Splendid Table offers a splendid contest

The Splendid Table is observing 20 years as a radio show with an Oct. 22 celebration at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. And they're giving away two tickets plus a whole lot more. Host Lynne Rossetto Kasper will talk with guests, including Argentine grillmaster Francis Mallmann, chef Enrique Olvera, columnist Melissa Clark of the New York Times, and singer/rapper/writer Dessa, who also will perform. Tickets range from $20 to $35 (with some $55 VIP tix) or you can enter to win two VIP tickets, plus a night at the St. Paul Hotel. (If you need to fly here, the prize also includes airfare up to $1,000.) To enter, fill out the form at bit.ly/1QdezZl, where you also can simply order tickets. There's a deadline for the giveaway: You must enter by 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 27.

Art Institutes offers look at a future

The Art Institutes International Minnesota has a new program, College Bound, that allows high school juniors and seniors to experience college-level design, media arts fashion, and culinary courses at its local campus in downtown Minneapolis. The classes, offered on Saturdays during the school year beginning in October, are non-credit-bearing, but allow high school juniors and seniors to experience college-level coursework as they're considering a career in design, media, fashion or food. The course hours match existing requirements of college-level foundation courses offered at the school. A tuition and materials fee is required for enrollment in College Bound. Learn more by visiting getcreative.aii.edu/collegebound, or the school's website at artinstitutes.edu/Minneapolis.

Mississippi Market has grand opening

On Sept. 26, Mississippi Market Natural Foods Co-op will celebrate the opening of its third location, at 740 E. 7th St. in St. Paul's Dayton's Bluff neighborhood. The co-op has everything that Mississippi Market offers at its two other co-ops, but features a new wrinkle: a pizza bar offering pizza by the slice to eat in or take home. The store also will be home to the co-op's second classroom for healthy lifestyle classes on topics ranging from cooking to shopping the co-op on a budget. The grand opening event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with live music, food samples, face painting, free popcorn, goodie bags for the first 200 shoppers, free apples for kids 12 and under and a $100 grocery purchase giveaway every hour. Plus so much more.

Almendinger in the running

Another contest, another deadline. You can vote through Sept. 27 to help chef Lucas Almendinger from the Co-op Creamery Cafe in Minneapolis advance in the Hometown Breakfast Battle, a national chefs recipe competition featuring 135 chefs cooking with Thomas' brand English muffins and bagels, which have been around for 135 years. Almendinger is going with his rendition of Toad in a Hole to nab a place in the top 16, who then will compete for top honors. To vote, visit thomasbreakfastbattle.com, where there's also all of the 135 recipes in contention. By the way, voting makes you eligible for a $10,000 grand prize.

STAFF REPORTS