Just when you think there is not much you can do with a $5 bill, Maine’s Foster Grandparent Program offers you the opportunity to win a weekend getaway at home or out of state while helping that program fund a summer training seminar.

Here’s the story.

Foster grandparents who mentor at-risk children in public or nonprofit schools, Head Start programs and child care centers in 14 of Maine’s 16 counties are conducting a raffle in which the winning ticket entitles the owner to a weekend getaway for two at a resort in Wheeling, W. Va.

Foster grandparents are selling the raffle tickets for $5 each and hope to raise $5,000 to fund the seminar.

Locally you can obtain tickets by calling the Penquis Community Action Program Foster Grandparent Program office at 973-3684 or (800) 215-4942.

Gary Dorman, division manager for the Penquis CAP Foster Grandparent Program, told me those who purchase tickets actually have five chances to win because while the top prize is a trip to West Virginia, four others will win a two-night getaway for two right here in Maine.

The top prize includes airfare, dining and limousine service for a weekend at Oglebay Resort & Conference Center and dinner at Undo’s Italian Restaurant in Wheeling. Ad America is providing the airfare, and Wheeling Limo is providing transportation to and from the airport.

The remaining winners will spend a weekend at Comfort Inn at Ocean’s Edge in Belfast, the Eagle’s Lodge in Ellsworth, Maple Hill Farm B&B in Hallowell or Best Western Black Bear Inn in Orono.

Dinner for those locations includes the Weathervane Seafood Restaurant in Belfast, Riverside Cafe in Ellsworth, Longhorn Steakhouse in Augusta and Margarita’s in Orono.

Proceeds from the raffle will enable Foster Grandparents to attend a summer seminar in which they will share information and learn new skills for their next year of working with at-risk children.

For more information about the raffle, or the Foster Grandparent program, call Dorman at either of the numbers listed.

Paul Hilchey-Chandler, general manager of Morgan Hill Event Center in Hermon, called to say the Go Red For Women Benefit Concert and Dance planned for Saturday, Feb. 10, at that facility, has been postponed.

I’ll let you know the new date as soon as it has been set.

For more information, call Morgan Hill at 848-7100.

Calais residents seeking something unusual for Valentine’s Day can call upon “The Cupid’s Brigade.”

Head Cupid Vicki Farrell reports “a small group of brave and dedicated” individuals “dress up as cupids” and, for $5, “present a red carnation, a small candy treat and recite a poem to the lucky recipient.”

“Some of us even croon a love tune,” she wrote of the project of the St. Croix No. 1 Firehouse Restoration Committee.

Farrell wrote that some of the cupids “were cute and some were silly,” and that she “donned a pair of red long johns and fuzzy red slippers and my wings” and “traipsed around town in that getup!”

These enterprising folks have raised $30,000 to restore the firehouse, and you can help by requesting The Cupid’s Brigade flutter to whomever you want between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14, in Calais.

Order forms are available at the city building, the visitor information center or by calling 454-2211 or 454-3909, Farrell reported.

Last year was the trial run for this fundraiser and although it was a lot of hard work, Farrell wrote, “it was a blast,” and raised $622 for the fund.

The public is invited to attend the University of Maine International Dance Festival at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Maine Center for the Arts on the UMaine campus in Orono.

The event is free.

More than 70 performers from nearly 12 countries will entertain what is expected to be a record-setting audience.

The production is co-organized by Senthil Sockalingam of Malaysia and Bangor native Jessica Bishop.

Lorraine Mitchell called to report the Calais Lioness Club will hold a pancake breakfast from 7 to 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at the American Legion Hall on Calais Avenue in Calais. Admission is $4 for adults, $2 for children.

Doors open at 5:30 that evening at that site for a Casino Night hosted by the Calais Lions Club. Admission is $2.

All proceeds from these events benefit the local food pantry.

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