Drop the s’more and take that hot dog off the stick — one of the hottest trends in summer camp has kids whipping up haute cuisine.

Chef Chris goes organic tonight at the 9

Vintage Virginia, the state’s oldest outdoor wine tasting, will hold it’s 27th annual festival at Bull Run Regional Park in Centerville on Saturday and Sunday.

On a recent afternoon dozens of locavores could be seen gathering in the parking lot of Woodbrook Elementary School. 

Wintergreen Winery in Nellysford will present its annual Memorial Weekend Celebration from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

May is the month many European gourmets live for. It is asparagus month, and Allan and I were fortunate to be there at that time on several occasions. Many restaurants had whole menus consisting of asparagus in various forms at each course. We even experienced a tart lemon asparagus souffle for dessert.

Ash Lawn prepares for 14th annual WineFest

Ash Lawn-Highland’s 14th annual WineFest will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

White Fences Winery will join the lineup of vintners this year, offering complimentary samples and selling wines by the bottle.

Spry’s will offer hearty fried fish and Carolina barbecue.

Sue Charney and Kelly Michelsen decided to market their culinary skills about six years ago and, frankly, they have a pretty sweet deal.

Some travelers heading to Beijing this summer to attend the Olympics also will make a side trip to Japan. 

Joe Giovanelli, 79, was born blind. Through playing the piano in weekly concerts, he gets joy by giving joy to others. 

After being blinded in battle, the World War II veteran was savaged by feelings of despair and worthlessness.

Pizza Bella serves up special brunch for Mom

Ted Allen boarded a plane Tuesday to find out who will make the final cut on “Top Chef.”

A recent segment of television news showed people at Sam’s in Atlanta buying bags upon bags of rice — it used to be called hoarding. Last week an article in the Wall Street Journal also talked about the shortage of rice, in part due to poor harvest in Thailand and Cambodia.

May day, May day!
It’s time to check out new shows

Of the three ancient cuisines, Chinese, Greek and Roman, we are probably most familiar with that of Rome. Although much has been written about Roman art, architecture and government, early food writings of Rome are sparse.

Men Who Cook prepare real treat for MACAA
The 21st annual Men Who Cook will be from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday at the Doubletree Hotel to raise funds for the Monticello Area Community Action Agency.
More than 50 men will serve up their best recipes, including Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo, Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Claude Worrell and many other community members.
There will be a silent auction, music and guest volunteers, including youths from the Project Discovery program.
Tickets are $75 and can be purchased online at http://www.macaa.org or by phone at 295-3171.

The bottle’s label features a profile of a distinguished gentleman enjoying a cigar and gazing into the distance. Restaurateur Mark Brown recently directed a visitor’s attention past the picture of Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle to the bourbon within. What the owner of the Upstairs restaurant on the Downtown Mall wanted to point out was the liquor’s hue.

If you don’t know what to make of a raw turnip, much less a robust rutabaga or bulbs of fennel, help is at hand.

UVa’s first female in the engineering department
finishes the career that her father never had.

When Jennifer Bowman received an order for 525 cupcakes, she didn’t start warming the oven.
The founder and chef executive officer of Jenni B Originals is in the business of making what she calls “the best desserts you’ll never eat.” She specializes in creating zero-calorie faux dessert items ranging from cupcakes to full-sized cakes with nonperishable cherries on top.

Big Read programs
continue at the library
Two talks are on tap this week at branches of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library as part of the Big Read.
M.Thomas Inge will be at the Louisa County Library at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, and Nick Patler will speak at the Greene Country Library at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Inge, a professor of humanities at Randolph-Macon College, will speak on “To Kill a Prejudice: Race Relations in Twain, Faulkner and Harper Lee.” Patler, and author and historian, will discuss “Killing the Mockingbird: Historical and Contemporary Efforts to Ban to Kill a Mockingbird.”
The library also will host two book discussions.

Here’s the most important thing you need to know about making an omelet: If you mess it up, don’t worry. “It’s just an egg,” Andrew Melton said. “Don’t cry. Keep trying.” We already like this guy, and he hasn’t even started cooking.

Placing the amber-bead necklace on the summit of the second-highest mountain on Earth was going to be a death-defying feat.  With years of mountain-climbing experience, Greg Mortenson felt he was capable of conquering the Himalayan giant known as K2. Although Mount Everest is higher, the “savage peak” is widely considered a more difficult climb.

When Mary Johnston Cox arose on a June morning in 1967, she knew it was going to be a life-altering day for her.  She didn’t expect anyone outside her immediate sphere to make any note of it. “People retire every day,” she might have thought as her 43-year teaching career was about to end.

In early October 2005 - mercifully, I cannot recall the exact day, which turned out to be one of literary infamy - I was given Charles A. Taormina’s “Gratuity” to review. After I had recovered from the trauma of reading it, honesty prompted me to describe the book as “…the worst, the most pretentious, most unliterary, self-infatuating book I have ever read.”

As a species, humanity has proved to be resilient, at least so far. But on a molecular level, individual to individual, few of us make it through life without some emotional damage.

Philadanco is heading to the Paramount Theater at 8 p.m. Thursday for a show that was postponed by winter weather.  The Philadelphia Dance Company has been entertaining audiences for 38 years with a blend of African-American-based movement with ballet, jazz and modern dance.

The University of Virginia Department of Drama is presenting a new play by UVa associate professor of playwriting Doug Grissom.