Youths always have active imaginations and stories they want to tell.

For Tucker Sypien, he’s bringing many of those stories to life, and they’re already in paperback and e-book for those willing to go on the ride. The 15-year-old Wittenberg native has already published multiple books, and he doesn’t plan on stopping there.

The Menominee community will play a role in the United States’ 250th anniversary celebration. “Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals” will host about 40 festivals around the country, with the July 29 production of the Menominee Pageant being the only event held in Wisconsin.

Memorial Day weekend may prompt visions of the red poppy known as Flanders or corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas). This beautiful flower inspired the poem In Flanders Field written by the Canadian doctor Lt. Col. John McCrae, who ran a field hospital during World War I.

Free pizza? In Shawano? It happened.

Free pizza was the ticket May 15 at Stubborn Brothers Brewery to help choose the cheese that will be featured on the pies at Stubborn Slice, the new venture of Erik and Aaron Gilling, owners of Stubborn Brothers.

Classic Neapolitan style pizza and thin crust pizzas will be on the menu.

FRIDAY, MAY 22

OCONTO: 46th annual Oconto Sportsmen’s Club Perch Derby, City Docks, Spies Road. Tickets $20 includes cash drawings. Weigh-in 3 p.m. Saturday.

SHAWANO: American Red Cross blood drive, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Shawano City Hall, 127 S. Sawyer St. Appointments at www.redcrossblood.org or 800-733-2767.

We recently enjoyed a birding trip to the southeast United States that rewarded us with sightings of many bird species not seen in Wisconsin. These included the wood stork, roseate spoonbill, yellow-crowned night heron and brown pelican among others. It also allowed us to see many more egrets than we’d see here in northeast Wisconsin.