This week and weekend

Rhode Island Vegan Awareness will hold its annual Vegan Summer Picnic on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. at Colt State Park, Route 114, Bristol. There will be an array of traditional barbecue and picnic foods but with no animal products. The menu will include veggie burgers and dogs, watermelon, and a variety of other dishes. Bring a vegan dish, no dairy or eggs, to feed 10 people and a place setting to reduce waste. There will be merchandise for sale. Free educational booklets and literature on vegan diets will be available. Donation for the picnic is $5; children 12 and under are free. RSVP deadline is Friday. Call (401) 934-1245 or go to riva@veganawareness.org.

East Greenwich will hold a Main Street Stroll tomorrow from 5 to 8 p.m. featuring artists, musicians and A Taste of East Greenwich. More than 50 artists and musicians will be demonstrating their skills and displaying their works.

The Sons of Italy Grand Lodge of Rhode Island will have a booth at the Italian Festival being held in downtown Providence tomorrow through Monday. They will be selling Tutto Bene cookbooks for $15.

On the menu

Bristol Harbor Homemade has partnered with New England Cupboard of Bangor, Maine, to produce nut-free products. For information, visit www.BristolHarborHome made.com.

Capital Grille, 1 Union Station, Providence, (401) 521-5600, is offering a wine dinner menu on Sundays and Mondays through Columbus Day. The three-course dinner offers entrées of grilled New York sirloin, grilled filet mignon, whole-grain mustard glazed salmon and sautéed chicken with porcini and ricotta filled tortelloni. The cost is $99 for two.

XO Steakhouse, 125 North Main St., Providence, is introducing Hot Summer Sundays and Mondays and new seasonal menu items. Guests who dine at XO on Sunday and Monday nights throughout the summer can enjoy any bottle of wine in the XO cellar for 50 percent off the listed price with the purchase of two entrées. Guests will receive a gift card for half of the value of the purchased bottle of wine that can be used that evening or at a future visit. New dishes for the season include Steamed Littlenecks served with white wine, shallot and garlic sauce or tarragon Dijon cream; and Togarashi Seared Tuna with house-made udon, shrimp and scallop chopsticks, and a Szechwan glaze.The Pump House Restaurant & Pub, 1464 Kingstown Rd., Route 108, Peace Dale, (401) 789-4944, offers Dinner for Two with a bottle of wine every Tuesday in August for $24.95. Dinner selections include Sirloin Tips, Chopped Sirloin, Grilled Chicken, Sirloin Salad, Chicken Parmesan, Pasta Primavera, Baked Stuffed Cod, Chicken Salad and Lemon Pepper Cod.

Capriccio, 2 Pine St., Providence, (401) 421-1320, is undergoing a major remodeling during its two-week summer vacation. It will reopen Monday, Aug. 18.

Pearl Restaurant & Lounge, 393 Charles St., Providence, (401) 331-3000, offers new event spaces. Cjoices include the Octagon Lounge, the China Room, the White Room or the outdoor terrace, with space to accommodate from 50 to 200 guests. Complimentary valet parking is available.

LJ’s BBQ, 727 East Ave., Pawtucket, (401) 305-5255, continues its Tuesday fixed-price menu at $15.99 beginning at 3 p.m. and also offers a new early bird discount on Wednesdays and Thursdays starting at 3 for eat-in guests only. Flights of bourbon, wines specially selected to complement barbecue, and a craft beer assortment round out the beverage selections.

Dunkin’ Donuts has announced the launch of DDSMART, a menu of better-for-you options. It includes both new and existing Dunkin’ Donuts food and beverages that meet at least one of the following criteria: 25 percent fewer calories; 25 percent less sugar, fat, saturated fat or sodium than comparable fare, or containing ingredients that are nutritionally beneficial. Among the new items are Egg White Flatbread Sandwiches, either Turkey Sausage or Veggie. Both are under 300 calories, with nine grams of fat or less, and are served on toasted multigrain flatbread. There will also be a Reduced Calorie Berry Smoothie.

Fluke Wine & Bar, 41 Bowen’s Wharf, Newport, (401) 849-7778, offers Louis Roederer Champagnes and great jazz every Monday night at 10 in August featuring Antoine Drye on trumpet and Martin Butler on drums. There is a $10 cover charge. There is no cover charge with dinner reservations in the bar.

Gansett Cruises in Newport offers a Poor Man’s Surf ’n’ Turf every Friday night in August. On the menu: a cup of hot clam chowder and crackers, a quahog stuffie with a wedge of lemon, a Saugy hot dog in a bun, a Narragansett Lager beer or a Del’s Frozen Lemonade and for dessert,a dish of Warwick Ice Cream. The cost is $42, all included. For more information, call (401) 787-4438 or visit www.gansettcruises.com.

