This coming week, in events that get to your heart through your stomach.
Highlights
Friday, June 3
Well, you will need fuel to pedal during Bike to Work Week, sponsored by the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin. Among the foods that will lure you out of your car this week are pastries, bacon, barbecue and beer. And if you keep eating like that, you will need to continue to bike to work. June 3-10. Call 251-4456 for more info.
On that score, you should probably also consider biking to Festa Italia, which runs Friday through Sunday in Fitchburg. The festival features a homemade pasta and meatball dinner with award-winning "Vellucci" sauce, as well as a pasta eating contest. Lots of other fun with music, dancing and games is also scheduled. McKee Farms Park, 2930 Chapel Valley Rd., Fitchburg, 5 p.m.-12 a.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-12 a.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday. Call 258-1880 for more info.
Saturday, June 4
Cows on the Concourse, hosted by the Dane County Dairy Promotion Committee, sets up shop today next to the Dane County Farmers' Market. Along with three cow petting areas and the "Milk the Moment" tour offering free milk mustaches, you will find grilled cheese sandwiches, cream puffs, and samples of "ice cold" milk. If you are still hungry, visit the grilled cheese stand for more grilled cheese. Hey, a bike could come in handy for this one, too. Capitol Square, Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and Main St., 8 a.m.-1 p.m., free. Call 575-5388 for more info.
Burgers & Brew, the annual fundraiser for the REAP Food Group allows attendees to pick three burgers from a slate of innovative local foodstuffs-in-a-bun. Three of the burgers are vegetarian, too. They're created by chefs from Alchemy Café, Brasserie V, Bunky's Café, Dayton Street Grille, Fresco, jacs Dining & Tap House, L'Etoile, Lombardino's, Metcalfe's Market, Sardine, The Weary Traveler, and the Willy Street Grocery Co-op, using beef, lamb, cheeses, veggies and other ingredients from ranches, creameries and farms throughout the region. Each can be paired with a short pour of a local microbrew. Bike it? Your call. Capital Brewery, 7734 Terrace Ave., Middleton, 4-7:30 p.m., $30 or $25 advance. Call 310-7836 or see Facebook for more info.
More events this week
Wednesday, June 1
Capitol View Farmers' Market, now in its second year of operation, commencing for the 2011 growing season. Grandview Commons neighborhood, on the south side of Sharpsburg Dr. at the corner of North Star Dr. and just off Cottage Grove Rd., 3-7 p.m. Call 577-2527 for more info.
"Big Tiny" stories with writer Susan Troller and artist S.V. Medaris discussing their book Cluck: From Jungle Fowl to City Chicks and the backyard chicken movement. Overture Center-Wisconsin Studio, 201 State St., 6 p.m., free. Call 258-4141 for more info.
CHEW meeting, a monthly gathering hosted by Culinary History Enthusiasts of Wisconsin and featuring a talk by Kathy Utley and Becky Steinhoff titled "From Pantry to Pastry to Planting a Row: The Goodman Center's Food Initiatives." Goodman Community Center, 149 Waubesa St., 7:15 p.m., free with food donations encouraged. Call 241-1574 for more info.
Thursday, June 2
MadWest Farmers' Market, a new market organized through the Lussier Community Education Center, commencing for the 2011 growing season. Lussier Community Education Center, 55 S. Gammon Rd., 4-7 p.m. Call 833-4979 for more info.
Summer Frolic, a four-day season kickoff in Mount Horeb, featuring a beer tent and rib cookoff, a sesquicentennial parade and ice cream/cake social, a carnival, live music, softball and volleyball tournaments, the 10K Norsk Run and a 2 mile run/walk, the "Tough Truck" competition, a talent contest and dog show, bingo and a raffle, fireworks, and more. Grundahl Park, 400 Blue Mound St., Mount Horeb, 5-10 p.m. Thursday, 5 p.m.-12:30 a.m Friday, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 a.m. Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday. Call 608-437-5914 for more info.
Friday, June 3
Cambridge Farmers' Market, commencing for the 2011 growing season. Veterans Park, Main St. between Spring and Park, 2-7 p.m. Call 847-269-6515 for more info.
The Art of Breton Cuisine cooking class, with instructor Rosalind Zerofsky of BretonCrepe Catering preparing a menu of moules frites and salade lyonnaise. Whole Foods Market, 3313 University Ave., 6-7:30 p.m., $25. Call 233-9566 for more info.
Saturday, June 4
Saturday Science at Discovery talk, with experts from the Babcock Hall Dairy Plant discussing "The Science of Ice Cream" and a Rennie's Dairy Bar taste test. Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, 330 N. Orchard St., 10 a.m., free. Call 316-4382 for more info.
Free community meal prepared by volunteers. Wil-Mar Center, 953 Jenifer St., 11:15 a.m., free. Call 257-4576 for more info.
GorettiFest, an annual two-day festival and fundraiser hosted by St. Maria Goretti Parish, and featuring pizza and chicken dinners, a homemade pie sale, a beer tent, karaoke, a fun run/walk, kids' activities, and more. St. Maria Goretti Parish, 5313 Flad Ave., 6-10 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Call 271-7421 for more info.
Sunday, June 5
REAP snack prep, with volunteers needed to prepare and package fresh, healthy, and locally-grown treats for kids at 14 elementary schools around Madison. RP's Pasta, 1133 E. Wilson St., 9 a.m.-noon. Call 310-7836 for more info.
Ride the Drive, an annual daylong community celebration that closes six miles of downtown Madison streets to motor vehicle traffic and opens them to bicyclists and pedestrians, and featuring activities, information booths, food vendors, and more. Ride the Drive loop around the isthmus, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Call 266-4711 for more info.
Savory Sunday, with volunteers need to prepare and serve a fresh, hot meal for the hungry. Lutheran Campus Center, 325 N. Mills St., 11 a.m. Call 233-6967 for more info.
Monday, June 6
South Madison Farmers' Market, in operation five days a week, commencing its Monday edition for the 2011 growing season. Novation Campus, 145 E. Badger Rd., 2-6 p.m. Call 358-5834 for more info.
Save the date
Thursday, June 16
Taste Traditions of Wisconsin, a monthly lecture and dinner series that features a Civil War-themed "meal of time-honored foods found on tables in the northern United States" and a talk by Lance Herdegen, former director of the Institute for Civil War Studies at Carroll University, about the Iron Brigade. Wisconsin Historical Museum, 30 N. Carroll St., 6:30-9 p.m., $35. Please RSVP by June 2, and call 264-6563 for more info.