saturday11
The North Park Village Nature Center hosts a free Harvest Festival today and tomorrow with a farmers’ market, food vendors, tours of the nature preserve, a scarecrow-building contest, storytelling, and live music. Sat-Sun 10 AM-3 PM, 5801 N. Pulaski, 312-744-5472.
The Culinary Historians of Chicago presents The Sweet History of French Pastry with Mark Seaman, pastry chef and owner of local catering company Marked for Dessert. He’ll discuss regional variations on French desserts and the influence of the French Revolution on madeleines, macarons, and crepes. “Reference materials” include samples of Seaman’s pastries. 10 AM-noon, Kendall College, 900 N. North Branch, 708-788-0338, rsvpchc@yahoo.com, $5.
The Alliance Française presents a class on cooking with cider, from beef and onions braised in cider to cider-soaked pain perdu with apples and cinnamon-apple ice cream. There’ll also be a tasting of hard ciders from around the world. 10 AM-12:30 PM, 810 N. Dearborn, 312-337-1070, $85 ($75 members).
Taste Food and Wine hosts an Oktoberfest celebration with beer (including Spaten), cheese, and sausages. 7-8:30 PM, 1506 Jarvis, 773-761-3663, $25, $20 in advance.
sunday12
The Andersonville Dessert Crawl is actually two crawls, each hitting a dozen restaurants: the Swedish Stroll, 1-4 PM, includes Ann Sather, Swedish Bakery, and Pasticceria Natalina; the Rainbow Route, from 3-6 PM, features Big Jones, Kopi, M. Henry, and others. In Fine Spirits is also offering ten-wine tastings at 3 and 5 PM. Both routes start at the Swedish American Museum, 5211 N. Clark, 773-728-7552, $25 for one, $40 for two, $20 for wine tasting.
wednesday15
Galleria Liqueurs on Southport hosts a champagne tasting of ten brands, including Moet & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot. 6-8 PM, 3409 N. Southport, 773-857-6200, $10.