ChoirBoyz, musical performances by Li-Ly Chang & James Xu, a dance performance by Sigiri Lalanavo from Sri Lanka and other performers from diverse backgrounds.

The celebration is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Tickets are required and may be reserved through Strathmore's Web site at www.strathmore.org or in person at the Strathmore box office. For more information, call 240-777-2570.

On the day of the performance, the doors will open to non-ticket holders at approximately 3:45 p.m. until all seats are filled.

The Day of Service activities will include the annual program held at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, as well as three satellite sites.

Montgomery County's Volunteer Center is organizing indoor volunteer projects along with a canned food drive for Manna Food Center at several locations around the county.

The volunteer projects are approved for Student Service Learning credits.

AFI Theatre and Cultural Arts Center, located at 8633 Colesville Road in Silver Spring, will offer showings of a movie related to the life of King and the civil rights movement at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The Silver Spring and Eastern Montgomery regional services centers will hold a volunteer fair at AFI. For information, call 240-777-8400.

Gapbuster Learning Center at City Place Mall, located at 661 Colesville Road in Silver Spring, will feature arts and crafts projects, a health expo and viewing and discussing a movie about civil rights and King. For more information, call 301-779-4252.

Sponsors for the Day of Service include Comcast, The Gazette, M&T Bank, Whole Foods Market, Marriott International, City Place Mall and the HandsOn Network.

For information on events or to register for volunteering, call the Office of Community Partnerships at 240-777-2570 or visit www.montg

omerycountymd.gov/mlk.

— Gazette Staff

Your gifts that keep on giving

If a gift misses the mark this year, it can still be put to good use at A Wider Circle, a nonprofit that collects household goods for area people teetering on the brink of poverty.

Residents can donate goods to the sounds of pianist and harpist Meg Baker of Kensington, who will host a "Re-gifting/Recycling Communi-Tea" from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday at A Wider Circle, 9159-C Brookville Road in Silver Spring.

The event is free, but participants are encouraged to bring contributions in the form of re-gifted items as well as household items. Financial gifts are also welcome.

— Jen Beasley

Rockville fire department donates more than 1,000 toys

The Rockville Volunteer Fire Department donated more than 1,800 toys to 350 children during Mt. Calvary Baptist Church's Christmas party Dec. 22.

Eric Bernard, president of the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department, said one Rockville Volunteer firefighter gave more than 600 toys, but that the man wishes to remain anonymous. This was the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department's eighth year collecting toys for the church, which is located in Rockville's Lincoln Park community. Following the Christmas party, the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department takes up an additional toy collection for children of homeless families. Bernard said this year's recipient families were staying at a Rockville hotel thanks to the county's Department of Social Services. The Rockville Volunteer Fire Department gave toys to 17 children and teenagers on Christmas Eve. The total number of toys was not available as of Gazette press time.

—Melissa J. Brachfeld

Beijing Opera comes to Rockville

The Chinese Opera Society of Greater Washington DC will present a live performance of Beijing Opera at 2 p.m. Jan. 10 at Richard Montgomery High School, 250 Richard Montgomery Drive, Rockville.

The Chinese Opera Society has been presenting Beijing Opera, a traditional, stylized form of Chinese theater, for more than 30 years, according to Bethesda resident Leepo Yu, vice president of the group.

The performance will include excerpts of four operas, including from "Farewell, My Concubine," which will be shown for the first time in the Washington metropolitan area since the 1990s, Yu said.

Members of the society are professional actors and actresses from China and experienced amateurs from the local community. This is a rare opportunity to appreciate the traditional Chinese theater with its colorful costumes and distinctive music and acting styles, Yu said. Detailed subtitles in English and in Chinese will accompany the performance.

Tickets are available at $50 and $20; seniors and students, $10. For more information and tickets, call 301-762-4716 or 301-229-6624.

—Stephanie Siegel

WJ grad receives degree, Air Force commission

North Bethesda resident Nathan Liptak received a Bachelor of Science degree in behavioral science from the United States Air Force Academy on Dec. 16 and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant, his father, Steven Liptak, told The Gazette.

The lieutenant also earned varsity letters as a member of the academy's elite parachute team, Wings of Blue, and captain of the renowned Falcon Boxing Team.

A Jumpmaster-rated parachutist, Liptak instructed cadets in skydiving operations and placed either first, second or third in several local, national and international competitions.

A 147-pound All American athlete, Liptak was a two-time All-Academy champion in boxing, the National Collegiate Boxing Association Western Region champion and an NCBA National Bronze Medalist, his father said.

