Winter Carnival

The Pocono Winter Carnival, which opened yesterday and continues through next Sunday, is a week of ski races, snowboarding competitions, snow sculpturing, ice skating, tube races, cross-country races, apres-ski parties, torchlight parades, a mardi gras, horse-drawn sleigh rides and many other events throughout the four-county Pocono area of Pennsylvania.Highlights include the third annual Cross-Country Ski and Hike Day, today; the Bartenders Ski Classic at Camelback Ski Area, tomorrow; Country Ski and Sports Customer Appreciation Day, with savings on lift tickets, Wednesday; the annual Autoland Slalom Race and Torchlight Parade at Alpine Mountain Ski Resort, Saturday; and the Alpine Mountain Challenge Cup Race also at Alpine Mountain next Sunday.

Budd Schulberg, an Academy Award-winning screenwriter who wrote about corrosive ambition and power in "On the Waterfront" and "A Face in the Crowd" and in best-selling books such as "What Makes Sammy Run?," died Aug. 5 at his home in Westhampton, N.Y. He was 95. Mr. Schulberg was the son of a Hollywood producer whose fortunes rose and fell dramatically. As a result, he once said he was intrigued by "how suddenly [people] go up, and how quickly they go down." He used his insider knowledge of Hollywood politics to write his first novel, "What Makes Sammy Run?"

The Walters Art Gallery will celebrate the reinstatement of Tuesday operation and free Saturday morning admission with a Winter Carnival for the whole family from 1: 30 p.m. to 4: 30 p.m. Dec. 30.The free carnival will include face painting, workshops and interactive tours. A performance by Kathleen Jacobs and Puppets will allow audience members to play the starring roles in "Creatures GREAT and small." After the show, children can create their own hand puppets and dragons and perform with them in theaters throughout the Renaissance Sculpture Court.

HOUGHTON, Mich. -- In the land of big snow, where college students jump harmlessly out of third-story dormitory windows into snow banks, the longest season of the year sure isn't what it used to be. Snow that was dependable as a sunrise - and last year tallied higher than 20 feet - is being rationed in the city of Houghton, which this week canceled a downtown inner tube race - the Yooper Luge - to save snow for the annual winter carnival, the biggest tourist...

New manager Davey Johnson and general manager Pat Gillick will be joined by more than a dozen current and former Orioles at the team's 1996 Winter Carnival, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. next Saturday at Camden Yards.Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children 12 and under, and are available through TicketMaster, or at the Orioles ticket office in advance or the day of the carnival. Proceeds benefit the Orioles Charitable Foundation. For more information, call (410) 685-9800.Throughout the day, there will be clubhouse tours, batting cages and speed pitching machines, play-by-play booth, trivia contests, baseball card dealers and family entertainment.

The Pocono Mountains are the focal point for winter activities this week. The 16th annual Pocono Winter Carnival opened yesterday at the Shawnee Mountain Ski Area, Shawnee-on-Delaware, Pa., for nine days of synchronized skiing, snowboarding, mogul stunt skiing, tube racing, sloppy slaloms, snow volleyball and snowman triathlons and biathlons. There are also less strenuous events and fun and entertainment for the whole family. Winter Carnival takes place throughout the four-county Pocono Mountain area, and many of the Pocono resorts are offering midweek ski packages as well as winter weekend rate discounts.

The uncertainty of the 1995 season was in evidence yesterday as the Orioles held their eighth annual Winter Carnival at Camden Yards. But perhaps not as much as some may have suspected.Reaction to the labor dispute that has had baseball shut down since Aug. 12 was mixed among the 6,050 fans in attendance. Those who came for the various events gave every indication that the interest level remains high.The ones who came to buy tickets did not display the sameenthusiasm, even though it was tough to tell judging by the bottom line.

HOUGHTON, Mich. -- In the land of big snow, where college students jump harmlessly out of third-story dormitory windows into snow banks, the longest season of the year sure isn't what it used to be. Snow that was dependable as a sunrise - and last year tallied higher than 20 feet - is being rationed in the city of Houghton, which this week canceled a downtown inner tube race - the Yooper Luge - to save snow for the annual winter carnival, the biggest tourist...

New Orioles general manager Pat Gillick, owner Peter Angelos and team MVP Rafael Palmeiro will be among the celebrities at the 43rd annual Tops in Sports banquet, Jan. 12 at Towson State.Other guests include Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, Cleveland Indians pitcher Dennis Martinez, Orioles minor-league standouts Rocky Coppinger and Scott McClain, Indians GM John Hart, Orioles director of player development Syd Thrift and American League umpire Durwood Merrill.Cocktail hour begins at 5:30 p.m., and tickets are $50. To purchase tickets, call (410)

The Orioles have announced the participants in this year's Tops in Sports banquet and Orioles Family Funfest, both of which will take place the weekend of Jan. 17-19.The Tops in Sports banquet is Friday night, Jan. 17 at Towson State and will be emceed by ESPN's Karl Ravich. Former major-league greats Dave Winfield and Dale Murphy are scheduled to attend along with Orioles general manager Pat Gillick, manager Davey Johnson, pitcher Jimmy Key and outfielder Pete Incaviglia.L Tickets are $50 and are available by calling (410)

