One of my favorite children’s stories of all times is “The Ugly Duckling.”

It makes me laugh and cry at once, and, well it may for you, too.

Brewer Middle School coordinator Rich Kimball has informed me that Brewer Youth Theatre is readying its final production of the year, “Honk!”

“Honk!” will be presented on four nights, with the curtain rising at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 23; Friday, May 24; Tuesday, May 28; and Wednesday, May 29, at the Brewer Middle School Auditorium, 5 Somerset St., Brewer.

Kimball reports it’s a new musical, first produced in London three years ago, and is based on the “Ugly Duckling” story.

“Ugly, shunned by his brothers and sisters, gets led away from the safety of the duck yard by the treacherous Cat. He escapes from that predicament, but can’t find his way back home without the help of several feathered friends,” Kimball said.

Kimball told me that “Honk!” is “a really neat play with contemporary music and jokes that kids will actually get.”

“It reminds me of the old Looney Toons cartoons,” Kimball said. “Some the kids will get, and some the adults will get, too.”

He added that the production is also “a very timely play that talks about the value of tolerance and the acceptance of differences.”

The youth theater’s production features seventh-grader Josh Young in the role of Ugly; Brewer High School sophomore Emily Strang as his mother, Ida; senior Josh Luce as his father, Drake; and Brewer High junior Shelley Karnas as Penny the Swan.

The cast of more than 30 Brewer students in second- through 12th grades is directed by Kimball and Clayton Smith.

Sandy Hodgins is in charge of costumes, and Luce is doubling as the technical director.

Tickets are available at the door and are $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors.

As always, you are reminded that these productions often sell out, so if you want to see it (and I am sure you will) get there early!

Although I was unable to learn their entire itinerary, I do know that Watoto, a choir of children from Ghana, is in our area this week and I do have two locations at which you can hear them.

Linda Thomas of Bangor alerted me to their visit, and I thank her for that.

The group offers a concert of native African rhythms, ethnic dance and contemporary gospel music.

I was told that the choir members are children who have lost one or both parents to war or disease, and that the mission of this group is to raise money to provide homes for African children left orphaned by AIDS or violence.

Thomas said Watoto means “the children” in an African language.

Watoto will appear in concert at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, at Columbia Street Baptist Church in Bangor. The group will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 23, at First United Methodist Church, 7093 Essex St. in Bangor.

There is no charge to attend either concert, but a free-will offering will be collected at each.

The tasty treats of several local eateries, as Marlene Doucette refers to them, will be available to all who attend the Orono Historical Society’s Tasting Bee from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 22, at the Asa Adams School gymnasium in Orono.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children, ages 6 to 12, and free for those under 6.

Tickets will be available at the door, but if you want to buy them today, you can do so at the Orono Public Library, Pretty Woman or Ampersand-The Store, all in Orono.

At the Tasting Bee you will enjoy food from many of your local favorites such as Pat’s Pizza, Ampersand-The Store, Margarita’s, Bear Brew Pub, Gifford’s Ice Cream and Governor’s.

You will also be able to obtain gift certificates for Big Fred’s Roast Beef Restaurant and Guinness and Porcelli’s, both in Bangor; Shop ‘n Save in Old Town; L & A Grocers, Pretty Woman and Thai Orchid, all in Orono; and Always Flowers and R&J Pizza, both in Veazie.

Doucette wrote that proceeds will go going toward restoration of the Birch Street School, which is home to the Orono Thrift Shop Boutique and is the meeting place for Orono senior citizens.

And while you’ll be getting something great out of attending this fund-raiser, organizers hope you may be able to give back something in return.

Doucette wrote that “we’d like to have people who have memories about Birch Street School” to either attend the Tasting Bee or contact the Orono High School and provide them with that information “so we can put it in our memory book.”

If you are unable to attend the Tasting Bee, but have memories about Birch Street School you would be willing to share, you can write Doucette, 19 Pine St., Orono 04473.

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