Maiden MinnesotaFriday's annual Maiden Minnesota event, now in its sixth year, has become a great way to support women-owned companies and Project Success, while buying some cool stuff you never knew you needed for cooking (and other pursuits). Among the more than 35 companies are these with a particular food bent: Clay Pots Pottery, Cocoa Fig catering, Droolin' Moose chocolates, Pashen energy bars, Gracie's Pantry, Hadley Table place mats and Esse Reusable Bags. Tickets are $30 at the door, and include one drink ticket. Hours are 5-10 p.m. at the Graves 601 Hotel, 602 1st Av. N., Mpls. For more details, visit www.MaidenMinnesota.com.

Upscale meat raffleThe St. Paul Grill hosts its annual charity meat raffle to benefit the Neighborhood House, which provides various aid and support to St. Paul residents. The event, from 2-4 p.m. Saturday at the restaurant adjacent to the St. Paul Hotel, 350 Market St., features steaks, chops and seafood from the eatery's top suppliers. Raffle tickets are $5 and winning tickets are drawn every 15 minutes, with winners invited to spin a wheel to learn which cut of meat they've won. Reservations may be made by calling 651-224-7455.

The incredible, edible herringLake Superior herring have nothing to do with those pickled chunks of jarred fish. They are, in fact, more like salmon, while ocean herring are akin to sardines. Want to learn more? There will be more info and great eats at Salute to Lake Superior's Sustainable Fisheries, an event hosted by Minnesota Sea Grant to honor those who manage, harvest, sell, study and prepare the commercially harvested fish in our greatest lake. Guests will get to sample the results of an earlier chefs' contest, and chat with them as well as fisheries experts, and more. The event is from 5-7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at the McNamara Alumni Center at the University of Minnesota. Tickets are $20. To order, visit www.seagrant.umn.edu or call Sea Grant at 1-218-726-8106 (have your credit card ready.)

The splendid LynneSlow Food Minnesota and the Campus Club present "An Evening With Lynne Rossetto Kasper" at 6 p.m. next Thursday, with a dinner chosen from the Splendid Table's "How to Eat Weekends," and a presentation by the radio show host with the voice as rich as caramel flan -- appropriate since the menu is Mexican, including jicama salad, Yucatan pork in banana leaves, black beans and rice, corn tortillas and chile-spiked Mexican wedding cakes. Tickets are $45 for members of Slow Food or the Campus Club and $55 for non-members. For reservations, visit www.slowfoodmn.org/events.html or order by sending a check and the names of those attending to Sharon Wildfang, 10100 Johnson Av. S., Bloomington, MN 55437.

Kasper also will be part of a discussion on "The Ethics and Craft of Restaurant Reviewing," from 7-9 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Cowles Auditorium of the Hubert Humphrey Center at the University of Minnesota, 301 19th Av. S., Mpls. Free.

KIM ODE