Le Jardin Secret, Larimer Square’s charming farmer’s market and food bazaar in the Bistro Vendome courtyard, winds up the season from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday (or until goods sell out).

This was the best addition to Larimer Square since the Market Street parking garage. Shoppers and windowless lookeeloos can sip mimosas while strolling through a maze of produce, artisan bread, desserts, cheese, flowers, spices, pies and cuts of meat.

Free parking is available on the top levels of the Larimer Square garage (14th and Market Streets) during market hours to the first 40 Le Jardin Secret customers. Customers must ask for a validation pass from the Mile High Business Alliance representative at the Le Jardin Secret welcome booth. The LEG valet stand also will be open for customers at $8 per car.

Some highlights of the remaining market includes:

* Produce suppliers showcase locally grown heirloom tomatoes, heirloom cucumbers and heirloom squash, as well as a variety of greens, beans, zucchini, beets, peppers and bundles of herbs.

* Grateful Bread Company features lavender sourdough boules and cranberry walnut bread in addition to its regular selection of baguettes and loaves.

* The Truffle Cheese Shop offers a variety of freshly made cheeses selected to complement summer dishes, as well as recipe ideas, a tutorial on enjoying burrata and a helpful guide on the seasonality of cheeses.

* Bean Acre will include a $20 gift certificate to The Squeaky Bean with purchase of its $25 Bean Bag.

Le Jardin Secret vendors include: Grateful Bread Company, Western Daughters Butcher Shoppe, The Truffle Cheese Shop, Sugarmill Desserts, Blooming Fool, Savory Spice Shop, Wednesday’s Pie, Grower’s Organic, Wonderland Farm, Brandon’s Organic and Bean Acre.

For more information on Larimer Square’s summer events, visit www.larimersquare.com.  

University of Colorado Cancer Center’s Dinner in White, the annual picnic where guests dress in white, bring their own food and find out an hour before where the event will be held, returns this summer after Mother Nature forced the fundraiser to take a hiatus last year.

The benefit for cancer research at CU Cancer Center takes place from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday with music, dancing and dessert.  Guests will receive a text message an hour before to learn of the location.

This year’s theme is Paris in the Rockies. Tickets are $50 general admission or $100 for reserved seating and dinner. For more information, go to www.dinnerinwhite.com.

MaxFund, Denver’s no-kill animal shelter, teams up with the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday for the second annual Tails and Ales, a day full of dog washes, music, games, food trucks and Colorado microbrewery beer drinking.

Located at Station 26 Brewing Co., 7045 E. 38th Ave., an exclusive Tails and Ales brew will be available for pet-owners to sip as their furry friends get a bath by the Rollergirls, Denver’s all-female roller derby league. All proceeds from the event will be donated to MaxFund.

MaxFund Animal Adoption Center is a nonprofit organization founded by Dr. Bill Suro and his wife Nanci in 1988. MaxFund offers adoption of both dogs and cats, a foster care program, low cost vet care and more. The shelter has found homes for more than 26,317 dogs and cats, and spayed/neutered 30,159.

More information at www.maxfund.org.

Calling all shoe collectors (who me?), those shoes you no longer want are desperately needed to help fight global poverty. That’s the message being delivered by Michele James, who has launched a Back to School Shoe Drive to collect 10,000 pairs of shoes to help the poor.

The shoes that Soles4Souls.CO collects will be delivered to Soles4Souls, an international anti-poverty organization that monetizes used shoes and clothing to create sustainable jobs and fund direct relief efforts, including distribution of new shoes and clothing.   Founded in 2007, the organization has distributed more than 25 million shoes in more than 100 countries.

“Soles4Souls.CO is supporting Soles4Souls because it is the definition of a social enterprise where solid business practices are used to create positive change in people’s lives,” James said.  “Colorado has been a strong supporter of Soles4Souls’ anti-poverty mission, and we hope to take a big step in providing the organization with the used shoes they require to keep making a sustainable difference for people in need.”

Soles4Souls will convert every used pair of shoes collected into a value-added social currency to achieve positive change, both humanitarian and economic. Most of the reusable shoes will be distributed to micro-enterprise programs that create jobs in Haiti and other poor nations. The resulting revenue will help fund the free distribution of new shoes in the U.S. and overseas

“The simple truth is that almost anyone with a closet has shoes they don’t wear, or an old pair that will just end up in a landfill,” James said.  “Give those shoes to us, and know that you are taking a step toward making the world a better place for all of us.”

Beginning now, bring shoes to any Colorado location listed at soles4souls.org/locations. Use the zip code locator to find the drop off spot nearest to you.

For more information, contact James at 720-320-1755 or Soles4Souls.CO@gmail.com).

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts winds up its season March 27 through April 26 with the Theatre Company’s world premiere of “The 12,” a new rock musical with book and lyrics by Tony Award winner Robert Schenkkan and music and lyrics by Neil Berg.

