Farmers' market open Tuesday

DURHAM -- The Durham Farmers' Market will be open from 3-5:30 p.m. on Tuesday for shoppers who want to use locally produced goods for their Thanksgiving dinner.

The "Thanksgiving Market" will offer an array of items ranging from cheeses for appetizers, to vegetables for side dishes, to pre-ordered, pastured heritage breed turkeys, to pies for dessert.

The Durham Farmers' Market is located at 501 Foster St. For more information, visit www.durhamfarmersmarket.com.

Granville Habitat honors helpers

OXFORD -- Granville County Habitat for Humanity will host its volunteer appreciation event at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 7 at its Office/ReStore.

The theme of the event is "Volunteers Are Priceless," and all 2009 Granville Habitate volunteers, whether administrative, ReStore, public relations, grant writing, or board and committee members are invited to an evening of good food and good company.

The evening runs until 7 p.m.

Volunteers who plan to attend are asked to RSVP by Nov. 30 to granvillehabitat@embarqmail.com.

For more information, call Mark Prokop or the ReStore administrator at (919) 693-5694 or visit www.granvillecountyhfh.org online.

Tree decorating contest slated

DURHAM -- Emerald Pond retirement community will host a holiday tree decorating contest Nov. 28-Dec. 4.

The event is open to local businesses, churches and other organizations.

Cash prizes of $300 for first place, $200 for second place and $100 for third place will be awarded.

Judged will be by community dignitaries and each tree will be displayed in a prominent location throughout Emerald Pond's 205 Emerald Pond Lane building. Participants are asked to bring their own trees and trimmings to set up and decorate.

The public is invited to see all the beautifully decorated trees on Dec. 5 at Emerald Pond's free Holiday Tree Fest Open House.

For more information, call (919) 493-4713.

Santa Train tickets gone

DURHAM -- The N.C. Museum of Life and Science has announced that tickets for its 2009 annual Santa Train fundraiser are sold out.

Tickets went on sale to museum members on Monday and to the general public on Wednesday for the 14 nights of multiple per-night Santa Train departures from its Murray Avenue station for the "North Pole," and sold out almost immediately. Tickets had been priced at $12 per rider 3-and-up.

Contact Mark Donovan at mdonovan@heraldsun.com or (919) 419-6655. E-mail news of interest to our readers to news@heraldsun.com.