The weekend ahead: It's festival time in Federal Hill and Roland Park

Bond Street Social and Manchurian Rice Company opened this weekend in Fells Point and Harbor East, respectively. Drop in and say hello. There's plenty else to this weekend. Have a look.

The fourth annual Federal Hill Wine Festival on Saturday features over 100 wines from around the world. The $25 ticket includes admission to the festival, 12 (12-ounce) sampling tickets and a souvenir wine glass. Additional sample tickets available at the festival, and wines will be available for purchase by the bottle at discounted pricing. The location is the unit block of East Cross Street in front of Ryleigh's Oyster. Proceeds benefit the general fund of the Federal Hill Hospitality Association. Buy tickets at www.missiontix.com and at MaGerks, Ryleigh's Oyster, Mothers Federal Hill Grille and Ropewalk Tavern.

Also on Saturday, Jen Yates, the mastermind behind the Cake Wrecks website, brings the "Winter Underlined" tour to the Barnes & Noble in Pikesville, where she and the Cake Wrecks crew will be promoting and signing their new book, "Wreck the Halls: Cake Wrecks Gets 'Festive'." A cake wreck, Yates says, is "any cake that is unintentionally sad, silly, creepy, inappropriate - you name it." I'm a big fan, and the Charm City Cakes gang loves Cake Wrecks, too. They will be sending over their own special cake wreck to the Saturday book-signing.

Petit Louis in Roland Park celebrates the food and culture of Alsace (but not Lorraine) on Sunday with an outdoor harvest festival. The afternoon event also celebrates the bounty and beauty of fall with live music and a special menu. Tickets are $39 per person and $29 for children 12 and under (or menu without alcohol). Tickets prices inch up three bucks on the day of the event. 

Also on Sunday, the outreach program of St. Leo's Church holds its fall wine tasting fundraiser again at St. Leo`s School Hall. Tickets to the lunch and wine tasting are $35 and all proceeds will fund the programs of Hearts and Hand, which distributes food donated by Little Italy restaurants to homeless Baltimoreans every Tuesdsay at the Baltimore Rescue Mission.


On Sunday afternoon, the Jewish Museum opens Chosen Food: Cuisine, Culture, and American Jewish Identity to the public. Through recorded conversations, historical and contemporary documents, the exhibition will demonstrate how American Jews" use food as an essential mode of cultural communication."