"Lean, Low-Sodium and Scrumptious," cooking class led by Moana Bachiller, who demonstrates cooking techniques for a low-sodium, low-fat and low-cholesterol diet, 5:30-7 p.m. today, Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific's Frear cafeteria; includes tasting; $30. Reservations required: 566-3780.

"Who's Got the Heat?" second annual chili cookoff during the Maui County Fair, 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, War Memorial gymnasium, Wailuku, Maui; contest samples $1 per bowl, proceeds benefit the Shriner's Children's Hospital Patient's Transportation Burn Unit. (808) 242-2721.

"Soul-Satisfying Italian Food" cooking class; learn to make marinara sauce, pesto pasta, Tuscan white bean salad, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, UH-Manoa, Campus Leisure Center, room 101; students $30, all others $35. Register: 956-6468.

"Spanish Invasion,æ sampling of traditional and new style wines of Spain, 1-5 p.m. Saturday, The Wine Stop; free. 946-3707.

"Reds, Whites & Blues," annual fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation, with wine tasting, martini bar, gourmet food stations, blues music from Monk's Beret and silent auction, 4-7 p.m. Saturday, Aloha Tower Marketplace mauka lanai banquet room; $75. Reservations: 596-2900.

Octoberfest, food stations with bratswurst, sauerbraten, potato salad, apple strudel, Black Forest cake, beer, lagers, schnapps and other German foods for sale, plus entertainment by a German oompah-pah band, 6-11 p.m. Tuesday through Oct. 5; 6 p.m.-midnight Oct. 6-7; 5-11 p.m. Oct. 8; with beer keg tapping ceremony 6 p.m. Tuesday, Ala Moana hotel's Hibiscus Ballroom; admission: $5 daily Tuesday-Oct. 5 and Oct. 8, $10 daily Friday-Saturday. Tickets available from the hotel's concierge. 955-4811.

ONGOING

Farmers' Market, produce, meats, seafood and flowers, 7:30-11 a.m. Saturdays, Kapi'olani Community College, parking lot C. 848-2074.

Sunset Country Market, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays, Sunset Beach Elementary School, Hale'iwa. 237-8248.

A Cook's Tour of Chinatown, Walter Rhee leads a tour of downtown markets: learn about meats, seafood, vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices, 8:30-10:30 a.m. Saturdays, meet near Hawaii National Bank between King and Smith streets; $15. Also, Rhee leads a tour of Chinatown eateries, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturdays, meet at same location; $59. Reservations required: 391-1550.

Farmers' Market, sponsored by Hawaii Farm Bureau, 8-11 a.m. Sundays, Mililani High School, in front of the gymnasium. 848-2074.

Country Market & Craft Fair, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays, Waimanalo Homestead Community Center, 1330 Kalaniana'ole Highway. 259-5349.

"Dining Out With Chai," Chai Chaowasaree of Chai's Island Bistro and Singha Thai Cuisine hosts a TV show with cooking tips and information on Hawai'i and Mainland restaurants, 5 p.m. Sundays, KHON-2. 381-8483, 585-0011.

Farmers' Market, fruits and vegetables, 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, Hawaii Kai Towne Center. 396-0766.

Culinary Tour of Chinatown, visit noodle shops, dim-sum parlors, food courts, bakeries and other food venues in downtown Honolulu with food writer Anthony Chang, 9:30 a.m. Mondays, meet at Chinese Chamber of Commerce, 42 N. King St.; $10. 533-3181.

Fresh Mondays, locally grown produce with free food samples, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Mondays, Kaiser Nanaikeola clinic lobby; repeats 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Tuesdays. 432-2270.

Waikiki Farmers' Market, fruits, vegetables, musubi and chow mein, 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays, Waikiki Community Center's parking lot. 923-1802.

Merriman's Farm Visits and Dinner, half-day excursions to Big Island farms that supply the restaurant, followed by a four-course dinner prepared from locally grown ingredients, noon-7 p.m. Tuesdays, Merriman's Restaurant, Waimea, Big Island; $115 (all-inclusive). Reservations: (808) 885-6822.

Fort Street Open-Air Market, produce, plants, flowers, locally prepared foods, arts and crafts from Hawai'i, Polynesia and Asia, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesdays, Pauahi and Fort streets; 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Fridays and Tuesdays, Wilcox Park (in front of Macy's). 441-4995.

Fresh Wednesdays, 8-11 a.m. first and third Wednesdays, Kaiser Ko'olau Clinic (432-3800); also, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. second and fourth Wednesdays, Kaiser Waipi'o Clinic (432-3100).

"Shig Happens!" food safety TV show; chef Henry Holthaus, instructor at Kapi'olani Community College Culinary Institute of the Pacific, offers tips on avoiding contamination by Shigella bacteria, reports on bugs and bug parts found in food, on current news about food safety, and visits local restaurants and food vendors to test food temperatures, 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays on Oceanic Cable channel 55. www.shighappens.com.

Send announcements, with contact name and phone number, to: Culinary Calendar, Island Life, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; islandlife@honoluluadvertiser.com, with "Cul Cal" in the subject line; or fax 525-8055.