Birthday bells
Our thanks to Pierre Girard and the Bell Tower Foundation for ringing in the Taste section's 50th anniversary with an hour of food-related songs at the Municipal Building (aka Minneapolis City Hall) on Oct. 4. From a keyboard in the building's rotunda, Girard serenaded downtowners with "Food, Glorious Food," "Yes! We Have No Bananas," "Tea for Two" and other familiar melodies on the tower's 15 booming bells. "When I win the lottery, there will be 72 bells," he said. For the foundation's concert schedule, go to municipalbuildingcommission.org.
Taste mini film fest
One more chance to see a food-related film at the Heights Theater, in connection with the 50th-birthday celebration of Taste. "Julie & Julia," the tale of a blogger cooking her way through Julia Child's first cookbook, shows Oct. 23. Tickets are $10 and available in advance or at the theater (3951 Central Av. NE., Columbia Heights, 763-789-4992, heightstheater.com). The festivities begin at 7 p.m. with music on the theater's classic Wurlitzer organ, followed by door prizes at 7:30 p.m. and the movie shortly afterward.
Cookie contest
Attention, bakers: Time is running out. Only a week remains to enter the 17th annual Taste Holiday Cookie Contest.
Over the years, our winners have been original recipes as well as recipes adopted from elsewhere (just be sure to share the source). We also love a good story, so don't forget to tell us about the recipe's role in your holiday celebrations.
Our goal is to publish unfamiliar recipes, so there's no need to submit your favorite spritz or sugar cutouts. Another hint: Avoid replicating past winners, because we don't want to repeat ourselves. For a complete list of our past winners, go to startribune.com/cookies. Or check out "The Great Minnesota Cookie Book," which features all the recipes from the contest's first 15 years.
Entering is easy. Send the recipe and the story, along with your name, address, daytime phone number and e-mail address. Our e-mail address is taste@startribune.com (write "Taste Holiday Cookie Contest" in the subject field), and our street address is Taste Holiday Cookie Contest, Star Tribune, 650 3rd Av. S., Suite 1300, Minneapolis, MN 55488. A photo of the cookie is helpful but not required.
Grand prize is a $200 gift card to a local cookware store. Winners and finalists will be announced Dec. 5 in Taste and hailed at two open-to-the-public events in Minneapolis: at Star Tribune headquarters on Dec. 5, and at the Mill City Museum on Dec. 7.
Hurry: The deadline is Oct. 25 at noon.
A Minnesota documentary
Who makes the best onion rings? Some say it's Larry Lang of Michael's in Worthington, Minn. That includes Zachary Capp, grandson of philanthropist Martin Capp of the Twin Cities. Zachary and the film crew tell the story not only of Lang's onion rings but of Zachary's focus on making the onion rings famous. The Twin Cities Film Festival will show this documentary, "The Ringmaster," at 7:10 p.m. Monday at Showplace Icon Theater (1625 West End Blvd., St. Louis Park). Tickets are $13 and available at twincitiesfilmfest.org/films/the-ringmaster.
Soup fest
The Polish Cultural Institute of Minnesota is prepping the soup pot with all sorts of delights, eight in all, for its Nov. 3 fundraiser from 3 to 6 p.m. at Holy Cross Church (Kolbe Hall, 1630 NE. 4th St., Mpls.) Tickets are $5 to $15 and available at the door or at pacim.org.
