This coming week, in events that get to your heart through your stomach.
Highlights
Sunday, March 20
The Burning Socks at the Rox celebration. This is its second annual socks burning, during which participants throw their winter socks onto a bonfire to hail the coming of warmer weather. The restaurant also hosts a yearly piano burning, in which they roast a turkey, so this is not exactly unprecedented. Cajun food will be served, along with local beers and music by The Cajun Strangers. The whole shebang is a fundraiser for the . The socks burning is a takeoff on an event held by Maryland yacht clubs in which members also burned their socks. However, the Sauk Prairie crew has not been shy about making the event their own, adapting a poem ("Ode to the Sock Burners")to suit their purpose: "These Prairie folks got an old tradition/When the sun swings to its Equinoxical position,/They build a little fire out of at the Rox/They doff their shoes and they burn their winter socks." Roxbury Tavern
Saturday, March 19
Harvest for Haiti benefit, which features breakfast, lunch, and a winter farmers' market. The menu for breakfast includes an eggs, pancakes, and potatoes, while the lunch features pulled pork sandwiches with chips and coleslaw; both meals will be prepared using products sourced from farmers participating in the market. Shoppers will find meats, eggs, cheeses, preserves, honey, soaps, woolents, and more, produced on family farms and small co-ops in the Midwest. Proceeds from the meals will go to In the Kitchen with Cathy cooking class, with Cathy Thomas showing how to make almond milk, and in turn use it to prepare a crème sauce, and alfredo sauce, and ice cream. Willy Street Co-op West, 6825 University Ave., 6-8 p.m., $15 owners and $25 all others. Call 284-7800 for more info.
Thursday, March 17
Green Thursdays, a film and lecture series organized by The End of the Line and Getting Them Home, followed by discussion. Mount Horeb United Methodist Church, 9542 Hwy. S, Mount Horeb, 6:30 p.m., free. Call 437-7811 for more info.
Green Thursdays, a film and lecture series from The End of the Line and Getting Them Home, followed by discussion. Middleton Library, 7425 Hubbard Ave., Middleton, 7 p.m., free. Call 437-7811 for more info.
Friday, March 18
Whole Foods Market, 3313 University Ave., 6-7:30 p.m., $25. Call 233-9566 for more info.
Saturday, March 19
"Taste of the Market" breakfast at the preparing a menu of mini pancakes topped with sour cherries and yogurt and drizzled with maple syrup, an egg and cheese scrambler with carrots and spinach, bacon or sausage or mushrooms, and Grace's Cheescakes rhubarb bar. Madison Senior Center, 330 W. Mifflin St., 8 a.m.-noon, $7.50 adults and $3.75 kids and smaller portions. Call 455-1999 for more info.
Cedar Creek open house, the 21st annual spring season opening celebration featuring two days of tours, barrel wine tastings, cooking demonstrations, and music. Cedar Creek Winery & Settlement, N70 W6340 Bridge Rd., Cedarburg, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, free. Call 800-827-8020 for more info.
Fly Fishing Rendezvous, a day-long expo featuring speakers, clinics, and equipment demonstrations. Fontana Sports West, 231 Junction Rd., 10 a.m.-6 p.m., free. Call 833-9191 for more info.
Chili Fest, an all-you-can-eat fundraiser featuring three types of chili, chili dogs, and brownies. Sherman Avenue United Methodist Church, 3705 N. Sherman Ave., 5-7 p.m., $7 adults and $4 kids. Call 244-3845 for more info.
Sunday, March 20
Pancake Breakfast, an annual Order of the Amaranth fundraiser featuring a menu of all-you-can-eat pancakes, eggs, sausages, as well as a marketplace and tours. Masonic Center, 301 Wisconsin Ave., 8 a.m.-2 p.m., $7 adults and $5 kids 6-12. Call 242-9282 for more info.
Markets & Meals for Hope, a farmers' market and breakfast that benefits the Harvest of Hope Fund for Wisconsin farm families facing distress. First United Methodist Church, 203 Wisconsin Ave., 8:30-11:30 a.m., $7-10. Call 445-4588 for more info.
REAP snack prep, with volunteers needed to prepare and package fresh, healthy, and locally-grown treats for kids at 14 elementary schools around Madison. Seed Starting with Charles Dykman, a class that details how to start tomato plants from seed. Willy Street Co-op East, 1221 Williamson St., 9 a.m.-noon, $10 owners and $20 all others. Call 251-6776 for more info.
Savory Sunday, with volunteers neeed 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.
From Bean to Coffee Cup, an exhibit in the Bolz Conservatory about coffee cultivation processing, ends today. Olbrich Gardens, 3330 Atwood Ave., 10 a.m.-5 p.m., $1. Call 246-4550 for more info.
Monday, March 21
Gluten-free Dinner in 5 cooking class, with Hallie Klecker of Willy Street Co-op West, 6825 University Ave., 6-8 p.m., $15 owners and $25 all others. Call 284-7800 for more info.
Gluten-free on a Budget cooking class, with Judy Haight detailing how to prepare artisanal breads and soups from scratch. Willy Street Co-op East, 1221 Williamson St., 6-8 p.m., $15 owners and $25 all others. Call 251-6776 for more info.
Family Dinner Night, a weekly meal hosted by The Crossing, 1127 University Ave., 6:30 p.m., $5. Call 257-1039 for more info.
Save the date
Thursday, March 24
Growing, Pruning & Training Fruit Trees, a class taught by Dane County UWEX horticulture educator Lisa Johnson about the basics of cultivating fruit trees. Olbrich Gardens, 3330 Atwood Ave., 6:30 p.m., $15. Please RSVP by March 17, and call 246-4550 for more info.
