American Wine Society Denver invites imbibers to take a taste bud trip through Piedmont, Italy, with a wine dinner, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Panzano inside the Hotel Monaco, 909 17th St.

Charles Lazzara, owner and president of Volio Vino Distribution, is the guest speaker. This dinner will feature five courses paired with eight wines from Piedmont, the most famous wine producing region of Italy (values $16-$96 per bottle).

Menu:

* First course – fennel, orange and goat cheese salad paired with Povero Arneis, Germano Chardonnay.

* Second course – grilled shrimp in a beet pesto paired with Cantine Povero Barbera d’Asti “Dianae” and Rivetto “Zio Nando” Barbera d’Alba.

* Third course – Tuscan twice-cooked beef, broccolini and marble potatoes aired with Silvio Giamello 2010 “Vincenziana” Barbaresco.

* Fourth course – braised lamb with Mafaldine pasta topped with truffle pecorino and mache paired with Rivetto Barolo “Leon” Riserva 2007 and Germano “Cerretta” Barolo Serralunga.

* Fifth course – double chocolate espresso cake with blackberry sauce and creme anglaise.

The event is $85 for members and $99 for non-members and guests.

Tickets are available through Blacktie at www.blacktie-colorado.com/online_sales/rsvp_ticket_purchasebt.cfm?rsvpid=7994.

Do you scream for ice cream?

If so, you could be picked to play an extra in a Blue Bell ice cream television commercial. Visit bluebell.com and enter the online contest for the chance to be an extra in a Blue Bell commercial.

Fans can submit an entertaining 20-second video explaining why they should be an extra in a Blue Bell commercial. The contest is open to all Country Club members, 18 years and older. If you are not a member you can join at www.bluebell.com.

The online contest runs through Sept. 21, and the winner will be chosen by a panel of judges.

“We are excited to launch the Lights. Camera. Action! video contest and to offer this fun experience of being part of a television commercial,” said Carl Breed, director of marketing for Blue Bell. “Blue Bell fans are creative and enthusiastic so we are gearing ourselves up for some very entertaining videos.”

The commercial will be filmed in October in and around Brenham, Texas, the home of Blue Bell Ice Cream.  The fan chosen and a guest will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Brenham. The winner will be pampered by wardrobe, hair and make-up before they film their scene as an extra.

To enter the contest or to read the official rules visit bluebell.com.

Eavesdropping on a woman talking about sharing during her self-help group: “I married people so I wouldn’t hurt their feelings.”

Anne Warhover, Colorado Health Foundation president and CEO, will be leaving the Foundation’s top spot on Jan. 1. Chief Financial Officer Rahn Porter will take over as interim CEO after Warhover’s departure.

“My decision to leave the Foundation after 10 years as CEO has been difficult, and it was only through a long period of self-reflection that I have decided to do so,” Warhover said. “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together, but for me I just know it’s time for a change. The Foundation, and its work, has been a deeply important part of my life, and I am heartened by the efforts of its staff and board to bring this organization beyond grantmaking and into a space where through its resources and partners it is transforming state culture into one centered on health. I am excited to pass the baton to a new leader who is committed to making Colorado the healthiest state in the nation.”

Foundation Board Chair Sally Schaefer, who will lead a national search to fill the CEO position, was disappointed by Warhover’s departure but understood her decision to step down from the role.

“It is with mixed emotions that I and the board are accepting Anne’s resignation,” Schaefer said. “I admire folks who understand when they have contributed what they can to an organization and pass the baton to the next leader. However, we will miss Anne, who has accomplished an amazing number of successful transitions during her 10 years at the Foundation. From developing an astute financial strategy that includes stabilizing the Foundation in perpetuity to building out our business and governance infrastructures, Anne’s leadership has had the positive impact few Foundations have the opportunity to experience.”

Warhover was hired in 2004 as president and CEO of the Foundation. Since then, she has been responsible for significant growth in the Foundation’s grantmaking portfolio, which increased from $3 million to $100 million annually to Colorado-based nonprofits. In 2006, the Foundation’s board adopted Warhover’s recommendation for a new vision to make Colorado the healthiest state in the nation. That vision has become a mantra that has since been adopted by the governor and state of Colorado and many partners.

In 2011, under Warhover’s leadership, the Foundation completed a historic transition in selling its 40 percent equity stake in HCA-HealthONE hospital system, enabling the Foundation to continue its current funding levels for generations to come. Most recently, Warhover has focused the staff on setting strategic targets to better shape the impact of its work over the next several years.

