Come in and get the scoop on what’s hot AND natural for the kiddos this holiday season! Whole Foods has searched far and wide for some of the cutest clothes, environmentally friendly toys, and educational children’s gear available and we’ve brought it all together for the 2012 Holidays! P.S. We’ll be sampling hot chocolate and cookies, too!

Meet Mike Laing, Assistant Winemaker at M. Lawrence/L. Mawby Wines on the Leelanau Peninsula.  Mike will be at our bar from 1-4pm to discuss his Michigan made sparkling wines.

Celebrate the Festival of Lights in delicious fashion by trying some of the tastiest holiday items available! Traditional Hanukkah dishes will be sampled at our Holiday Table as well as some new twists on conventional favorites. Stop on in for a taste!

Learn to cook this special dinner as a treat for your loved ones this holiday. Imagine a Lobster Linguine cooked in white wine, tomatoes, garlic, and fresh parsley.  Follow with a Salmon fillet poached in champagne and topped with a lemon/garlic, vinaigrette. Accompany this rich meal with broccoli florets sautéed in garlic, chilies, and anchovies. Now crown this epicurean delight with a Chocolate and Chestnut Mousse for the perfect holiday celebration. Please register with Ann Arbor Community Education & Recreation. Pre-registration required. Call 734-994-2300 x 53203. www.aareced.com.

Learn how to incorporate superfoods into holiday baking. We’ll be mixing up Maca, Goji, Lacuma, Camu Camu, Chia, raw nuts, and of course, Cacao! Feed your loved ones the best this holiday season; they’ll taste great and be good for you, too! Space is limited. To register for this workshop, please visit our Customer Service Desk or call us at (734) 975-4500.

The Italian kitchen is the heart of the home, a place where simple, fresh ingredients are transformed into satisfying meals and memorable events. The class is led by an instructor born into the Italian cooking tradition who apprenticed at a specialty restaurant in Naples, Italy. The class features two holiday meals. Christmas menu: traditional chicken soup (with egg noodles and spinach, topped with parmigiano cheese), roasted herbed duck (served with roasted potatoes with garlic and rosemary), sauteed stuffed curly endive (with pine nuts and currants) and chocolate tiramisu. New Year's Eve menu: lobster (cooked with diced tomatoes, white wine and fresh herbs, served with linguine, baked salmon fillet (topped with a creamy parsley sauce, served with a lentil salad tossed in garlic, fresh herb and wine vinaigrette) and traditional holiday sponge cake (filled with ricotta cream, walnuts, pieces of chocolate and dried fruit). This class is held in the Cooking and Lifestyles Classroom at Whole Foods Market, 3135 Washtenaw Ave., in Ann Arbor. Students may register on-line through www.wccnet.edu

Meet the owners and brewers of your local lager brewery, Wolverine State Brewing Co., as they launch their new Winter Lager. Come by the bar during Happy Hour and get $3 pints of Ann Arbor’s leaders in the lager revolution!  Stop in at our Specialty Bar by the pizza station.

Purchase a pint of your favorite at Happy Hour prices and enjoy the talented musical duo, Dark Eyed Molly, Eric Moore and Jo Brown. Hear dynamic guitar and vocals to soothe your soul and start your weekend.  Table and chairs seating available for your comfort during the event. Complimentary, light holiday snacks will be served.

Join our Healthy Eating Specialist, Jan Kemp, for a cooking demo and sampling of holiday treats that will let you indulge without the guilt. When you attend this class you will get delicious and healthy ideas for appetizers, almond nog and cookies to serve at your holiday events that will delight your guests and have them begging you for the recipes. Please share them with everyone!

Our Health Starts Here™ program is a simple mindful approach to building healthy and delicious meals that is supported by four healthy pillars of healthy eating: Whole Foods, Plant-Strong™, Healthy Fats, and Nutrient Dense food. To secure your ticket for this class, please stop by the Whole Foods Market Customer Service Desk or call (734) 975-4500. Payment is due at time of registration.

Join us in the aisles and hear the wonderful voices of the Ypsilanti High School Choir singing traditional holiday carols.

This class offers a great opportunity for parents, grandparents and kids to have fun together.  Join our talented bakery team show you how to put an all-natural spin on a holiday favorite. Join this fun gingerbread house decorating class to inspire your creativity. This class will be held in the Cooking and Lifestyles Classroom at Whole Foods Market, 3135 Washtenaw Ave., in Ann Arbor. To register, call (734) 975-4500. Space is limited even with 2 classes offered. Please register early to secure a ticket

Whole Foods Market joins with Food Gatherers and Slow Food Huron Valley to present an evening of film, food, music and friends. Admission is $5. Tickets are available at the door. Seating is limited. All proceeds from the event benefit Slow Food Huron Valley and Food Gatherers.

The evening opens with a special performance by artists from Rap For Food (www.rapforfood.org) Rap For Food supports educational programs related to youth gardening, sustainable food systems, and healthy eating through the arts.

The performance is followed by a screening of the movie Food Stamped, a humorous but informative documentary film that follows a couple as they attempt to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet on a food stamp budget. Through their adventures they consult with members of U.S. Congress, food justice organizations, nutrition experts, and people living on food stamps to take a deep look at America’s broken food system http://www.foodstamped.com/      Trailer: http://vimeo.com/31749550

                 Guests have ample opportunity to mingle and enjoy refreshments donated by Whole Foods Market

Come watch 2 racers for charity battle to fill their cart with products for Food Gatherers and win a $300 donation to the charity of their choice in our Grab Hunger Race for Food Gatherers. Each contestant will have a grocery list of pantry staples, a grocery cart and 5 minutes to finish shopping for the list and cross the finish line. All products will be donated to Food Gatherers and the winner also receives a $100.gift card from Whole Foods Market.

Buy local! Today meet some of our local entrepreneur vendors and learn their stories. Taste the delicious products they produce locally. Consider the importance of buying locally produced products to build our local economy. The shorter distance between producer and your table also has a positive environmental impact.

This class offers a great opportunity for parents, grandparents and kids to have fun together.  Join our talented bakery team and let them show you put how to put an all-natural spin on a holiday favorite. Let your creativity be inspired! This class will be held in the Cooking and Lifestyles Classroom at Whole Foods Market, 3135 Washtenaw Ave., in Ann Arbor. To register, call (734) 975-4500. Space is limited even with 2 classes offered. Please register early to secure a ticket

Join us in the aisles and hear the wonderful voices the Ypsilanti High School Choir singing traditional holiday carols.

Get a taste of our holiday menu. We have a lot to offer to help you how to bring your holidays together!

Dosa, Potato Masala and Payasam

Come and learn to prepare one of the most popular South Indian dishes, a Dosa (a crispy crepe made from a fermented batter of soaked rice and lentils).  Dosas may be served as a meal at any time of the day – breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even as a snack!  A “Masala” Dosa is one with a savory and spicy mashed potato filling (you’ll learn how to make the masala from scratch).  The meal will finish with a South Indian dessert called Payasam (a roasted vermicelli and sago pudding cooked in milk, raisins and almonds). This class is held in the Cooking and Lifestyles Classroom at Whole Foods Market, 3135 Washtenaw Ave., in Ann Arbor. Students may register on-line through www.wccnet.edu

Fats are essential for many things, including hormone production and brain health.  Find out which fats we need in our diet and which kinds you should be avoiding. Space is limited. To register for this workshop, please visit our Customer Service Desk or call us at (734) 975-4500.