With the wind in their hair and the concentration of a race car driver, kids ages 7 to 17 will barrel down Hanover Street hill in cars on May 19 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. They won't have to battle the usual traffic. The road will closed for the Palo Alto Elks Silicon Valley Soap Box Derby.

The annual race is a big local draw and the winner in each division will represent Silicon Valley in the All American Soap Box Derby World Championship on July 21 in Akron, Ohio. All participants receive trophies, with larger awards for first- through eighth-place winners in the Stock and Super Stock categories.

Stock and Super Stock car drivers are still needed, event organizers said. They have cars with sponsors and people ready to help families with cars, but they need drivers ages 7 through 17.

"This is a great family-bonding project. Kids from all over the Bay Area feel an amazing sense of pride when they put together their car with an adult family member or friend, and then drive their own car. The kids involved with our group are all friendly, and even though everyone is competing against each other, everyone freely shares advice, wishes each other good luck before each race, and the kids can usually be found playing with each other when it's not their turn to go down the hill," Sandy Masnaghetti, a race organizer, said.

A build clinic takes place May 12 in San Jose from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., where kids, under the supervision of their adult family member or friend, will take cars owned by the nonprofit Silicon Valley Soap Box Derby and re-work them to fit the driver. Other experienced kids and adults will be on hand to offer help and guidance. Once the car fits the driver and the car has been inspected for safety, racers will go to driver school and have test rides. Adults are needed to help volunteer during the actual race.

To learn more, visit www.svsbd.com. A video of a race can be viewed at www.youtube.com. There is a $35 registration fee.

Parents of children who want to take part in the race can contact Sandy Masnaghetti at sandymaz@sbcglobal.net.

The 90th annual May Fete Parade will be celebrated in Palo Alto Saturday, May 5, with the frivolous theme of "Palo Alto at Play." The parade -- featuring an array of group floats, musicians, martial-arts demonstrations and costumed characters -- will begin at 10 a.m. at the corner of University Avenue and Emerson Street.

Paraders will march down University and end at Heritage Park, culminating with a new May Fete Fair that will include children's activities, music and dance performances, food and more. The fair, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., is being sponsored by Peninsula Pediatric Dentistry, Mid Peninsula Orthodontics and Jefunira Camp, and hosted by the Palo Alto Recreation Foundation and the Kiwanis Club of Palo Alto.

"For 90 years Palo Altans have been celebrating the children and youth of our community and the flower-scented season of spring at the annual May Fete Parade; we know how to play and have fun," city officials stated in a press release.

Parade participants include the Palo Alto High School Viking Pep Band, Sparkles the Clown, All Star Kung Fu, Palo Alto Children's Theatre and Grand Marshal Bob Klein, among many others.

Automobile enthusiasts can stop by the Museum of American Heritage (across the street from Heritage Park) from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for the museum's "Vintage Vehicle and Family Fun Day," which will include children's activities and a showcase of vintage vehicles.

More information about the May Fete Parade is available at www.cityofpaloalto.org/recreation.

A twelve-hour long mini-festival of technology and art is landing on High Street later this month.

The event, the Super Happy Block Party Hackathon, will see the doors of three big-name tech startups on High Street open its doors to hackers: Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors, Talenthouse, and Institute for the Future.

These three “hackspaces” will complement a diverse lineup of activities, including painting, music and other artistic performances.

The festivities will take place March 31, 2012 from 1 p.m. – 1 a.m. on High Street in Downtown Palo Alto.

“We believe that innovation happens when people of diverse backgrounds connect,” according to the Super Happy Block Party website. “We have designed this place and this space for magic to happen and for innovation to become accessible to all. Hacker, artist and local community cross-pollination is rare, but we think it should happen every day. We are all Makers, Creators and Innovators!”

In a hilarious promotional video starring Palo Alto Mayor Yiaway Yeh, an ominous voice declares that on “March 31^st, the city belongs to the nerds.”

High Street will be blocked off between University and Hamilton, and the event will also feature food trucks, parking spaces dedicated to local startups, and a “Hack the Future” tent where kids can learn to code.

“We believe this is a new and categorically different approach to innovation,” said Dror Berman, Founding Managing Director of Innovation Endeavors, in a statement Tuesday. “Super Happy Block Party Hackathon will be an innovation playground for all to enjoy. This is a well-thought out space and place designed to foster new forms of innovation and interaction.”

“Super Happy Block Party Hackathon is the prototype for the conversation around cities of the future,” said Mayor Yeh. “Palo Alto has long been associated with world-class innovation. Hackers and artists play a central role in this dynamic economy that is destined for even greater greatness. Some of the most influential and innovative companies were born and started up on these streets. Super Happy Block Party is the first of many innovative manifestations to come from Palo Alto.”

Other highlights of the event include a Day Star Yurt with a Silent Disco with a live DJ inside; a collection of LED strip lights spread out throughout the block for developers to hack; and a conglomeration of high-tech personalities and founders.

Want to go? RSVP here.

Throughout the San Francisco Peninsula, Patch polled readers to find the best Italian restaurants in our cities and neighborhoods. After five days of voting, the winners have been selected. Check the list below to find some wonderful places to find pasta and pizza just like Nonna used to make, and let us know what you think by commenting. 

Next week, come back to vote on your favorite kid's birthday party venue!

Belmont: Vivace, 1910 Ralston Ave.

