It’s Earth Day, lots of green, sounds of the sixties, we’re chili-ing!

Clean:

...help tidy up outdoors. Start with Palmyra Cove Nature Park (www.palmyracove.org) on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.

Plant:

they’re looking for volunteers to help plant trees and reforest a section of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (www.fws.gov/northeast/forsythe) beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Walk:

...through the Essex County Environmental Center (www.essex-countynj.org/p) in Roseland for a nature tour, beekeeper demonstration, composting workshop and master gardeners planting all on Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Cave:

Follow experienced spelunkers into the caves of Ringwood all day long. Meet at the Weis Ecology Center (http://www.njaudubon.org/centers/Weis/), 150 Snake Den Road, beginning at 9 a.m.

More environmentally friendly activities at http://www.state.nj.us/dep/seeds/earthday/april.htm

Puff:

...that magic dragon returns with a classic performance by Peter, Paul & Mary at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark on Saturday (www.njpac.org).

Pot:

Help stir it up at the Chili Cookoff and Festival (http://www.delvalchilicookoff.com/) all day Saturday at the Gloucester County Fairgrounds in Mullica Hill.

Chill:

...to the finest jazz tunes as the The 27th Cape May Jazz Festival (www.capemayjazz.org) pays tribute to the jazz guitar great Wes Montgomery. Read the great write up by our friends at the Cape May Times (www.capemaytimes.com) and you can book your hotel through the listings on their site.

So many choices for your organically correct weekend. Get out and enjoy!

Taste rules this weekend.

Bring your greetings to Asbury Park on Saturday, and help celebrate the seaside resort’s 110th anniversary with Taste of Asbury Park, a food and wine festival featuring dishes from 15 top restaurants in town plus wines from seven local wineries. It’s at Convention Hall, 1-4 p.m. Tickets $25 in advance or $35 at the door. (732) 502-9310, www.cityofasburypark.com.

Westfall Winery in Montague celebrates five years on the vine by pairing appetizers to its new 2006 whites and its 2005 Cab. Saturday and Sunday, 12-5 p.m., and it’s free. (973) 293-3428, www.westfallwinery.com.

Or, try the British Beer Tasting Dinner at Cape May’s historic Mad Batter Restaurant. Four courses, four different brews, $55. Friday at 7:30 p.m. 609-884-5970, www.madbatter.com.

And now, for some non-gustatory kinds of taste, like…

…in music. One of the world’s great classical violinists, Itzhak Perlman is in concert at the Bergen Performing Arts Center Sunday in Englewood, 3 p.m. Tickets $35–$125. (201) 227-1030, or go to www.bergenpac.org.

…in antiques. Get ye valuable (ye hope) olde thinges to the antique appraisal fair at Old Lafayette Village (www.lafayettevillageshops.com), Lafayette. It runs Sunday 1-4 p.m. Pre-registration is required, (973) 579-2382.

…in wood sculpture. Saturday is the last day for a Wood Turner’s Exhibition, highlighting artists that take the craft of working the lathe to the level of fine art. Perkins Center for the Arts, Collingswood. (800) 387-5226, www.perkinscenter.org.

…in, uh, sneakers? Well, your teens will know. Mischa Barton, formerly of The O.C., comes to Nordstrom (www.nordstrom.com) at Garden State Plaza Saturday 1-3 p.m. to autograph no-longer-dowdy, newly-hip and always comfortable Keds casual shoes. (201) 843-1122.

Not a lot of people outside New Jersey know that from just about anywhere in the state, the countryside is a short ride away.

Come to think of it, not a lot of people in New Jersey know the countryside is a short ride away.

Here are two outings for cheese and herbs.

For cheese, check out Valley Shepherd Creamery in Long Valley, owned by a Jersey couple inspired by the cheese-making traditions they learned from shepherds in remote mountain passes of France, Italy and Spain. Public tours begin for the season this Saturday at 1 and 4 p.m. Call (908) 876-3200 or hit www.valleyshepherd.com.

Or, create a rustic container using grapevine, moss and soil, then fill it with herbs from Well-Sweep Herb Farm. Well Sweep is in its 35th year and grows 2,000 different species (“39 basils, 81 lavenders, 56 rosemarys, 109 thymes,” says www.wellsweep.com). Herbalists can teach you to keep your culinaries, medicinals and ornamentals healthy through the warm season. Be there Saturday 9:30 a.m. Bring $32 and let them know you’re coming, (908) 852-5390.

The rustic theme reminds us of friends in the 1970s who were fans of Southern rock. We can still hum some tunes.

The genre is not as big as it was, but two seminal bands are performing ‘round these here parts.

Friday at 8 p.m. the Marshall Tucker Band is at the Broadway Theatre in the Gloucester County town of Pitman, in New Jersey’s own Deep South. Call (856) 384-8381 or visit www.thebroadwaytheatre.org. Then Saturday, also at 8 p.m., Charlie Daniels plays the Community Theatre, Morristown. You know the drill: (973) 539-8008 or www.communitytheatrenj.org.

Step out of the country, to get ready for Prom Night; Neiman Marcus (www.neimanmarcus.com) at Garden State Plaza and Short Hills is hosting a Prom Shopping Show…check with each store for hours.

Finally, the kids will be hunting Easter eggs on Saturday, while you hunt bargains at the Liberty Premium Outlet in Flemington (www.premiumoutlet.com).

Give our regards to the Easter Bunny, and have a wonderful holiday!

Hunt Easter Eggs

You can do that a lot of places around the state. One of the largest egg hunts this Palm Sunday is at Seaside Heights.

More than 12,000 eggs filled with prizes from boardwalk merchants will be buried in the sand. Starts at 1 p.m. Call (732) 854-8000 or visit www.seasideheightstourism.com. Another Sunday egg hunt is at the Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center in Millville. Three-year-olds go at 10:30 a.m. and 4- to -8- year-olds at 11:30. Eggs aren’t the only fragile things at Wheaton, home to the Museum of American Glass. After the egg hunt stay to watch craftsmen create glass art, a South Jersey cultural tradition.

Ready the Garden

It’s been dormant all winter. Time to nurture it back. March 31 from 10 a.m. to noon Somerset County’s Leonard J. Buck Garden in Far Hills offers a workshop where you can learn about soil preparation, fertilizers and planting tips for perennials and annuals. $15 per person. Call (908) 234-2677 or click “ Information” and then “Calendar of Events” at www.somersetcountyparks.org.

Prep The Boat

Stop by the Wildwoods Boat and Fishing Show, all weekend long at the Wildwoods Convention Center. Plenty of new boats to admire, fishing gear, and used vessels as well, at the Montgomery Ave. Parking lot (www.gwcoc.org/boatshow).

Improve the Home

Planning to redo the kitchen? Thinking about redecoration? Get inspired at The Better Living Home Show at the Morristown Armory. Friday 3-9 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. Call (973) 224-2797 for more details. Admission is $8 but you can save two bucks if you print the coupon at www.jmkshows.com.

Watch Migration

The first birds of spring are starting to show up, and New Jersey Audubon is ready to show you where. Join the experts at Sandy Hook Saturday or Sunday at Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, both at 8:45 a.m. They’ll be looking for early migrating songbirds, waterfowl, waders and raptors. Or check to the Delaware Water Gap for woodcocks performing their annual spring nuptial dance. For details check the calendar at www.njaudubon.org.

Enjoy the new season, and the weekend!