Published January 12, 2006

Martini Madness, part of Olive Festival of Sonoma Valley, Friday night at The Lodge at Sonoma. Bartenders from Saddles, Meritage, El Dorado Kitchen, Carneros Bistro & Wine Bar, Mary’s Pizza Shack (last year’s winner), the girl & the fig, Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, and Maya compete to create new versions of the traditional olive martini. Tickets at the door. $20. 1325 Broadway, Sonoma. Call (707) 996-1090.

“Never Forget: Faces of the Fallen,” an extremely important art show comes to Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, opens Saturday. 2,000 paintings, drawings, and portraits commemorating U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq. Exhibit created by Sonoma artist and SVMA board member Chester Arnold and art classes at College of Marin, Sonoma State University and Sonoma Valley High School. Exhibition free thanks to grant from National Endowment for the Arts. Members preview Thursday, January 12, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Open Wednesday-Sunday 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. 551 Broadway, Sonoma. Call (707) 939-7862.

Olive Curing Seminar at Cornerstone Market Café Saturday at the fabulously interesting Cornerstone Festival of Gardens south of the town of Sonoma and across from Gloria Ferrer Champagne Caves. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Don Landis shows how to cure olives, followed by special tasting and lunch at Cornerstone Market Café. 23570 Highway 121, Sonoma. Call (707) 935-1681 for reservations.

COPIA and Napa are open and purring! COPIA, American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts offers “The BIG Pruning Session” garden demonstration, Sunday from 1-3 p.m. “Adult beverages,” including hot mulled wine, will help cut the chill and warm the fingers while guests learn fine points of winter pruning. $20 general admission, $10 members. Main exhibits open for free this month. 500 First Street, Napa. Call (707) 259-1600 or (888) 512-6742, or visit. www.copia.org to order tickets.

COPIA Director of Culinary Programs Linda Carucci hosts class “Cooking School Secrets for Home Cooks, featuring shortcuts for stews, short ribs, polenta and other goodies, Saturday. $55 general, $45 members. 500 First Street, Napa. Call (707) 259-1600 or (888) 512-6742, or visit www.copia.org to reserve your place.

GMOs in Sonoma and the World, a dialogue on the world’s GMO-free zones with Dr. Ignacio Chapela of U.C. Berkeley and Dave Henson, Director Occidental Arts & Ecology Center. Wednesday, January 18, Sonoma Community Center. Reception 6 p.m., dialogue 7 - 9 p.m. $10 admission includes reception and one drink ticket. No-host Organic Bar. Sponsored by Epicurean Connection and Coturri Winery. 276 East Napa Street, Sonoma. Call (707) 935-7960 or email Sheana@vom.com.