SPECIAL EVENTS

Healthy Lunch Box, Leslie Ashburn teaches how to make a macrobiotic lunch with tempeh collard wraps with peanut sauce, ambrosial almond basil spread and curried quinoa, 5-7 p.m. tomorrow, UH-Manoa Hemenway 101; $35 general, $30 students, part of the college's Leisure Program. 956-6468.

Taste of Mexico II, chef Adriana Torres makes tortilla soup, a ceviche appetizer and, a pork dish called cochinita pibil and Mexican-style rice pudding, arroz con leche, 8 a.m.-noon Saturday, Kapi'olani Community College, 'Ohi'a 109/112; $60. Register: 734-9211.

Green Musubi Easting Contest, annual competition to eat the most green corned-beef musubi within five minutes, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Kahala Mall; contestants can sign up online at www.hawaiianbarbecue.com or by calling 951-9888.

St. Patrick's Day Tastings, sample green beers and wines and Irish nibbles, 1-5 p.m. Saturday, The Wine Stop; free. 946-3707.

Cookin' Up Some Cajun, chef Kevin Tate teaches how to cook some of his favorite Louisiana-inspired dishes, 1-5 p.m. Saturday, Kapi'olani Community College, 'Ohi'a 109/112; $60. Register: 734-9211.

Kona Chocolate Festival, four-day event begins with a kick-off dinner of three courses inspired by chocolate and chocolate dessert treats, 7 p.m. March 21, Fujimamas Restaurant, that placed first in last year's chocolate recipe contest; $60. Reservation required: (808) 327-2125. Festival continues through March 24 at various Kona locations. Information at www.konachocolatefestival.com.

MARKETS

Farmers' Market, cooking demonstrations, produce, meats, seafood and flowers, 7:30-11 a.m. Saturday, Kapi'olani Community College, Parking Lot C. 848-2074.

Sunset Country Market, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays, Sunset Beach Elementary School, Hale'iwa. 237-8248.

Farmers' Market, sponsored by Hawaii Farm Bureau, 8-11 a.m. Sundays, Mililani High School, in front of the gym. 848-2074.

Country Market & Craft Fair, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays, Waimanalo Homestead Community Center, 1330 Kalaniana'ole Highway. 259-5349.

Farmers' Market, fruits and vegetables, 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, Hawaii Kai Towne Center. 396-0766.

Fresh Tuesdays, locally grown produce with free food samples, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Mondays, Kaiser Nanaikeola Clinic lobby. 432-2270.

Waikiki Farmers' Market, fruits, vegetables, musubi and chow mein, 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays, Waikiki Community Center parking lot. 923-1802.

Fresh Wednesdays, 8-11 a.m. first and third Wednesdays, Kaiser Ko'olau Clinic (432-3800); also, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. second and fourth Wednesdays, Kaiser Waipi'o Clinic (432-3100).

Fort Street Open Market, produce, plants, flowers and arts and crafts, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesdays, Pauahi and Fort streets; 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Fridays and Tuesdays, Wilcox Park (in front of Macy's). 538-8005.

Fresh Thursdays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursdays, Kaiser Moanalua Medical Center. 432-2270.

Kailua Farmers' Market, with prepared foods, such as plate dinners, pies, cookies, jams and sauces in addition to fresh vegetables, fruits, meats, herbs and flowers, 5-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Kailua Town Center parking garage (behind Longs Drugs on Kailua Road). 848-2074.

Fresh Fridays, locally grown produce, healthy cooking demonstrations, educational information on disease prevention through good nutrition, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Fridays, Kaiser Honolulu Clinic. 432-2000.

Aloha Friday Farmers' Market, fresh produce, food products and entertainment, noon-6 p.m. Fridays, Maui Community College, Kahului. (808) 268-3276.

TOURS & TASTINGS

Matthew Gray's Hawaii Food Tours offers three guided restaurant tours — Hole-in-the Wall, Hawaiian Feast and Gourmet Trilogy — in and around Honolulu; $99, $149 and $199. Reservations: 926-3663, www.HawaiiFoodTours.com.

A Cook's Tour of Chinatown, Walter Rhee leads a tour of downtown markets: learn about meats, seafood, vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices, 8:30-10:30 a.m. Saturdays, meet near Hawaii National Bank between King and Smith streets; $15. Also, Rhee leads a tour of Chinatown eateries, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturdays, meet at same location; $59. Reservations: 391-1550.

Merriman's Farm Visits and Dinner, half-day excursions to two Big Island farms that supply the restaurant, followed by a four-course dinner prepared from locally grown ingredients, 2:30-7:30 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, Merriman's Restaurant, Waimea, Big Island; $155 (all-inclusive). Reservations: (808) 331-8505.

Vanilla Experience Luncheon, five-course lunch with dishes prepared using Hawaiian vanilla and fresh Island produce, 12:30-2 p.m. Thursdays, The Vanilla Mill, Pa'auilo, Big Island; $30. (808) 776-1771.

Gourmet Cooking Hawaii offers hands-on and demonstration cooking classes with Island chefs in their restaurants. Choose your own chef, menu and date or join preset classes offered on Saturdays throughout the year. Schedule, pricing and booking information: www.gourmetcookinghawaii.com, 735-7788.

TV SHOWS

"Dining Out With Chai," Chai Chaowasaree of Chai's Island Bistro and Singha Thai Cuisine hosts a TV show with cooking tips and information on Hawai'i and Mainland restaurants, 5 p.m. Sundays, KHON 2. 381-8483, 585-0011.

"Shig Happens!" food-safety TV show with chef Henry Holthaus, instructor at Kapi'olani Community College Culinary Institute of the Pacific, 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays on Oceanic Cable channel 55. www.shighappens.com.

Send announcements, with contact name and phone number, to: Culinary Calendar, Island Life, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; islandlife@honoluluadvertiser.com, with "Cul Cal" in the subject line; or fax 525-8055.