“This is the first time in my life that I’ve had the opportunity to step back and think about my next chapter. And knowing the Foundation is moving securely forward to address some of the most important issues in Colorado health made me think this is the right time,” Warhover said. “As the health care landscape continues to shift, the next Foundation leader will have a strong baseline from which to help our state progress through some of the biggest health-related challenges of our lifetime.”

Anthony’s Pizza & Pasta, the Colorado-based restaurant company that serves New York-style pizza, will celebrate 30 years of business today with a day-long party at its original downtown location, 1550 California St., and with specially priced pizzas and pizza slices and free swag at all 25 of its stores along the Front Range.

Anthony’s pizza fans can enjoy 84-cent slices of cheese pizza and large cheese pizzas for $8.40. Guests who round up the cost to $1 or to $10 will have their change donated to Make-A-Wish Colorado, the local chapter of the largest wish-granting organization in the world with 62 chapters in the United States and its territories. Make-A-Wish Colorado has granted more than 4,200 wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses throughout the state.

All day today, the downtown Anthony’s Pizza & Pasta will host an outdoor kiosk where there will be free prizes, give-aways and a chance to win a pizza a month for a year.

“We have fanatical customers, the kind most companies dream about,” said President John Le Bel. “This is our way of thanking them. Our customers have, over time, also become devoted to helping us help others. The Make-A-Wish contributions from the Sept. 10 celebration are in keeping with our company’s philanthropic culture.”

The first Anthony’s Pizza & Pasta opened in a little storefront at 1550 California St., just around the corner from the 16th Street Mall. Anthony’s began expanding in the early 1990s and now has stores from Longmont to Castle Rock, and from Conifer to Aurora.

Locations, menus and additional information can be found at www.anthonyspizzaandpasta.com.

How nice of Usher to come to Colorado for my birthday. OK, call it a coincidence, but the super star is bringing “The UR Experience” to 1stBank Center, 11450 Broomfield Lane, Broomfield, on Dec. 2.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday at www.livenation.com or by phone at 303-893-TIXS, and at all Altitude Ticket Outlets. Tickets are $150, $55 and $35 plus service charges.

His show will include a fresh take on early and recent songs as well as new music from his anticipated forthcoming eighth studio album.

“With The UR Experience, I want to give my fans an ever-changing live show full of surprises and special guests,” Usher said. “I am really excited to be with my fans and give them an Usher experience like they’ve never seen or heard before.”

The UR Experience is produced by Live Nation Global Touring.  The UR Experience will kick off in Montreal, Quebec, on Nov. 1 at the Bell Centre.  Special guests on the tour include August Alsina and DJ Cassidy. American Express card members will have an opportunity to purchase tickets before the general public.

For the latest tour information, visit www.usherworld.com or www.livenation.com.

I caught up with chef/restaurateur Frank Bonanno at Denver Food & Wine last weekend, and asked him about the closing of Bonanno Brothers Pizza at the Vistas at Park Meadows, the only suburban attempt the successful restaurant owner has tried. “Never again,” he told me.

It was the first time he had partnered with an investor on an eatery, and when the investor wasn’t realizing the return on investment he expected, he opted to shutter the place.

There are no hard feelings, Bonanno said, who added that Park Meadows mall execs could not have been more accommodating in his quest to vacate the lease and the premises.

So Bonanno got burned in the ‘burbs, but don’t expect that hiccup to stop him from expanding with more concepts in Denver. Stay tuned.

Protein Bar, the quick-casual Chicago-based restaurant concept serving health-focused food, juices and blended drinks, will open a fourth Colorado location at 1600 Glenarm Place late this year.

Protein Bar has 17 restaurants nationally, including three locations in Colorado; in Denver on Colorado Boulevard and at Union Station, and in Boulder in the 29^th Street Mall.

Protein Bar’s menu includes customizable, high-protein blended drinks, quinoa bowls, fresh-made chili, soups, salads and signature Protein Bar-Ritos made with organic ingredients wrapped in low-calorie, whole-wheat flax tortillas. Protein Bar’s sauces and dressings are made in-house daily.

Matt Matros, founder of Protein Bar, opened the first restaurant in Chicago in May 2009 after shedding 60 pounds by following a high-protein diet.  Matros created the eatery as a place where healthy food that provides the right balance of protein, good fat and healthy carbs can be universally accessible and affordable.

Protein Bar offers catering, delivery and corporate event service. For more information, visit www.theproteinbar.com.