SPECIAL EVENTS

Vegan Macrobiotic Community Dinner, dine outdoors with others or take out a dinner of winter sweet vegetable soup, arame, tofu quiche and brown rice with buckwheat, 6-7:30 p.m. today, Church of the Crossroads; $12, dessert and tea selection additional. Reservations: 398-2695.

Sake Tastings, sample new releases and get serving suggestions from Chris Pearce of World Sake Imports, 5-8 p.m. Friday and 3-6 p.m. Dec. 30, Fujioka's Wine Times, Market City; free. 739-9463.

"Last-Minute Holiday Wine Decision: Why Not Make it Bordeaux?" tastings of Robert Parker Jr.'s "Sleepers of the 2003 vintage," noon-3 p.m. Saturday, Fujioka's Wine Times, Market City; free. 739-9463.

Christmas Dinner Wines, sample wines appropriate for holiday meals, 1-5 p.m. Saturday; The Wine Stop; free. 946-3707.

Sweet Treats: Cookies and Gingerbread Class, learn new recipes and techniques for baking "perfect" cookies, 2 p.m. Tuesday, Hilton Waikoloa Village, Big Island; $38. (808) 88601234, ext. 54.

Holidays With Chopsticks, learn how to select the freshest fish and prepare it properly for sushi, with garnishes and sauces, and how to pair with sake, 2 p.m. Dec. 27, Imari, Hilton Waikoloa Village, Big Island; $49 includes lunch. (808) 886-1234, ext. 54.

MARKETS

Farmers' Market, cooking demonstrations, produce, meats, seafood and flowers, 7:30-11 a.m. Saturday, Kapi'olani Community College, parking lot C. 848-2074.

Sunset Country Market, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays, Sunset Beach Elementary School, Hale'iwa. 237-8248.

Farmers' Market, sponsored by Hawaii Farm Bureau, 8-11 a.m. Sundays, Mililani High School, in front of the gymnasium. 848-2074.

Country Market & Craft Fair, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays, Waimanalo Homestead Community Center, 1330 Kalaniana'ole Highway. 259-5349.

Farmers' Market, fruits and vegetables, 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, Hawaii Kai Towne Center. 396-0766.

Fresh Mondays, locally grown produce with free food samples, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Mondays, Kaiser Nanaikeola clinic lobby; repeats 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Tuesdays. 432-2270.

Waikiki Farmers' Market, fruits, vegetables, musubi and chow mein, 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays, Waikiki Community Center's parking lot. 923-1802.

Fresh Wednesdays, 8-11 a.m. first and third Wednesdays, Kaiser Ko'olau Clinic (432-3800); also, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. second and fourth Wednesdays, Kaiser Waipi'o Clinic (432-3100).

Fort Street Open Market, produce, plants, flowers and arts and crafts, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesdays, Pauahi and Fort streets; 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Fridays and Tuesdays, Wilcox Park (in front of Macy's). 538-8005.

Kailua Farmers Market, with prepared foods, such as plate dinners, pies, cookies, jams and sauces in addition to fresh vegetables, fruits, meats, herbs and flowers, 5-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Kailua Town Center parking garage (behind Longs Drugs on Kailua Road). 848-2074.

Fresh Fridays, locally grown produce, healthy cooking demonstrations, educational information on disease prevention through good nutrition, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Fridays, Kaiser Permanente Honolulu Clinic. 432-2000.

Aloha Friday Farmers Market, fresh produce, food products and entertainment, noon-6 p.m. Fridays, Maui Community College, Kahului. (808) 268-3276.

TOURS & TASTINGS

Gourmet Cooking Hawaii offers hands-on and demonstration cooking classes with Island chefs in their restaurants. Choose your own chef, menu and date or join preset classes offered on Saturdays throughout the year. Schedule, pricing and booking information: www.gourmetcookinghawaii.com, 735-7788.

Matthew Gray's Hawaii Food Tours offers three guided restaurant tours — Hole-in-the Wall, Hawaiian Feast and Gourmet Trilogy — in and around Honolulu; $59, $99 and $149. Reservations: 926-3663, www.HawaiiFoodTours.com.

A Cook's Tour of Chinatown, Walter Rhee leads a tour of downtown markets: learn about meats, seafood, vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices, 8:30-10:30 a.m. Saturdays, meet near Hawaii National Bank between King and Smith streets; $15. Also, Rhee leads a tour of Chinatown eateries, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturdays, meet at same location; $59. Reservations: 391-1550.

Culinary Tour of Chinatown, visit noodle shops, dim-sum parlors, food courts, bakeries and other food venues in downtown Honolulu with food writer Anthony Chang, 9:30 a.m. Mondays, meet at Chinese Chamber of Commerce, 42 N. King St.; $10. 533-3181.

Merriman's Farm Visits and Dinner, half-day excursions to two Big Island farms that supply the restaurant, followed by a four-course dinner prepared from locally grown ingredients, 2:30-7:30 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, Merriman's Restaurant, Waimea, Big Island; $155 (all-inclusive). Reservations: (808) 331-8505.

Wine & Cheese Wednesdays, selection of two reds and two whites paired with cheeses, nuts and fruit, plus Hawaiian entertainment, 5:307 p.m. Wednesdays, Neptune's Garden, Pacific Beach Hotel; $25. 921-6112, 922-1233.

Vanilla Experience Luncheon, five-course lunch with dishes prepared using Hawaiian vanilla and fresh Island produce, 12:30-2 p.m. Thursdays, The Vanilla Mill, Pa'auilo, Big Island; $30. (808) 776-1771.

TV SHOWS

"Dining Out With Chai," Chai Chaowasaree of Chai's Island Bistro and Singha Thai Cuisine hosts a TV show, 5 p.m. Sundays, KHON 2. 381-8483, 585-0011.

"Shig Happens!" food safety TV show with chef Henry Holthaus, instructor at Kapi'olani Community College Culinary Institute of the Pacific, 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays on Oceanic Cable channel 55. www.shighappens.com.

Send announcements, with contact name and phone number, to: Culinary Calendar, Island Life, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; islandlife@honoluluadvertiser.com, with "Cul Cal" in the subject line; or fax 525-8055.