Although I had never pictured myself at a "Sesame Street Live" performance, I'm now a veteran of two and soon three shows. That makes me one of more than 50 million people who have witnessed these great characters on stage.

Elmo and his friends celebrate 30 years on stage this year by undertaking their 100th tour. When they stop at the Bradley Center this weekend, I'll be there and I will have a great time.

How do I know? Because I loved my first two performances over the past couple years. The shows thrum with action, music and humor, and watching the kids around you have such a great time is infectious.

"1-2-3 Imagine! with Elmo & Friends" runs at the B.C. from Friday, Nov. 27 through Sunday, Nov. 29, and there are still tickets available for all six performances. Show times are 2 and 7 p.m. Friday; 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday; and 1 and 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Last year, "Elmo's Green Thumb" taught Milwaukee's kids the basics of gardening and how plants use sunlight, water and nutrients from the soil to grow. In our house, the result was one young person's desire to plant sunflowers last summer. Ours didn't grow as robustly as Elmo's, but it was still a lot of fun.

This year, "1-2-3 Imagine!" opens with Sam the mail carrier bringing special postcards from around the world. Sam then teaches Elmo, Big Bird, Abby Cadabby and the other "Sesame Street" characters how to use their imaginations to travel to these exotic places

This should get my son fired up, because he already loves to look at cards featuring exotic destinations, such as Easter Island. Maybe the stars will align and exotic travel will be in this summer's plans.

While Elmo's imagination leads him to dancing in the African rainforest, Ernie -- unsurprisingly -- hits the high seas as captain of the Good Ship Rubber Duckie.

Titles of the two dozen songs in the show offer clues to some other adventures: "Yellow Bird Hula," "I Don't Want to Live On the Moon," "Surfin' Safari" and "Dance With the Bears."

While going on exciting adventures with these familiar characters, kids learn to spark their imaginations.

The shows are presented by the VEE Corp., a Sesame Foundation licensee, and have been staged on five continents.

Tickets for the shows are $14, $17 and $22. On Friday, all seats are $13. There are also $30 Gold Seats and $55 Sunny Seat VIP packages for the Friday and Sunday performances (these are not $13 on Friday, of course). The Sunny Seats come with a show program and a pre-show meet-and-greet photo op with Elmo.