Jan Scott, 88, an art director and production designer whose 11 Emmy awards were the most won by a woman, died Thursday at her Hollywood Hills home. Ms. Scott was born in Carbondale, Ill., and grew up in Mississippi. She earned architecture and fine arts degrees at the University of Chicago. She also studied at the Art Institute there and later at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She got her start in production design as a carpenter and painter at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

Joseph Cates,74, a television and Broadway producer and the man who cast Art Carney in "The Honeymooners," died Saturday in New York of complications from leukemia.Mr. Cates, the father of actress Phoebe Cates, was a creator of one of television's first big game shows, "The $64,000 Question."He helped make television specials regular network features -- writing, producing and directing more than 1,000 of them.Richard Denning,85, a character actor in film and television perhaps best known for playing the governor in the television series "Hawaii Five-0," died Sunday in Escondido, Calif.

Kiddie rides, carnival games and educational and entertaining classes were among the offerings at two weekend festivals organized to help children -- and their parents -- beat the midwinter monotony of "nothing to do."The buildings at the Carroll County Agriculture Center in Westminster filled quickly yesterday afternoon as families turned out for the Westminster Jaycees Winter Carnival. The daybefore, nearly all the classes at the "Beat the Mid-Winter Blahs" seminar sponsored by the Carroll County 4-H program were over capacity -- 260 people registered for courses from "An Introduction to Veterinary Science" to "Make Your Own Pizza."

Kwanzaa celebrationTap your feet to the sounds of African rhythm Sunday at the Baltimore Museum of Art's Kwanzaa Family Celebration. Explore with the Joshua Johnson Council the ancient African influences found in today's African-American art.Join in the spirit of "kuumba" (creativity), and learn about quilting with Barbara Pietila, immerse yourself in the storytelling of dramatist Lois Wiley, put your hands together with the drum and dance circle led by Olufunmilayo Jomo and enjoy the soulful sounds of youth jazz bands from around the city.

The Walters Art Gallery will celebrate the reinstatement of Tuesday operation and free Saturday morning admission with a Winter Carnival for the whole family from 1: 30 p.m. to 4: 30 p.m. Dec. 30.The free carnival will include face painting, workshops and interactive tours. A performance by Kathleen Jacobs and Puppets will allow audience members to play the starring roles in "Creatures GREAT and small." After the show, children can create their own hand puppets and dragons and perform with them in theaters throughout the Renaissance Sculpture Court.

WHAT HAPPENS when the richest kid in town is kidnapped by a backward band of desperadoes, and no one wants to pay the ransom to get the rotten kid back?The answer may surprise you, but you won't hear it from me.You'll have to see the play, "The Ransom of Emily Jane," which opens at 7 p.m. Friday at Westminster High School. Other performances will be at 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday."This is my first year to do this," said Thea Thomas, the director and an English teacher at Westminster High.Thomas said she has had a great time with the students and the play.

Kwanzaa celebrationTap your feet to the sounds of African rhythm Sunday at the Baltimore Museum of Art's Kwanzaa Family Celebration. Explore with the Joshua Johnson Council the ancient African influences found in today's African-American art.Join in the spirit of "kuumba" (creativity), and learn about quilting with Barbara Pietila, immerse yourself in the storytelling of dramatist Lois Wiley, put your hands together with the drum and dance circle led by Olufunmilayo Jomo and enjoy the soulful sounds of youth jazz bands from around the city.

Budd Schulberg, an Academy Award-winning screenwriter who wrote about corrosive ambition and power in "On the Waterfront" and "A Face in the Crowd" and in best-selling books such as "What Makes Sammy Run?," died Aug. 5 at his home in Westhampton, N.Y. He was 95. Mr. Schulberg was the son of a Hollywood producer whose fortunes rose and fell dramatically. As a result, he once said he was intrigued by "how suddenly [people] go up, and how quickly they go down." He used his insider knowledge of Hollywood politics to write his first novel, "What Makes Sammy Run?"

The Orioles have announced the participants in this year's Tops in Sports banquet and Orioles Family Funfest, both of which will take place the weekend of Jan. 17-19.The Tops in Sports banquet is Friday night, Jan. 17 at Towson State and will be emceed by ESPN's Karl Ravich. Former major-league greats Dave Winfield and Dale Murphy are scheduled to attend along with Orioles general manager Pat Gillick, manager Davey Johnson, pitcher Jimmy Key and outfielder Pete Incaviglia.L Tickets are $50 and are available by calling (410)

If Cormorant's Flight's recent performances are any indication, Peter Angelos may be headed for a very successful year.The Orioles owner's mare delivered another top-flight effort at Laurel Park yesterday, leading from wire to wire over 1 1/8 miles to dominate the $75,000 Maryland Race Writers Handicap.Distance was the question for the daughter of Cormorant out of Double Suez. She had won the Francis Scott Key Stakes three weeks earlier -- but at six furlongs.But, after getting distracted briefly at the three-eighths pole, Cormorant's Flight responded to jockey Mario Pino's urging with another strong move and won going away.