For years they’ve been delighting you, and you have been applauding them, as the Y-Players bring you top-notch, amateur entertainment to benefit programs of the YWCA Bangor-Brewer and its Encore Program.

This year, it’s a “command performance” that Pam Martin directs as the Y-Players present “A Tribute to the Red, White & Blue.”

Featuring music of the 1940s, performances are 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 14; 7 p.m. Friday, May 17; 2 p.m. Sunday, May 19; 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 28; 7 p.m. Friday, May 31; and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 2, all at the Bangor-Brewer YWCA on Second Street in Bangor.

Since admission is by donation, you are asked to be as generous as possible in support of your YWCA.

I have been informed that the group of senior musician-actors have been in rehearsal twice a week since January, all the while working on the script, music, scenery, props, costumes and informing the public that they are about to take center stage!

The Y-Players, all young at heart, know that audience members will identify with the music of the USO-style first act, and the Spirit of Patriotism of the second act.

As members of the audience, you are expected to be lively participants and join in the fun and song.

The Y-Players always have had a great following, and truly appreciate the support they receive from members of the YWCA staff, especially the assistance of Peggy Wentworth and Peter Shirland, who make sure that all the Y-Players’ needs are met as they prepare for this fun-filled fund-raiser.

If you’ve never seen one of their performances, make plans to catch one of their shows this year.

I can promise you, you will be absolutely delighted that you decided to attend and help them help support the work of the YWCA Bangor-Brewer.

Since the seating is limited to 80, let’s hope you already have your ticket for the Daffodil Luncheon on Tuesday, May 14, at the Church of Universal Fellowship in Orono.

Funds raised by the sponsoring Women’s Alliance help support the renovation of this facility, especially with furnishing The Gathering Place, a new, all-purpose room under construction next to the church.

To learn whether all 80 spaces are taken for the event, that features a fashion show by Nancy Paul of the Pretty Woman in Orono, call Donna Barone at 866-4265.

Fourteen businesses and agencies that have partnered with Penobscot County TRIAD’s File of Life program, its educational Placemat project, Keep Your Eye on Your Purse project and its Citizen’s Police Academy will be honored at a recognition coffee from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, May 16, at Eastern Agency on Aging, 450 Essex St., Bangor.

A “well done” is extended to the following partners in this project: EAA, Bangor Daily News, WABI-TV, Wal-Mart, Merrill Merchants Bank, Webber Energy Fuels and Brooks Pharmacy.

Also, Shop ‘n Save stores, Penobscot county commissioners, Bangor Mall, St. Joseph Hospital, Governor’s restaurant, Bangor Police Department and Bangor Letter Shop.

Cancer survivors in Greater Penobscot County are reminded that they are invited to participate in the Lap of Hope, the opening ceremony of this area’s American Cancer Society Relay for Life, which runs from 6 p.m. Friday, May 17, to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at Old Town High School.

Funds raised at the event support ACS programs for cancer patients, caregivers and their families.

In this area, those programs include Road to Recovery, in which volunteers drive cancer patients to treatment; Reach to Recovery, which brings together newly diagnosed breast cancer patients and breast cancer survivors; the weeklong Camp Rainbow, a Maine summer camp for children with cancer, and their siblings; and I Can Cope, a series of informative classes on topics ranging from nutrition to cancer treatment and fitness.

To learn more about Relay for Life, or about ACS programs, treatment centers or support groups, call (800) ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.

In celebration of National Dance Week, the public is invited to enjoy a three-hour presentation by several local dance studios from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at Center Court in the Bangor Mall.

Kathy Jamison Cote is central Maine regional director of National Dance Week 2002. She invites you to enjoy the performances of 75 dancers, ranging from age 3 to 53, who represent Back Door Dance Studio of Eddington, Top Hat II Dance Studio of Holden and Hampden, Northern Lights Dance Studio of Brewer and Dance, Arts Etc. of Ellsworth.

In what she describes as “a first for this area,” the free exhibition will feature tap, jazz, ballet, ballroom and swing dancing.

Not only are you encouraged to stop by and tap your toes and clap your hands along with the dancers, but Cote also extends a sincere invitation to other dance studios and dance students, to make plans to participate in the event next year.

If you have questions about your studio or dancers, participating in National Dance Week, call Cote at 565-3526.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.