Arts briefs: New sponsors save June's big bicycle race

The big annual bike event for which Stillwater serves as grand finale has been saved.

Prospects for the 17th annual North Star Bicycle Festival, to take place June 13-21, had "looked bleak until two new major sponsors stepped forward," organizers said. Now, the event will be presented by North Memorial Health Care and PreferredOne.

The festival includes the North Star Grand Prix pro stage race June 17-21 in St. Paul, Cannon Falls, Minneapolis and Stillwater, as well as Menomonie, Wis.

Organizers speak of the Menomonie and Stillwater stages as "an opportunity to visit some of the most beautiful terrain in the Midwest."

Stillwater hosts the Sunday finale on June 21. It features a 24-degree climb up Chilkoot Hill — the steepest in North American racing. The route contains a series of high-speed, downhill 90-degree turns.

For maps, event schedules and visitor information on each host city, visit www.northstarbicyclefestival.com.

The 2014 historical thriller 'The Imitation Game" is the next free movie at the Lake Elmo library. It will be shown on May 14 at 6 p.m.

A guided bird-watching hike and a live animal demo are among the features of "Experience Spring," which will take place May 16 from 7 a.m. to noon at Sunfish Lake Park in Lake Elmo.

Organized by naturalist Judith Blackford, the day includes:

• 7 to 10 a.m., guided bird-watching hike for those 16 years and older);

• 10 a.m. to noon: Interpretive nature hike (woods, ponds, prairies)

Live animal demonstrations will be presented by the Warner Nature Center. The day ends with a bring-your-own picnic lunch.

Another spring celebration coming up is the Shepherd's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival, set for May 16 and 17 at the Washington County Fairgrounds, just east of Lake Elmo.

Organizers describe it as Minnesota's premier event for wool and sheep lovers. It includes roughly 130 vendors, 35 classes, 25 demonstrations and exhibits, plus a firsthand look at a variety of sheep breeds.

The 18th annual event will be open Saturday, May 16, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, May 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the county fairgrounds. Admission is $5 at the door.

More information is at www.ShepherdsHarvestFestival.org

Fresh brook trout are among the offerings at MillStream Day on May 17, from noon to 4 p.m. in Burris Park, near the Village Center in Marine on St. Croix.

Ribbon weaving of the maypole is scheduled for 2 p.m., and Morris Dancers do their thing all day. There's live music and exhibits on etymology, fly tying, history, and other topics.

The East Metro Symphony Orchestra ends its 2014-15 season with a concert for families featuring Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade: Enchanting Stories from Arabian Nights."

The concert is scheduled for May 17 at 2 p.m. at St. Mark's Lutheran Church, 2499 Helen St., North St. Paul.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for seniors; 18 and under are free.

The stories take you from adventuresome sea voyages with Sinbad the Sailor to a quest by a prince to travel the world until he finds the beloved princess whose likeness he found in a book.