1. Annual Gourmet Auction

The annual Gourmet Auction will be on Friday at Wedgewood Cove Golf Club. Social hour begins at 5 p.m. and tasting stations are scheduled to open at 7 p.m. The silent auction will run from 5:30 to 7:25 p.m. The live auction is set to begin shortly after, continuing throughout the evening.

Tickets for the annual Gourmet Auction are $25. Groups may purchase tickets for a table of 10 at a discounted rate of $190. The event will include an array of items to bid on and plenty of food to sample and savor. Money raised will be used for the Big Island Rendezvous and Festival Education Days and other community projects.

To make reservations, call the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce at 507-373-3938.

 

2. 14th annual Albert Lea Hockey Day

The annual Hockey Day will take place this weekend. The fun-filled festivities will begin with the Friday night skills competition from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Albert Lea City Arena. Attendees can expect to enjoy food, prizes and plenty of hockey. A social event also will take place from 10 a.m. to midnight Friday at The Barn of Chapeau Shores.

On Saturday, the day-long hockey excitement at Albert Lea City Arena will begin. Games will start at 8 a.m. and continue throughout the day. A raffle will be held, featuring prizes ranging from cash to electronics, gift cards and more.

 

3. Live music: ’90s nostalgia

There will be live music at 6 p.m. Friday at The Interchange Wine & Coffee Bistro. The event will be hosted by Owatonna native Chris Sorvaag and will feature an “intimate, unplugged take on songs from the ’90s and 2000s,” according to The Interchange Facebook page.

Call 507-383-4070 to make reservations.

 

4. Warm up with a good book, win a Kindle Fire

Those who finish five books as part of the adult winter reading program at Albert Lea Public Library will receive a prize and enter to win the grand prize: one of two Kindle Fires.

Beginning Tuesday, those who wish to participate in the Hot Reads for Cold Nights program, may stop by the third floor desk in the fiction library to register and pick up a reading log. Participants will be entered in weekly prize drawings for each title read. The program ends Feb. 28.

 

5. Aebleskiver Sunday

Spend your Sunday morning enjoying Aebleskiver, also known as round Danish pancakes or “little clouds from heaven.” Aebleskiver Sunday will take place from 10 a.m. to noon Sunday at Trinity Lutheran Church. Breakfast-goers can also enjoy eggs, sausage, coffee, juice and milk.

The Aebleskiver Sunday event is a freewill offering. Any proceeds will go toward capital improvements.