Today is Thursday, March 21. Here are five things to know today in Peabody.

1. Local hero: Peabody High senior Alexandra Romano is being feted this morning as a local hero by the American Red Cross of Northeast Massachusetts. An honors student, Alexandra recently put together a campaign called "Kill the Chill" to collect clothes and blankets for the homeless and reacted quickly in the wake of Hurricane Sandy's destruction, in collecting donations for a Red Cross relief fund. Local businessman Don Kelley will also be honored with the 2013 Enduring Hero Award for his volunteer work across the North Shore. Kelley owns Wayside Trailers in Peabody and is a Beverly resident. The 11th Annual Community Heroes Breakfast will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Danvers from 8-9 a.m.
2. The band is Sababa, featuring local teens Amy Sokolow (lead vocal, guitar), Gabe Goldman (drums), Janna Sokolow (keyboard, vocals), Lauren Silva (saxophone) and Sam Feinstein (bass guitar, keyboard, vocals). They will be playing live at the West Branch Library this evening as part of a cultural program sponsored by the Friends of the Peabody Institute Libraries. The show starts at 7 p.m. If you're wondering, "Sababa" means "Awesome" in Hebrew. You can find out more about the band here.
3. Cooking for a Cure: Peabody firefighters and other departments from around the area are going head-to-head in their annual cook off at the Danversport Yacht Club Saturday to support the Muscular Dystrophy Association. For more information check out www.mdaevent.org/cookingforacure.
4. Peabody comedian Giovanni Alabiso tells us he will be starring in "Teddy's Really, Really Late Show" at Timothy's in Danvers Saturday night. There's dinner and a show. You can find more details here.
5. The Peabody Learning Academy will hold its annual scholarship fundraiser at Burtons Grill this Sunday from 6-9 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at Burtons -- $30 per person or two for $50. The Simon Youth Foundation says that since the school opened in 2010, $66,500 has been raised for PLA grads.

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