Burlingame: Stella Alpina Osteria, 401 Primrose Road

Foster City: Chalet Ticino, 1058 Shell Blvd. #C

Half Moon Bay: It's Italia, 401 Main St.

Menlo Park: Cedro Ristorante Italiano, 1010 El Camino Real

Millbrae: Zorba's Pizza, 1567 El Camino Real

Pacifica: Luigi's Italian Restaurant, 950 Linda Mar Blvd.

Palo Alto: Osteria, 247 Hamilton Ave.

Redwood City: Vino Santo Bistro, 2030 Broadway St.

San Bruno,West Coast Cafe, 466 San Mateo Ave.

San Carlos, 888, 888 Laurel St.

San Mateo, Buon Appetito Italian Pizzeria, 69 37th Ave.

South San Francisco: Di Napoli Ristorante & Pizzeria, 202 Grand Ave.

Palo Alto seems to be a new magnet for fast, healthy and casual food. On the heels of instant-hit LYFE Kitchen comes a new, Asian offering from the executive chef at Slanted Door: Asian Box.

Opening today at 5 p.m. at Town & Country Village, Asian Box is inspired by Asian street food carts, showcasing traditional recipes made with ingredients sourced locally.

Executive Chef Grace Nguyen brings the bright and flavorful tastes of Southeast Asia to a Western locavore clientele, and has done so without any gluten on the menu.

CEO Frank Klein’s vision was to create a dining experience that is “fun, exciting, healthy, and quickly dtam sang, or made to order,” according to an announcement Thursday. Klein will open two more Asian Box locations in the Bay Area in 2012.

“I love Asian cuisine but have always found it challenging to find places offering fresh and authentic menus, especially in the fast-casual sector,” said Klein. “Asian Box evolved from the idea of the kind of restaurant I’d want to eat at and introduce to my family and friends.”

The restaurant’s slogan, “What’s in Your Box?” refers both to the compostable packaging used to serve the food and to the importance, they say, of knowing how the food got to your plate.

“It doesn’t matter if you are in a fine-dining restaurant or a grab-and-go shop,” Klein said. “More and more, people want to know where their food comes from and how it’s being prepared.”

Grace Nguyen’s menu was influenced by her Vietnamese heritage and refined with the help of Chad Newton, Culinary Director for FK Restaurants & Hospitality, which owns Asian Box.

“Quickly served food remains in high demand, but there has been a shift in diner preferences.  They want food that’s raised responsibly, sourced locally and prepared fresh,” Nguyen said. Authenticity is also an important aspect for Nguyen, who learned traditional cooking methods and recipes from her Vietnamese grandmother.

Menu items start at $6.95, and guests create their own “box” by selected from a number of ingredients, similar to the process at Sprout.

The meal starts with a choice of Asian Vegetable Salad, Rice Noodles with Mushroom Broth, Brown Rice or White Rice. Then you add a main protein, such as Lemongrass Marinated Pork, Garlic and Soy Glazed Beef, or Coconut Curry Tofu.

Another layer of selections could include wok vegetables, crispy shallots, fresh jalapeño, and more than a dozen other toppings, plus a housemade sauce, such as the Asian Box Tamarind Vinaigrette, Asian Street Dust—a blend of exotic herbs and spices—or the “not for the timid” HotBoxIt sauce, a fiery blend of peppers, peppercorns and chili oils.

Asian Box is the latest addition to Town & Country, where Silicon Valley venture capitalists would not have far to drive.

“The partners chose Palo Alto as the first location for many reasons,” says Klein. “The interest by Venture Capitalists in the concept showed that we had struck a chord. The fast-casual segment is on fire and we felt that Palo Alto, the birthplace of so many creative concepts and the center for education and technology, was the right environment in which to change the way people think about Asian food in the U.S.”

Asian Box was designed in partnership with Rubber Design, and is currently pursuing green restaurant certification from the Green Restaurant Association.

1. PALO ALTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Where/When: Different locations, Palo Alto, Thursday through Sunday

Why go: Check out new forms of storytelling in film and media, including 20 features, 25 shorts and 30 talks, panels and workshops. Check out the full schedule here.

Price: varies

2. 11th ANNUAL PANCAKE BREAKFAST

Where/When: Menlo Park Fire District Headquarters, 300 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park; Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Why go: The Junior League of Palo Alto, the Menlo Park Fire District, and the Stanford Park Hotel will be pancakes & eggs to benefit the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation. Wake up and smell the bacon!

Price: Donations at the door

3. COMPLETE DIET MINI-FARMING

Where/When: Common Ground Organic Garden Supply & Education Center 559 College Ave, Palo Alto; Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Why go: What do you need to grow to make a complete diet? This workshop looks into what fruits, veggies, and foods are necessary to grow together in order to make for a highly productive, sustainable garden!

Price: $31

4. "SISTER CITIES" THEATRE

Where/When: Dragon Productions Theatre Company, 535 Alma St, Palo Alto; Saturday 8 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m.
Why go: This "comic but heartfelt" production is about four sisters with four different fathers who reunite after their mother's death. Written by Colette Freedman.
Price: $30

5. JAZZ PIANO PERFORMANCE

Where/When: Mountain View Center for The Performing Arts 500 Castro St, Mountain View; Sunday 4:30 to 6 p.m.

Why go: Jazz pianist Tigran Hamasyan, who won the Thelonius Monk International Jazz Piano Competition at age 19, will perform as part of a qunitet.

Price: $50