The children of Nihonmachi Little Friends (NLF), a community-based nonprofit childcare organization, will present their annual theater production and auction, “Dowa no Omatsuri: A Festival of Children’s Stories” on Sunday, Feb. 27 at the Palace of Fine Arts Theater, 3301 Lyon St. in San Francisco.

June-ko Nakagawa and Benh Nakajo, will serve as co-hosts for the theater program with Melody Takata’s Gen Taiko opening the show at 1:30 p.m. The students of NLF will perform creative presentations of “The Four Seasons (from Urashima Taro),” “Hanasaka Jiisan (The Old Man Who Made Flowers Blossom)” and “The Adventure to Never Never Land.” A silent auction beginning at noon will precede the performance in the lobby. A raffle and refreshments will follow the theater show.

Award-winning musician Steven Espaniola will perform at noon during the silent auction. Raised in Aliamanu, Hawai’i and now residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, Espaniola is a multi-instrumentalist specializing in ki ho’alu (Hawaiian slack key guitar), ‘ukulele, upright bass and leo ki’e ki’e (traditional Hawaiian falsetto).

NLF’s school-age program’s performance features choreography by NAGATA Dance, led by Corrine Nagata. Nagata’s role as a teacher and contributor to the world renowned Alvin Ailey American School of Dance, The National Dance Institute with Jacques D’Amboise’s and the Dance Theater of Harlem prepared her well for teaching all forms of dance and at all levels to a wide variety of students.

Tickets to the event are $25 in advance (two or more at $20 each) or $30 at the door; youth 5-17 years $10; and children 4 years and under are free. For more information about the event, contact NLF at (415) 922-8898 or via e-mail at nlfchildcare@yahoo.com.