Thursday, March 13, 2008

Youth Commission Panel

The Prince George's Youth Commission will co-host a panel discussion on issues that affect young adults in the county, such as teen violence, peer pressure, gangs, bullying, hip-hop culture, community resources, parental support and after-school programs. The event, also hosted by Prince George's Community College, is a special session of the Community Leadership Institute, which is an open forum with the members of the youth commission.

7 p.m. today. Prince George's Community College, Largo Student Center, 301 Largo Rd., Largo. Free. 301-350-9700.

More than 100,000 requests have been submitted to the Archdiocese of Washington for tickets to Pope Benedict XVI's Mass in the District on April 17. Dioceses across the country were told how many tickets each parish would get at the end of last month. Nearly 45,000 seats are available for the Mass, which will be at the new Nationals Park.

About 16,000 tickets will go to 148 parishes and missions in the archdiocese, and nearly 13,000 tickets will go to clergy, Catholic high schools and campus ministries in the Archdiocese of Washington, Catholic organizations, volunteers and others. Parishes are distributing tickets through free lotteries, letter submissions and other methods.

Some parishes are asking those interested to write letters saying why they would like a ticket. Tickets are free, non-replaceable and may not be sold. For details, visit http://www.adw.org/papalvisit.

Young chefs, ages 7 to 14, are eligible to participate in Giant Food's Kitch'N Kids recipe contest to compete for a $10,000 savings bond. Recipe entries should include at least one serving of milk, cheese or yogurt from Dannon, Cabot, Lehigh Valley or Giant. The premise is that the participants learn how to prepare and eat healthy food with dairy. The chefs of the top five recipes will go spatula to spatula for the grand prize in a cook-off at Stratford University in Falls Church on April 27.

The contest deadline is March 22. For details, visit the customer service desk at a Giant store or visit http://www.giantfood.com.

-- Compiled by AKEYA DICKSON