Students at the Albany Independent School District will be released for the day at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 20, and will break for the Christmas holidays at noon this Friday, Dec. 21. The district will be closed for the winter break from Monday, Dec. 24 through Friday, Jan. 4.

Texas dove hunters have an opportunity to bag the migratory game birds over the Christmas holiday season, starting this Friday, Dec. 21. Dove season in Texas this year is Sept. 1 - Nov. 4, and Dec. 21 - Jan. 14.

Last Friday and Saturday, Dec. 14 and 15, Robert Nail’s Albany Nativity was presented as a Christmas gift for everyone who took the time to come to the Aztec Theater, pick up a free ticket, step inside, take a seat, and watch their friends and neighbors act out the true story of Christmas.

The annual Albany Chest campaign will continue for two more weeks, and another $12,343 is needed to meet goal of $42,000 set by the directors for the 2018 campaign.  Donations of $29,657 have been given so far this year, including $4,550 contributed during the last week.

Two of the four candles on church Advent wreaths were lit this week, and they serve as a reminder that Advent is already half over, and Christmas, the celebration of the birth of the Messiah, is fast approaching.

Members of Matthews Memorial Presbyterian Church will once again prepare a Christmas feast for those that might not otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy a holiday meal, but they will  not offer a dine-in option this year.

Make-your-own spice sets, fragrant candles, and customized Christmas decorations are among the various choices available for patrons to create at the Old Jail Art Center’s Make & Take holiday gift workshop this year.

Parents who applied for Toys for Tots should have picked up their kids’ presents at the Youth Center this Wednesday. “We sorted the gifts by families, and had them ready for parents to pick them up,” said Resource Care case worker Makenzie Marshall. “We don’t wrap them.

The Albany Nativity, a play written by Robert Nail and traditionally performed biennially by local citizens during the Christmas season, will be presented free of charge at the Aztec Theater at 7:30 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday, Dec. 14 and 15.

The Albany Lions are playing Hamlin in the quarter-finals of the UIL 2-A division II football playoffs in Shotwell Stadium in Abilene this Thursday, Dec. 6, and the Athletic Booster Club invites local fans to participate in the send-off on Thursday afternoon.