As he stood on a colorful stage, set with a guitar and an array of puppets, the performer had a question for the audience.

"Does anyone here know anybody with a food allergy?" asked musician Kyle Dine.

Nearly every hand of the third and fourth graders in the Flanders Elementary School cafeteria shot up in the air.

Dine, a food allergy musician, performed two interactive shows Monday at the elementary school, in which he played the guitar, quizzed students on top food allergies, and performed songs and skits with puppets.

"If a friend, if a classmate, if anybody ever tells you that they have allergies, you can be such a great friend just by remembering the foods they're allergic to," he told the students before recounting his own allergies. "So listen, pay attention and remember those foods, because you can help them stay safe."

As a game, he also asked students to guess the eight most common food allergies: peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, milk, fish, wheat, shellfish and soy. Later students played another game in which teams competed against each other to answer if a food contains, may contain or doesn't contain an allergen, such as tree nuts.

The students laughed as Dine brought out the puppets of "Chef Allergie" (who sang, "when something with nuts falls on somebody's lunch, that's a no-no,") and the super-heroes "Epi-Man" and "Epi-Man Jr."

But amid the humor, the show also stressed the importance of understanding allergies and not sharing food with other children, in case they may be allergic to the food's ingredients.

"It's so important we all take food allergies seriously," he said.

At one part of the show, Dine asked the students to name symptoms of an allergic reaction - such as hives and wheezing - and posted them on a poster of a character, "Suzie Symptoms."

He explained anaphylaxis - a serious, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction - to the students, as well as EpiPens and Auvi-Q, which can be used to deliver epinephrine in the event of an allergic reaction.

"This can - and has - helped me in an emergency," he told the students as he held up an EpiPen that he carries everywhere.

The students asked Dine questions and shared allergies they have and their family members have. Dine encouraged the students to talk about allergies later that night with their families.

After suffering a severe allergic reaction years ago, Dine said he was motivated to teach children about allergies - and he did it the way he knew how: through music and performance.

Dine, who is from Canada, has been visiting schools across North America for the past eight years to educate students about food allergies through music, puppets and games.

Christine Stahl, a parent of a second-grader with food allergies, said she helped organize the event to raise awareness about allergies. The Flanders PTA fundraised to bring Dine to the school.

Throughout the show on Monday, Dine struck a tone of inclusiveness as he shared his own stories and list of food allergies.

"Our differences are what makes ourselves special, and should we ever make fun of someone for being different?" he asked the students towards the end of the show.

"No!" they shouted, their voices filling the cafeteria.

k.drelich@theday.com

Twitter: @KimberlyDrelich