BREWER – Clyde Folsom, humorist and storyteller, will be the honorary master of ceremonies at the Bangor Region Junior Achievement’s Benefit Tasting and Auction at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 1, at Jeff’s Catering, Coffin Avenue. The public is invited.

The fundraiser, which supports economic education classes in local schools with business and professional volunteers, kicks off with a tasting event featuring the signature dishes of 15 area restaurants. Both silent and live auctions will be held.

Junior Achievement is the largest, fastest-growing non-profit economic education organization in the world. With more than 70 classes offered by request of teachers in the Bangor Region, Junior Achievement is intended to educate and inspire students to value free enterprise, business and economics in order to improve the quality of their lives.

The highly interactive curriculum helps students develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to become effective consumers, citizens and workers.

Schools in Bangor, Brewer, Carmel, Corinth, Dixmont, Dover-Foxcroft, Hampden, Hermon, Holden, Levant, Old Town, Sullivan and Veazie benefit at no cost from the age-appropriate classes that emphasize the relevance of education to the workplace and help prepare students for lifelong learning.

Guests will be the Junior Achievement business and professional volunteers who conduct the courses in the classroom; representatives of the businesses, service clubs, foundations and individuals who contribute financial resources to Junior Achievement; and teachers and a special group of Brewer High School students who recently won a statewide Junior Achievement business simulation competition sponsored in part by the Cole Family Foundation and Bank of America.

Clyde Folsom, who was born and raised in Millinocket, has entertained audiences throughout New England. He said he started telling stories in third grade to explain to his teachers why his homework was never done. Telling stories came easy for him then, and he has been perfecting the art ever since.

Many of the stories Folsom tells are original, drawing on a lifetime of experiences as a Mainer and his uncanny ability to lie with credibility. He spent most of his professional career as a counselor at the University of Maine Counseling Center.

Participating restaurants in the tasting event will be Four Points Sheraton Wright Brothers American Grill, Oriental Jade, Jeff’s Catering, Muddy Rudder, Chili’s, SeaDog, McDonald’s of Bangor-Brewer, Pepino’s, Eagles Nest Restaurant, Bangor House of Pizza, China Light, Bugaboo Creek, ThymeSaved, Ruby Tuesday’s and Flavor of India.

Silent and live auction donors and event sponsors include Bangor Sam’s Club, Bangor Wal-Mart, Brewer Wal-Mart SuperCenter, Boston Red Sox, University of Maine Athletics, Cyr Northstar Tours, Bangor Hydro, University of Maine Foundation, Bangor Letter Shop, WorkSource Staffing, Sisters Salsa, Bangor Metro, Blue Hill Limousine, Darling’s, Maine Discovery Museum, Sugarloaf, Smart Eyecare Center, Day’s Jewelry, Eastern Maine Community College, Dead River Co., Stu Haskell, Katahdin Cedar Fence, Frank’s Bake Shop, Old Town Canoe, Sports Arena, Broadway Dairy Queen, Howard Johnson Restaurant, Margarita’s Restaurant, Records Management Center, Katahdin Fence, Diamond Mine, Bangor Floral and Londonderry Inn B&B in Belfast.

Tickets are $15 each or $100 table of 8, at Bangor Letter Shop, 99 Washington St., Bangor, by calling 945-9311 or at the door on May 1.