Broadwayworld.com called “The 12″ “a powerful rock and roll experience that rises up from where ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ ends.” “The 12″ enacts the ultimate test of faith faced by the disciples in the wake of their leader’s unthinkable death with an original rock music score.

“‘The 12 is the perfect show to close out the Theatre Company’s 2014/15 season,” said Kent Thompson, producing artistic director for the Theatre Company. “We are thrilled to present this compelling musical, which has the added bonus of being the third world premiere of the season.”

Berg said, “I could not think of a more prestigious or better theater for the world premiere of ‘The 12′ than at the Theatre Company. I’m so excited for the Denver theater audiences to be the first to respond to this unique rock musical.”

Tickets may be purchased at www.denvercenter.org, by phone at 303-893-4100 or from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday at Denver Center Ticket Services in the lobby of the Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex.

Eavesdropping on a woman talking about “the late” Governor Hickenlooper during the Lexus Launch Party for Denver Restaurant Week: “This is just like ‘Waiting for Guffman.’ “

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning  is upping his commercial cred by adding Gatorade to his growing list of product endorsements.

Two new TV spots were released this week under the tagline “Gatorade: Sweat It To Get It.” In each ad, a woman attempts to buy Gatorade at a convenience store, but the red-vested clerk deems these customers unworthy.

In each scenario, the clerk tells the women that Gatorade is only for people who work out. Since he sees no sign of sweat, they don’t deserve the post-exercise drink.

Manning plays the store manager, who the clerk asks to clarify the store policy to each of the sweat-free gals. In one commercial, Manning grabs the Gatorade and hurls it across the store. “Go deep,” he says.

In the second ad, the woman says its her birthday and she confesses that she’s buying the drink for a hangover. When Manning-the-manager comes to the clerk’s aid, the two challenge the birthday girl to perform a yoga position so she can sweat.

Both ads are scary believable in a “Candid Camera” way. Manning plays a convincing manager, which could serve him well with his Papa John’s franchises.

Check out the spots at: http://bit.ly/1riG1Nt and at http://bit.ly/1o61ZLC.

TheBigWonderful, Denver’s first food incubator market is making it easier for local food truck purveyors to participate by nixing the daily fee to park for the entire event.

Food truck owners can now utilize “impromptu” food truck parking on site during the weekly events and come and go throughout the day. This will enable a rotating line-up of food trucks to showcase their culinary creations when it is most convenient for them and bring a wider variety of flavors to attendees.

After just eight weeks, TheBigWonderful has already become Denver’s largest year-round backyard barbecue, and now it will become Denver’s one-stop-shop for foodies wanting to get a taste of something new.

Food trucks park at Sustainability Park at 26th and Lawrence streets from 11 a.m. until dusk on Saturdays and 5-10 p.m. on Final Fridays.

“True to our commitment of supporting local food entrepreneurs as they grow their businesses, TheBigWonderful realized food trucks need flexibility and convenience and nowhere in Denver was providing that,” said Josh Sampson, founder of TheBigWonderful. “This will make it possible for food trucks to sell their food until it’s gone and have regular access to a consistent stream of hungry patrons each week.”

Several of Denver’s food trucks are already planning to attend, including: East Coast Joes, the Brazilian Acaraje, American Grind, Baba’s and Pops, La Chiva and Chuey Fus. Vendors are welcome to come if space permits.

TheBigWonderful is a low-cost, high-traffic option to try something new. For foodies, that means free admission to a market offering affordable local foods. For vendors, it’s a year-round locale that offers entrepreneurs and established businesses a place to pilot new concepts. It will be showcasing live music at each event. Musicians can inquire on the website if they are interested in performing.

“TheBigWonderful is leveling the playing field by offering everyone from startups to full-fledged businesses the same opportunity: an affordable way to showcase delicious, farm-fresh food and hand-crafted goods that help sustain our local economy,” Sampson said. “Our event will serve as a marketplace that brings the community together, is sustainably minded and supports sourcing local food.”

Here’s what to expect at TheBigWonderful:

* Sustainable practices: TheBigWonderful seeks to bring the best of Denver’s emerging food scene to the masses without leaving a footprint. That means no two booths are the same, and there’s no waste. All organic waste is recycled back to farms to produce nutrient-rich soil.

* Hours: TheBigWonderful is open from 11 a.m. to dusk every Saturday, and from 5 to 10 p.m. on Final Fridays.

* Beats and brews: Local musicians, brewers and entrepreneurs create a locally sourced block party.

TheBigWonderful is a local food concept hatched by a team of business leaders who believe in supporting neighborhoods through hyper-local events that give back to the community and promote sustainability. A percentage of all proceeds from TheBigWonderful goes to The Urban Farmers Collaborative.

More information: www.thebigwonderful.com.

Zinga! Frozen Yogurt in the Belmar shopping center will donate a percentage of sales to Work Options for Women, an organization that trains underprivileged women to work in the food service industry, from 5 to 9 p.m. today.

Proceeds will help fund Work Options for Women’s capital campaign. Zinga! is located at 7357 W. Alaska Dr., Lakewood.