Cary Rotary Club will host its ninth annual Chili Dinner on Friday, Jan. 27. Lunch will be served from noon to 2 p.m., and dinner will be available from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church.

Cary Rotary Club has raised a net $199,000 in its first eight years of hosting the chili fundraiser.

The club has donated $103,000 to help fund Stop Hunger Now’s Million Meals for Children project; $21,000 to tsunami disaster relief in Southeast Asia; $16,100 to hunger relief efforts in Africa and Haiti; $23,000 to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle; $9,000 to the Society of St. Andrew; and $16,900 to supporting Meals on Wheels, Shepherd’s Table Soup Kitchen, Urban Ministries, From Jesus With Love and Raleigh Rescue Mission.

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Don’t miss your final weekend to see The Towne Players of Garner’s production of the award-winning classic Driving Miss Daisy, in four shows set for Jan. 26-28.

Winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize, Driving Miss Daisy is a funny, heartwarming portrayal of an unlikely friendship between a cantankerous Southern white woman and the proud, gentle black man who works as her driver. The play is by Alfred Uhry.

Reprising their roles in a previous Towne Players’ production of the play in 1999 are cast members Holmes Morrison, Frances Stanley and Tim Upchurch. Director of the award-winning community theater troupe is Beth Honeycutt.

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"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt," according to Peanuts creator Charles Schultz.

Throw a little champagne in the mix and you’ve got a recipe for a fun evening.

Join the N.C. Museum of Art Contemporaries, a group of young Triangle professionals who promote the NCMA and sponsor local social events, for a taste of both.

The Chocolate + Champagne event will be held Thursday, Feb. 2, from 7:00–9:30 p.m. at the 606 Lounge on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh. Triangle chocolatiers and bakeries will show off their best sweet sides. Participating locations include Miel Bon Bons, Videri Chocolate Factory, Blue Moon Bakery and many others.

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Cary will get a taste of Olympic glory in early February as the host for its first-ever Olympic trials in table tennis. The U.S. Olympic Trials will be held February 9-12, with 39 registered qualifiers competing.

The top eight finishers (four men and four women) will be invited back to Cary for the North American Olympic Trials on April 20-22. The U.S. competitors at those trials will face off against the Canadian table tennis representatives, and the winners will head to London for the summer 2012 Olympics.

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Live chefs … local celebrities … and a community focused on boosting education.

The nonprofit Garner Educational Foundation will hold its second annual Cooks for Books fundraiser on Tuesday, Jan. 31, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., at Garner TV & Appliance on US 70 West, offering a star-studded night of fun and fine cuisine.

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