Organizers hope families with children at Weatherbee School in Hampden have returned their forms to obtain tickets for the D.A.R.E. Family Affair Spaghetti Supper, which is 5-7 p.m. Friday, March 18, at the school, 22 Main Road North in Hampden.

But, if you haven’t, those tickets can be purchased at Weatherbee School, at local businesses or at the door.

Tickets are $15 for families, $5 for adults and $2.50 children. The public is invited to attend.

One of the pluses of purchasing your tickets in advance, however, is that you receive an extra ticket for the door prize drawings, which will be conducted each half-hour.

The evening also features entertainment for the children, and an opportunity to visit with D.A.R.E. educator, Sgt. Daniel Stewart.

According to information provided by Lauri Reichel, the Hampden D.A.R.E. Parent Committee tri-chairwoman with Pam Danforth and Juliette Waite, these events help fund the Hampden Drug Alcohol Resistance Education program that costs $22 per pupil.

This year’s fund-raising goal for that committee is $3,500 and, to date, $1,000 has been raised through bottle drives, a Hampden Children’s Day booth, a bake sale, a Weatherbee Open House-Book Fair and through private donations.

In a letter to businesses when the Hampden D.A.R.E. Committee is requesting donations, the committee chairwomen point out that this “program is not funded by the school board in our town, but rather, funded by our community efforts” with “the support of our dedicated teachers and faculty.”

They also want potential donors to know the committee members are grateful to have a police department that provides education for this program.

Funds are used to purchase books, T-shirts, supplies, pay instructor costs for the 12-week program, and host a D.A.R.E. graduation for the fifth-graders in June.

Considering all we read and hear about drug problems among the young people in Maine, I applaud those who work to make sure this program is available to the children in their communities.

For more information about the Hampden D.A.R.E. program, or to contribute to it, call Reichel, 862-4062; Waite, 862-5515; or Danforth, 862-3330.

Pianist Janet Pearson will perform a program of Haydn, Schubert, Bolcom and Chopin beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, March 18, at First Congregational Church of Blue Hill.

The suggested donation of $20 per person will benefit the church’s organ fund.

Pearson taught for 10 years at the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia, and her credits include extensive performances as a soloist and as a member of the Montgomery Trio.

For more information about this and other concerts at First Congregational Church of Blue Hill, call John Ward at 374-2677.

If you didn’t purchase your tickets in advance for the Orono High School Diversity Team Coffeehouse at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 19, in the OHS cafeteria, you can purchase them at the door, reports team adviser Margot Dale.

Tickets are $10 each for the Challenge Day benefit that features the band Evergreen and three OHS musicians.

Proceeds will help fund Challenge Day activities conducted by the Penobscot Riverkeepers, for all OHS students.

In preparation for Easter, St. John’s Women’s Council President Nancy Taylor and Program Chairwoman Sandra Hammond, invite the public to a Special Retreat from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 19, at the Parish Hall, 207 York St. in Bangor.

After coffee and the welcome, Susan Conroy of South Portland, who worked with Mother Teresa in India, will address the gathering.

Conroy is the author of “Mother Teresa’s Lessons of Love & Secrets of Sanctity.”

Her book will be for sale and signing after the retreat.

Everyone is welcome to attend.

On behalf of the PATAWA Club, Erica Morse invites you to attend “Dancing through the Decades,” PATAWA’s spring dance, from 7 p.m. to midnight Saturday, April 2, at the Bangor Motor Inn and Convention Center.

She reports that “local dancers will be featuring 18 difference dances throughout the evening, beginning with the Viennese waltz and ending with hip-hop.”

The event includes a raffle, door prizes and a cash bar.

Tickets are just $10 per person, and all proceeds benefit the PATAWA Club general fund, “which is dispersed among needy organizations in the Bangor area,” Morse said.

Because only a limited number of tickets will be sold, you should call Darlene Oliver at 942-4925 for tickets or more information.

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