Cider Week celebrates local growth

Five years ago, there was one cider maker in Minnesota. Today, there are at least 14 cideries, which makes Minnesota Cider Week, June 6-11, a lot more interesting. Town Hall Brewery locations are hosting several events, as well as offering 12 ciders on tap throughout the week. Highlights include a cider dinner and seminar at 7 p.m. June 7 at Town Hall Tap in Minneapolis. Tickets are $65; to reserve, call 612-339-8696. Results of the home cider maker competition will be announced at 7 p.m. June 9 at Town Hall Tap. From 1-5 p.m. on June 11, it's a cider fest on the patios of Town Hall Brewery and Republic 7 Corners with ciders from local, national and international producers. Tickets are $35 for unlimited samples and a Cider Week glass. To buy, visit tempotickets.com/ciderfest.

This year also touts a "Cider Passport," where you can gain stamps at participating Minneapolis bars and liquor stores for entry into a drawing for a large cider collection. Participants include all Town Hall locations — Town Hall Brewery, Town Hall Lanes and Town Hall Tap, along with Black Sheep Pizza, Grumpy's Northeast, McDonald's Liquor and Wine, Merlins Rest pub, Northern Brewer, Republic, Reverie Cafe and Bar, Sociable Cider Werks, South Lyndale Liquors, Surdyk's and Zipps Liquors.

Roots' salads back for the summer

Roots for the Home Team is back again at Target Field with its patented double play: offering an oasis of healthy salads to baseball fans, while teaching youths about gardening, nutrition and the power of having skills. Starting June 4, they'll be at Gate 34 for most weekends of the Twins' home games. This year features eight new salads created by the kids and harvested from their community gardens or purchased locally, such as the hominy and wild rice from tribal farmers for the Dream of Wild Health's Pasdayapi (the Dakota word for hominy) Salad. To learn more, visit rootsforthehometeam.org.

Win with wild rice

The Minnesota Cultivated Wild Rice Council seeks recipes for its annual "Get Wild With Wild Rice" recipe contest, celebrating one of Minnesota's most distinctive native foods. Up to 16 finalists will have their recipes published and win prizes, with a grand prize of $500. Winning recipes will be posted on the council's website for a national online contest later this year. The deadline for recipe submission is June 13. Visit mnwildrice.org for contest details.

Firefly Sisterhood hosts Illuminight

Local female food and drink entrepreneurs will share their talents on June 15 to support the Firefly Sisterhood, a nonprofit organization whose goal is fostering one-to-one connections and support between breast cancer survivors and the recently diagnosed. Participating women include Carrie Johnston of Nightingale; Erica Strait of Foxy Falafel; Heather VanHorn of Crave Woodbury; Beth Fisher of Wise Acre Eatery; Michelle Winchester of Twin Spirits Distillery; Tami Cabrera of Muddy Paws Cheesecake; Lina Goh of Zen Box Izakaya, and Emily Marks of Bachelor Farmer. The event is 5-8 p.m. at Muse Event Center in Minneapolis. Tickets range from $75 to $125. To order, visit fireflysisterhoodchefevent.eventbrite.com. To learn more about the group, visit fireflysisterhood.org.

KIM ODE