For the next two weeks, thanks to the efforts of 46 area art teachers, you can enjoy the 30th annual Our Students’ Art Exhibit 2008, sponsored by Art in the Heart of Maine and the University of Maine Museum of Art.

Nancy Ives of Cave Hill School in Eastbrook reports the show opens during regular business hours, Sunday, March 16, and continues through Sunday, March 30, at the Bangor Mall.

This marvelous, free show features the work of our young, public school artists in kindergarten through grade 12 who are attending schools from the Bangor area to Greenville, Sherman, Jonesport, Mount Desert Island and beyond.

“For the young artists,” Ives wrote, “this exhibit is a fabulous way to be recognized for a talent that is seldom showcased outside the school systems.”

From this show, 100 young artists will be selected by the University of Maine Museum of Art staff to be part of the Vincent A. Hartgen Traveling Exhibits, Museums by Mail, Ives said.

“Schools and organizations all over the state request these exhibits and display them, on a monthly rotation, throughout the coming year.

“Having work chosen for these exhibits is a special honor,” she wrote.

This is a must-see event.

You will be amazed at the quality of work of our up-and-coming artists, and you do not want to miss it.

If you have any questions about the program and how it works, call Bangor High School art teachers Sarah Tabor or Kal Elmore at 992-5568.

Sonia Erskine e-mailed that the Dixmont United Methodist Church’s third annual auction begins with doors opening at 4:30 p.m. and bidding getting under way at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 15, at the Dixmont Snowmobile Clubhouse.

The auction will include handcrafted items, donations by local business owners and baked goods.

“The kitchen will be open at 4:30 p.m. so people can review the items and have some dinner before registering for the auction,” Erskine said.

“Thanks to the generous donations that we received,” she added, “the proceeds from our first two auctions went toward a portion of our new roof, drilling a well, repair of the stained-glass window and painting the exterior of the church.”

Proceeds from this auction “will be for a bathroom and meeting room addition, so we can be of greater service to our community and its youth,” Erskine wrote.

For more information about this and other fundraisers for the church, call Robin Vile, 234-2451; Lois Whitcomb, 234-2351; Valerie Orcutt, 234-2416; or Chuck Langbein, 884-8727.

On behalf of everyone associated with Orono High School Project Graduation, Renee Curtis invites you to Dancing with the Stars at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 15, in the OHS gymnasium.

Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students under grade 12.

She reports that “experienced dancers will be teamed up” with OHS teachers and students, and explained that members of the audience will choose the winner by their votes. Each vote costs $1.

The finals, for the top five teams, will be held Friday, March 21.

Refreshments will be available. If you have any questions, call 866-4916.

Ellsworth United Methodist Church music director Amy Briggs reports that “six musical friends will come together, once again, to raise money and collect food donations for area families who may be having trouble staying warm and making ends meet through this rough winter.”

Joyful Jazz presents a Cabin Fever Reliever Jazz Benefit at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, March 16, at Ellsworth United Methodist Church, 21 Hancock St.

The suggested donation is $10 for adults or $5 with a nonperishable food or paper goods donation; $5 for children 12 and under, free for children with a donation.

“In November,” Briggs wrote, “this intrepid band raised almost $400 for a local food pantry and shelter.”

At this event, she reports, you will enjoy Bruce Cassady on horns; Brian Dyer Stewart on keyboard; guitarist Hugh Bowden; Don Carmichael on stick bass; and Lynette Woods joining the group on drums.

The musicians, including Briggs, will perform “jazz standards to warm your hearts and help fill the fuel tanks of our Maine neighbors.”

Proceeds will benefit the Operation Keep ME Warm heating assistance program.

Your nonperishable food donations or paper items, ranging from diapers to paper towels, will be donated to the Emmaus Center in Ellsworth.

For more information, call 266-4347 or e-mail nightingale70@gmail.com.

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