MGM celebrates a decade

Midtown Global Market turns 10 this year and is celebrating Saturday with the Midtown Global Music Festival. A 10 a.m. ceremony will revisit the market's development and growth, with recognition of 18 vendors who have been there since the opening. The Midtown Global Music Festival will kick off at 11:30 a.m. with an American Indian drumming ceremony followed by a variety of continuous music and dance performances from around the world on three stages until 8:30 p.m. The vendors and restaurants in the Midtown Global Market will be open throughout, with many featuring $10 specials for the 10th anniversary of the Minneapolis complex.

Eat Local Farm Tour July 16

Food co-ops across the region want to help you learn where your food comes from, hence the Eat Local Farm Tour. This year, 29 local farms and producers are participating in the event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 16. The tours are free and self-guided, so there's no need to sign up. Review this year's guide at bit.ly/EatLocalFarmTour2016, select a route and go. Organizers note that because GPS can be spotty in rural areas, check your directions on Google Maps before heading out at s.coop/1usbu. Also check out Eat Local Farm Tour on Facebook.

Inside the Beltway brew

Northern Brewer, which sells home-brewing supplies, is featuring a White House Small Batch Starter Kit with recipes for honey ale and honey porter first customized and brewed by the White House kitchen staff. The White House Honey Ale is "built on a big foundation of malt with strong tones of biscuit and toffee." The White House Honey Porter has "generous applications of sweet caramel and toasty Munich malts." Northern Brewer is at 6021 Lyndale Av. S. in Minneapolis (612-843-4444) and 1150 Grand Av. in St. Paul (651-223-6114). Each kit costs $69.99. To learn more, visit northernbrewer.com.

Mississippi Market's summer shindig

Mississippi Market celebrates summer on Saturday with food off the grill, including the winner of the staff sausage contest, beer from Urban Growler, lemonade and live music from the Saint Paul Mudsteppers. There'll be kids' games, prizes (an inflatable kayak!) and chats with producers. The event runs from 3-7 p.m. at the co-op at 1500 W. 7th St., St. Paul.

Yay! It's World Chocolate Day

Or maybe not. July 7 has been deemed World Chocolate Day by daysoftheyear.com, using the reasoning that July 7 marks that day, now 466 years ago, that chocolate was introduced to Europe. However, the U.S. National Confectioners Association says that Sept. 13 is the official date for any observance because that's the birthday of Milton S. Hershey, an American confectioner, philanthropist, and founder of the Hershey Chocolate Co. Either day is properly celebrated by the consumption of chocolate. The Sept. 13 date sounds more legit, but celebrate now, just to be safe.

KIM ODE