Twin Cities north metro town briefs

Coon Rapids is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Snow Flake Days with a three-week flurry of events starting this week. Activities include a medallion hunt, snow sculpture contest, sock hop, snow softball tournament and youth ice fishing tournament.

The Jaycees started the Coon Rapids Snowflake Days in 1964. Most cities had summer celebrations, so community leaders decided to create a winter event. It grew and in 1968 the nonprofit Snowflake Association was created to plan and manage the event.

Events kick off this week with the Mayor's Cup Simulated Gold Tourney at Bunker Hills Golf Course on Thursday, the Coon Rapids History Trivia Contest starting Friday and kids medallion hunt at Al Flynn Park Saturday. Events run through Feb. 16.

For a complete list, go to, http://coonrapidssnowflakedays.weebly.com/

The 16th annual North Metro Home and Garden Show will be held from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at the National Sports Center, 1740 105th Av. NE, Blaine. Admission is free.

Several dozen vendors will answer questions and provide ideas for home and lawn improvement projects, and door prizes will be awarded. The cities of Blaine, Fridley and Mounds View will host the event.

For more information, go to www.northmetrohomeandgar den.com.

The event offers a variety of free classes and sessions on healthy lifestyle habits as well as swimming in the school pool. It will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Attendees can get flu and pneumonia vaccinations and blood pressure or cholesterol screenings.

For a complete list of activities and exhibitors, visit http://tinyurl.com/keh54ks.

Also on Saturday at Roose­velt Middle School, children, teens and adults are invited to give a book/take a book. The book exchange begins at 11:30 a.m. Gently used books and DVDs can be dropped off from 9:30-11 a.m.

Children's, teen and adult fiction and nonfiction books are welcome, but no textbooks, magazines, or travel guides.

Activities include hayrides, a bonfire, a medallion hunt with a $100 cash prize, and sled dog demonstrations, weather permitting. Indoor activities at the community center, 6085 7th St. NE., include a children's dance, carnival games, refreshments and bingo.

All activities are free. Food and refreshments will be available for purchase. For further information contact Fridley Parks and Recreation at 763-572-3570.

Two development groups will present preliminary concepts for a portion of New Hope's City Center when the City Council meets Wednesday, Jan. 22. The area involved is the 15-acre site at 4200-4300 Xylon Av. N. that formerly housed a Kmart and a Wells Fargo drive-through. The city bought it in 2012 and demolished the structures.

Making presentations at the council meeting will be Anderson Cos./Beard Group and Amcon. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at New Hope City Hall, 4401 Xylon Av. N. The meeting also will be broadcast live on Comcast Ch. 16 in New Hope.

The annual Winter White-Out Dance for fifth-, sixth- and seventh-graders will take place from 7 to 9:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 24, at the Crystal Community Center. The event will include music and prizes, and kids are encouraged to "wear as much white as they can to help create a cool atmosphere."

The annual Mayors' Trail Ride — a snowmobile outing led by the mayors of Andover, Anoka, Nowthen, Oak Grove, Ramsey and St. Francis — will take place Saturday, Feb. 1.

The event will start at the Anoka County Fairgrounds (3200 St. Francis Blvd., Anoka) with rider registration at 10 a.m. After that, Ramsey Police Chief Jim Way will direct the group for the ride. The excursion will wrap up with a get-together at McDuff's Eatery and Pub in Ramsey at 3 p.m.

The cost is $10 per person if you preregister and $20 on the day of the event.

For information, go to http://tinyurl.com/ka9gnu8 or call the Anoka Area Chamber of Commerce at 763-421-7130.

Springbrook Nature Center will hold the first of its "Discovery Dinners" for adult nature lovers on Saturday, Jan. 25. The program will start at 5:30 p.m. and features a presentation on "Raptors in Minnesota" followed by a casual catered meal.

• "An Evening with Teddy Roosevelt, America's First Conservation President," Feb. 22;

• "Moths and Butterflies of Minnesota," on March 29.

Tickets are $25 each; multiple tickets are $22.50 each. Preregistration is required. For further information, call 763-572-3588.

Staff reports