A graduate of Walter Johnson High School, Liptak is taking a short break with his father and his mother, Yeong Liptak, and his sister, Stephanie, before beginning flight training at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi.

— Gazette Staff

Thousands of books delivered to needy county children

More than 3,000 books will be given to eight early-childhood, literacy, mentoring and family-support programs to serve 841 needy area children under a Montgomery County branch of the reading nonprofit First Book.

First Book-Montgomery County has distributed new books to programs serving needy children since 2001. The chapter is part of a national First Book network, which has distributed more than 65 million free and low-cost books to neighborhoods across the country.

The books were purchased in Montgomery County through local fundraising efforts and distributed to such early childhood development centers for low-income children as CentroNia, Crossway Community Inc., Family Services' Early Head Start, Interages, Kensington Wheaton Youth Services, Linkages to Learning, Bridges to Pals and Woodworkers for Children Charity Inc. Each child will receive multiple books throughout the year, enabling them to start their own home libraries and share with siblings and friends.

To learn how you can get involved, e-mail co-chair Tanya Lee at montgomerycounty_md@firstbook.org or visit www.firstbook.org/montgomerycountyMD.

— Amber Parcher

Collecting pajamas for the needy

Students of the Rockville-based Musical Theater Center are collecting new and gently used pajamas to donate to the Interfaith Clothing Center as part of MTC's performance of "The Pajama Game."

The Interfaith Clothing Center in Rockville is a non-profit that provides clothing to low-income families at no charge.

Children's and adult pajamas may be dropped off at the Musical Theater Center, 837-D Rockville Pike, during studio hours. Pajamas may also be dropped off at the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab at Olney Theatre Center during the performances of "The Pajama Game" Jan. 8 to 10.

For more information, call 301-251-5766.

— Gazette Staff

Student trades foundation accepting vehicle donations

The Montgomery County Students Automotive Trades Foundation is accepting donations of vehicles of all makes and models to be used in the automotive technology classes of high school students within Montgomery County Public Schools.

For more information, visit http://www.autocareers.org or call 301-929-2190.

— Gazette Staff

Need information? Call 2-1-1

Maryland residents can now access support they need by calling United Way's 2-1-1 telephone number.

Specialists are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at the free telephone number to provide information about a wide range of community services, including rent and utility assistance, food, shelter, health care, job training, child care, mortgage foreclosure assistance and more.

2-1-1 also serves as an H1N1 Flu information line, said Gaithersburg Community Services Director Crystal Carr.

— Patricia M. Murret

Begin the New Year at annual brunch

Peerless Rockville will hold its 35th annual New Year's Day Brunch, marking the start of Rockville's sesquicentennial year, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at Glenview Mansion.

The mansion is located at Rockville Civic Center Park, 603 Edmonston Drive.

In addition to brunch, the event will feature entertainment, a raffle and a program at 1 p.m. Historic attire is welcome and visitors are invited to take a dish or dessert to share.

Cost is $10 for Peerless members, $15 for non-members. For tickets and information, call 301-762-0096 or visit www.peerlessrockville.org.

— Judith Hruz

Equestrians take note

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is announcing that access to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath will be restricted at Lock 22 for those on horseback. The restriction is due to preservation maintenance repairs on bridge and masonry structures near the lock, according to a National Park Service statement. Access will be restricted for those on horseback through March 2010, though hikers and bikers can still access the towpath as usual. Horse riders are encouraged to use access point at nearby Seneca or Swains Lock to connect to the towpath.

—Erin Donaghue

Potomac resident is ‘Man of the Year'

A Potomac resident was recently honored as "Man of the Year" by the Lido Civic Club of Washington, D.C. S. Joseph Bruno is set to be honored by the group, which is a regional philanthropic and social organization geared toward leaders of Italian-American descent, for his work supporting children in the Washington metropolitan region. Bruno is a renowned expert in charter school development, according to the group, and a contributor to numerous children's causes around the region. Bruno will be honored at the group's annual Past Presidents' Night Gala at the Embassy of Italy Jan. 16. Also at the event, famed race car driver Mario Andretti will be honored with the "President's Award for Lifetime Achievement." The group yearly recognizes those of Italian-American descent who demonstrate character and contributions to humanity characteristic of their Italian heritage. Past honorees have included Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.; Motion Picture Industry president Jack Valenti and biomedical researcher Robert Gallo.

—Erin Donaghue

People and Places will feature county-wide items of interest this week, written by a variety of Gazette reporters and editors. The regular columns will return to each edition Jan. 6.