Art by Zee

On Wednesday, May 25, 2011, Meals Partnership Coalition (MPC) will host a happy hour fundraiser to support the work of King County programs that prepare and serve free and low-cost meals to homeless and poverty-level children, youth, families, and individuals. The fundraiser, “Eat Real Food: Food for Life” will be held at FareSart in downtown Seattle from 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. and will feature a multicultural hors d’oeuvres menu made from organic ingredients, a silent auction, and live music performed by award-winning virtuoso guitarist, Andre Feriante.

MPC is a collaborative organization with more than 68 non-profit meal provider members who serve in excess of 3 million free or low-cost meals annually, and works to ensure that non-profit meal programs have the resources necessary to meet the hunger needs of people who would otherwise go hungry.

Food for the event will be prepared by a team of celebrated chefs from 7 local human service organizations: Asian Counseling and Referral Services, Recovery Cafe, Union Gospel Mission, Pike Market Senior Center, OPERATION:Sack Lunch, Seattle Children’s Home, and Angeline’s Center.

FareStart is a culinary job training and placement program for homeless and disadvantaged individuals, and the event will take place at the FareStart Restaurant. The FareStart restaurant is located at 700 Virginia Street, 98121 (on the corner of 7th and Virginia). Tickets for the event are $25.00 and are available online at Brown Paper Tickets (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/159442) or www.mealspartnership.org. For additional information please contact Shayne Kraemer at (206) 957-3857, or via e-mail at shayne@mealspartnership.org

Local chocolatier extraordinaire Intrigue Chocolates has got you covered if you need a last minute Valentine’s gift – they’ve already opened early and will be open until 7 pm. Get that gift you forgot. Get an additional gift just because. Or, heck, go in and get yourself a gift.

Their current featured flavors are R. Valentino – rose petals; Pear-Lavender – pear brandy, honey, WA-grown lavender; Sweet Raspberry – raspberry liqueur (eau-de-vie brandy, raspberries); Pomegranate – pomegranate juice; Damiana – damiana; Date Sugar – ground dried dates; and Ginger Juice -fresh ginger juice, but all their other flavors (and there are many) are just as wonderful.

Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancers Seth Orza and Maria Chapman with company dancers in Kent Stowell’s Cinderella, photo copyright Angela Sterling

Some people gotta dance, everybody’s gotta eat. Pacific Northwest Ballet and Pacific Place have teamed up to bring dining and dancing together with a fun new promotion. From January 24 through February 11, lunch-time diners at five participating Pacific Place restaurants will receive special scratch tickets with their bill, good for future dining discounts, Pacific Place gift cards, or possibly tickets to PNB’s special Valentine’s Eve performance of Cinderella.

Diners who take lunch at the five participating restaurants – Gordon Biersh, Johnny Rockets, Mexico Cantina y Cocina, Pike Place Chowder, and Thai Ginger – between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm on a weekday between January 24 and February 11 will get one scratch ticket per diner with their bill. Ticket prizes include discounts on future meals, gift cards for Pacific Place or maybe even tickets for the February 13 performance of Cinderella at PNB.

If you don’t want to take your chances on a scratch ticket, present $100 of same day receipts from Pacific Place to its concierge desk and receive one free ticket plus a 20 percent discount on additional tickets.

One of the businesses damaged in last year’s arson attacks in Greenwood was Taproot Theatre. With the help of other arts organizations and members of the Greenwood neighborhood and the Seattle community at large, the theater was able to rebuild and continue its mission of providing quality theatrical entertainment, acting studios, and school and community presentations in the Pacific Northwest.

To celebrate a year of renewed success, Taproot present Taproot Uncorked, a fundraiser for the that celebrates “heroic wines”. Joining them are Greenwood’s Vineyard Wine Shop and The Upper Crust, who host the event at their Greenwood Square location.

“By heroic wines, I mean wines which are victorious in their endeavor to survive all odds,” says Vineyard Wine Shop owner Patrick Anderson. “With each passing year the vine’s roots grow deeper and deeper into the soils, and with this comes the wisdom of age and experience.”

The festivities run from 6 to 8 pm on October 22 and include tasting and learning about heroic wines with wine expert Patrick Anderson, hors d’oeuvres from The Upper Crust, and the chance to spend some quality with plus time to visit with Taproot artists who will be pouring the wines. Taproot Uncorked takes place at The Upper Crust Catering’s Greenwood Square, located at 8420 Greenwood Avenue.

Tickets are $45 per person and can be purchased online

Can’t get enough of chocolate? Love dance music, beer, and wine, too? Make sure you make plans for the Northwest Chocolate Festival coming to the Seattle Center’s Northwest Rooms on October 23 and 24 with demos on chocolate making, cooking, origins of chocolate, along with tastings of exceptional chocolates from around the world plus wine and beer, too.

Tickets are available online in advance for both the Chocolate Festival days and for the Chocolate Masquerade Ball on Saturday, October 23, a fabulous gala for the adults featuring live music, dancing, costumes and, of course, plenty of chocolate.

It’s not often that I make my way over to White Center, but after having my first visit to Proletariat Pizza tonight, I think I’ll be going there a lot more often.

Located at 9622 16th Ave SW, Proletariat is conveniently located just across the street from Full Tilt Ice Cream and a couple doors down from the newly opened

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