By Charlene Arsenault

• Eat the pasta, keep the pretty plate: It's popular and it's back. The Worcester Center for Crafts is hosting its 10th annual pasta dinner fundraiser on Saturday, March 8, with two seatings: 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The dinner includes pasta, meatballs and salad by the wonderfully yummy Ciao Bella (Worcester Magazine folks ate here recently and were reminded of how incredible the food is), along with assorted beverages and gourmet desserts. Here's the special catch: Worcester Center for Crafts' potters will handcraft a plate for you for a $30 donation. The donation helps the clay studio, and you get a unique plate that you will be afraid to break so you might not use it on a daily basis. Kids can get their dinner on a paper plate for five bucks. The event also includes studio tours and a raffle. Call 508-753-8183 for more information.

• Wining for Pet Rock: Also on Saturday, March 8, pick up a bottle of wine at KJ Baaron's at the Washington Square rotary and help support the Pet Rock Festival (www.petrockfest.com). The huge animal benefit, happening on Sept. 14 at Quinsigamond Community College this year, is celebrating 10 years of helping New England area animal organizations. Your purchases of specially chosen animal-themed wines at Baaron's will help immensely in the cost to host this important festival. There will also be a tasting from 4-6 p.m. Pet Rock T-shirts and giveaways, as well as information on the festival, will be available. Hey, you were going to pick up a bottle or two of wine anyway — why not make it there, and on that day? It's not that hard.

• Dinners that are largely about the wine: Rovezzi's Ristorante — at all its locations in Central Massachusetts — are offering wine dinners in the upcoming months, and even this month. The first one is this Monday, Feb. 25, followed by others on April 7 and May 19. It's $65 per person. For more info. and reservations, call 508-753-4511. And Rovezzi's is adding more cooking classes, due to the overwhelming response of previous ones. Rovezzi's in Worcester (108 Grove St.), has classes coming up on Feb. 28 and March 8. It's $60 per person. Call 508-340-0758 to sign up.

Wine tastings? New chef? New menu items? Opening a new place? Expanding? Eat something good? Eat something bad? Did your mom win a pie recipe contest? If it's directly or indirectly related to food and drink, we want to hear about it. Direct any and all of your juicy foodish news and tidbits to Charlene at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or call 508-749-3166, ext. 245