DATEBOOK

Day of the Dead Display: Day of the Dead sugar skulls made by students of the California School of Culinary Arts in Pasadena are on display through Sunday at the Border Grill in Pasadena. Included in the display are other traditional items such as papier-mache skeletons, candles, marigolds and corn. Border Grill, 260 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. (626) 844-8988. Free.

TODAY

Sustainable Seafood Solutions: Chefs Collaborative, a group of chefs, presents this seminar and panel on buying and cooking fish with the environment in mind. Sustainable fishing practices are discussed; salmon and shellfish will be tasted. On the panel: Peter Hoffman, chef and owner of Savoy restaurant in New York; Suzanne Goin, chef and owner of Lucques in West Hollywood; Steve Webster, senior marine biologist at Monterey Bay Aquarium; and Julee Harmon, owner of Ocean Jewels Seafood in Santa Monica. 10 a.m. Sur La Table, 301 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica. (310) 395-0390. To register, call Chefs Collaborative at (617) 236-5200. $35.

THURSDAY

Vegetarian Thanksgiving: Learn to make animal-free side dishes for a Thanksgiving dinner. (You’re on your own for the main course.) Dishes are made with corn, squash, potatoes, beans, grains and other vegetables. 6 p.m. Lakeview Senior Center, 20 Lake Road, Irvine. Call Irvine Parks & Recreation to sign up at (949) 724-6610. $40. Class No. 4479.444.

SATURDAY

Beer Tasting: Taste more than one dozen craft and micro-brewed beers, learn about brewing styles and chew on tapas. (Sign up by Thursday) 2 p.m. Father’s Office, 1018 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. (310) 393-2337. $24.

SUNDAY

Japanese Food Festival: Taste regional Japanese dishes and food products. Watch food demos and a taiko drum show. 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. In the Japanese Garden of the New Otani Hotel & Garden, 120 S. Los Angeles Street, downtown L.A. (213) 629-1200. Call the Japan Restaurant Assn. for tickets at (213) 687-4055. $8 for adults; children under 10 are free.

Wines Down Under: Taste wines from Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina and South Africa in this class by the South Bay Academy of Food & Wine. Small bites of food are served. 4 p.m. Too Chez restaurant, in Lunada Bay, 2325 Palos Verdes Drive W., Palos Verdes. (310) 265-8677. To sign up call (310) 539-5552. $40.

MONDAY

Literacy Odyssey Fund-Raiser: The Library Foundation of Los Angeles hosts these dinners to raise money for the Adult Literacy Program. Fifty-four dinners will be served tonight in private homes all over Los Angeles. Hosts include Joachim Splichal, Gregory Peck, Richard Riordan and Deepak Chopra. Each dinner honors a writer. Some of the book authors this year are Michael Crichton, Sidney Poitier, Carl Reiner, Phil Jackson, Thomas Keller, Michael York, Arianna Huffington, Stephen Cannell, Buzz Aldrin, Peter Bart and Patt Morrison. Each dinner party holds between 12 and 24 guests. Ticket prices start at $300. To be guaranteed your first or second choice dinner, the cost is $800. Call (323) 466-8977 for tickets.

TUESDAY

Food for Thought: Campanile chef-owner Mark Peel is the featured speaker at Marymount College’s Negri Lecture Series. His talk is titled “Food as a Determinant of Culture: Haute Cuisine as High Entertainment.� 7:30 p.m. Marymount College, in the auditorium, 30800 Palos Verdes Drive East, Rancho Palos Verdes. Call (310) 377-5501, Ext. 223 for more information. Free.