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Green scene

Honolulu has placed No. 7 on the Vegetarian Times list of the 10 greenest cities in the country. In the July issue, cities were evaluated for the availability of vegetarian eateries, food co-ops and farmers' markets, as well as for access to green space and commitment to recycling.

Specifically mentioned were Legend Vegetarian Restaurant, Govinda's and Mr. Goodburger, with props also given for the number of veggie-friendly Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese restaurants in the city.

The No. 1 city was Chicago, followed in order by Austin, Texas; New York City; Atlanta; San Francisco; Minneapolis, Minn.; Honolulu; Seattle; Madison, Wis.; and Portland, Ore.

The magazine also noted the 10 greenest small towns, with Portland, Maine, topping the list.

Slurp it up

Fast-eating, melon-loving kids are invited to slurp it up at a Fourth of July Watermelon-Eating Contest at either the Kailua Thursday Night Farmers' Market or the Saturday Mililani Farmers' Market.

Up to 24 children ages 5 to 8 may compete each day for the grand prize of four fun passes to the Hawaii State Farm Fair, to be held next month in Kapolei.

Contest times are 6 p.m. Thursday at Kailua Town Center and 3 p.m. Saturday at Mililani High School.

Market hours, for those who'd like to buy a watermelon rather than slurp it down in public, are 5 to 8 p.m. in Kailua and 2 to 4 p.m. in Mililani. Call 848-2074.

The farm fair will run July 28 to 31 and Aug. 5 to 7 at Kapolei Community Park.

Cool tastes

Cold Stone Creamery stores celebrate National Ice Cream Month on Saturday with a free sampling of five new summer flavors.

From 10 a.m. to noon, Cold Stones across the country will serve tastes of wasabi-ginger, tooty-fruity, black licorice, oatmeal cookie batter and tangerine sorbet ice creams.

These flavors will be available only in July, to be followed by one new flavor per month for the rest of the year: blueberry in August, cookie batter in September, espresso in October, carrot cake batter in November and dark chocolate peppermint in December.

Market moving

The Hawaii Kai Towne Center Farmers Market is moving -- a little way, anyway. The market will now be held behind Panda Express, in the shaded area fronting the water.

It remains open from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Call 396-0766.

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