Coming up

T’s Fifth Annual Blood Drive will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 13, from 9 a.m. to noon at T’s Restaurant 1059 Park Ave., Cranston. All donors receive a T’s complimentary breakfast. Come with a buddy and enter to win a pair of tickets to see the Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, Boston Bruins or Boston Celtics.

An Autumn Artwalk & Wine Tasting will be held Friday, Sept. 19, from 6 to 9 p.m. at The Village at South County Commons, Route 1 and South County Commons Way, South Kingstown. Pier Liquors will offer an assortment of wines for tasting while you stroll the shopping center listening to live music. For more information, visit www.southcounty commons.com.

The People’s Liquor Warehouse of Warwick, will host a Rustic Tuscan Cuisine & Wine, Monday, Aug. 11, from 6:30 to 9 p.m., at Sophia’s Tuscan Grille, 1729 Warwick Ave. Featured will be a four-course dinner with paired wines. Prawns with tossed baby arugula and grilled lemon will be paired with Mionetto Sergio wine and Chicken Scarpiello with Rosemary Spiced Fingerling Potatoes and Wood Grilled Asparagus with DiLupo Pinot Grigio and Banfi San Angelo Pinot Grigio. Purchase tickets at (401) 737-0900.

Contest

Food Network celebrity chef Guy Fieri and The Other White Meat is looking for bold pork recipes inspired by bold flavors and those who grill pork with gusto. Enter your bold pork recipe in the Bring it on! Pork Grilling Challenge by Sunday, Aug. 17. If your recipe is one of the top three boldest, you’ll compete in a live finale grill-off. One grand-prize winner will take home $5,000 and the Char-Broil Red Infrared Gas Grill. For more information and to submit your recipe, visit www.TheOtherWhiteMeat.com.

Save the date

The Gluten-Free Culinary Summit will be held Friday through Sunday, Sept. 19 through 21, at The Providence Biltmore. This is a three-day educational symposium featuring a full menu of cutting-edge gluten-free baking and cooking class demonstrations, recipe tastings, interactive panel discussions, special dining events and Summit’s Hands-On Holiday Edition with presenters from Canyon Ranch, Chef Walter’s Cooking School, Gluten-Free Living Magazine, Johnson & Wales University, Kendall College, Pinelli-Marra Restaurant Group, Savory Palate, The Culinary Institute of America, The Wheat-Free Cook, The Whole Grains Council, University of Connecticut, Ursula’s European Pastries, Walt Disney World Resort, Whole Foods Market Gluten-Free Bakehouse and more. Members of the American Celiac Family Support Group of Rhode Island will enjoy a special discount offer if registered before Sunday, Aug. 24. The offer includes a 15 percent discount off the regular price and a donation made in the person’s name by GF Culinary Productions to the American Celiac Family Support Group of Rhode Island. All packages include breakfast, lunch, tastings and educational materials. For more information and to register, call GF Culinary Productions, at (303) 368-9990. The next all-member Celiac meeting will be held Sunday, Sept.28. The theme will be Healthy Living and includes the Blue Cross Wellness van, Dr. Ancowitz from the R.I. Arthritis Foundation and chefs from Anna’s Bread and the North End Café doing demonstrations.

The 9th Annual Newport Waterfront: Irish Festival will be held Aug. 30, 31 and Sept. 1 at the Newport Yachting Center, America’s Cup Avenue. The hours are Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Monday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be Irish culture, cuisine, art, dance and music. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors. For more information, call (401) 846-1600 or go to www.NewportFestivals.com.

News

Allyson Pereira, of Westport, has won the gold medal at SkillsUSA national competition. She had won a silver medal last year and is a recent graduate of Bristol Community College, where she was valedictorian.

Professsional meetings

The Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association Women in Hospitality and Tourism Council will hold a meeting on Thursday, Aug. 21, at 4 p.m. at NYLO Warwick Hotel in Warwick. Erin Ruddick, director of client services for Creating Results Strategic Marketing in Barrington, will be speak on Subtleties of Marketing-Baby Boomers and Beyond. The event is open to current RIHTA members, and advanced registration is required to attend. To register, contact RIHTA at (401) 223-1120.

On TV

Cooking with Class features chef Frank Terranova, an associate instructor at Johnson & Wales University, cooking up corn recipes next week during the noon and 5:30 p.m. newscasts on Channel 10.

gciampa@projo.com