CHANHASSEN

Arboretum Auxiliary hosts Holiday SaleThe Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Auxiliary's Holiday Sale is planned for Nov. 30 through Dec. 2, featuring an array of handmade gifts and decorations.

Shoppers will be able to choose from dried arrangements, wreaths, potpourri, hand-knitted items, tree ornaments and other arts.

All proceeds directly benefit the Arboretum.

Sale hours are noon-3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30; 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1; and 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2.

A preview night is planned for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 29, with wine and hors d'oeuvres. Tickets are $25 and can be reserves at www.arboretum.umn.edu/auxiliary.aspx or by calling 612-625-9865.

Santa Claus also will stop by the Arboretum from 10 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 2 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday in the Visitor Center balcony area. A live 20-foot poinsettia tree and holiday-themed seed sculptures will decorate the Great Hall.

Edina

Dance studio celebrates 50th yearThe Barbi Lee Dance Studio in Edina is celebrating its 50th year with its 24th annual presentation of "The Children's Nutcracker" at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1 and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2, at Richfield Middle School, 7400 Oliver Av. S.

The studio has been doing this show so long that the students who once played the littlest dolls are now taking the lead roles. Students come from Edina, Richfield, Bloomington, Eden Prairie, South Minneapolis and south of the river.

BLOOMINGTON

Civic Theatre will premiere 'Striking 12'"Striking 12," a Bloomington Civic Theatre production, will be presented Nov. 30 through Dec. 16, in the Black Box Theater at the Bloomington Center for the Arts, 1800 W. Old Shakopee Road in Bloomington.

"Striking 12" is a "concert-with-a-story," with actors playing musical instruments. It weaves a modern-day New Year's Eve into Hans Christian Andersen's classic fable "The Little Match Girl." At the heart of the show is the message to reach past the materialism of the holiday season to connect with your neighbors and build your community.

Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, Dec. 5-8 and Dec. 12-15. Matinees are scheduled at 2 p.m. Dec. 2, Dec. 9 and Dec. 16.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and $15 for age 25 and under. Call the box office at 952-563-8575 or go to btacmn.org.

CHANHASSEN

'Sneak Peek' at dinner theatre showThe Chanhassen Dinner Theatre's cast of "Our Hometown Christmas Pageant" will perform musical excerpts from the show at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

The show is the tale of five people who write a Christmas pageant only to learn they have lost their usual church performance space to a Norwegian lefse contest.

It will be presented through Dec. 31 at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre; for more information, go to www.chanhassentheatres.com.

STAFF REPORTS