West metro arts and leisure briefs: JazzMN Orchestra tribute to Miles Davis

JazzMN Orchestra tribute to Miles DavisThe JazzMN Orchestra will present a tribute to jazz great Miles Davis at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Hopkins High School Performing Arts Center, 2400 Lindberg Drive, Minnetonka.

Davis, a prodigy on trumpet, played and produced music over six decades up to his death in 1991. His creativity is credited with influencing many jazz greats during that time.

Advance tickets are priced at $27 and $29 -- they'll be $2 more at the door -- with advance student tickets for $17. Student rush tickets will be available at the door for $10 with a current student ID.

Tickets are available at www.jazzmn.org/tickets or by calling 1-866-811-4111.

Arts center plans holiday show, saleThe Minnetonka Center for the Arts will sponsor its annual Arts of the Holidays Show and Sale beginning Thursday. It will feature works by 100 regional and local artists in glass and jewelry, paintings and drawings, sculpture, ceramics, photography and other media.

A free opening reception is scheduled for 6-9 p.m. Thursday at the arts center's Orono location, at 2240 North Shore Drive.

The show will continue through Dec. 23 during the arts center's regular gallery hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with expanded hours till 8 p.m. on Thursdays. The center is closed on Sundays.

A free opening reception for that exhibition is scheduled for 6-9 p.m. Dec. 1, and the show will continue through Dec. 23.

For more information, go to www.minnetonkaarts.org or call 952-473-7361, ext. 16.

Old Log Theater presents 'Cinderella'The Old Log Theater in Excelsior is presenting Cinderella now through Dec. 31 in a musical show adapted especially for the Old Log.

This is the 50th year the theater has presented a holiday children's show. More than 60 performances are planned, most of them scheduled for school groups, but performances for the general public also are scheduled on Saturdays beginning this weekend and continuing through Dec. 17.

A special performance also is planned for the Friday after Thanksgiving with an appearance by Santa Claus in the theater lobby from noon to 1 p.m. And afternoon performances are scheduled for 1 p.m. Dec. 26-31.

'Silent Night for PEEF' opens Friday at Stages"A Silent Night for PEEF," the holiday presentation of the Stages Theatre Company, opens Friday at the Hopkins Center for the Arts.

The play is based on the second book in the popular series in which PEEF the Christmas Bear is created from scraps of material provided by Santa's elves, and after spending his early life at the North pole, becomes a special gift to a lonely child.

Time passes, and Santa stops in to see how things are going for PEEF. What he finds surprises him: A torn, dirty toy that has lost its voice.

"A Silent Night for PEEF" will run through Dec. 26 at the Hopkins Center for the Arts, 1111 Mainstreet in Hopkins. A special presentation is also planned at the Mall of America in Bloomington on Dec. 6 for Toddler Tuesday, with sample performances at 10 and 11 a.m.

A book signing with author Tom Hegg, illustrator Warren Hanson and playwright Adam Hegg will follow the Dec. 9 evening performance at the Hopkins Center.

'Readers' theater' seeks participants"Books Alive," a "readers' theater" that uses theatrical oral readings to bring literature to life for children and adults, is inviting anyone interested in reading or writing to join.

The group, co-sponsored by the St. Louis Park Senior Program and Maggie's Farm Theater, meets from 6:30-8 p.m. on Mondays at the Lenox Community Center, 6715 Minnetonka Blvd. in St. Louis Park. The next meeting is Monday, Nov. 21.

For more information, call the Friends of the Arts at 952-928-6422.

Kavanessence concert planned for SundayKavanessence, featuring Venezuelan vocalist Vanessa Dembo and American musician and vocalist Mark Bloom, will appear in concert at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Sabes Jewish Community Center, 4330 Cedar Lake Road S. in St. Louis Park.

Kavanessence performs diverse styles of music: Israeli and Yiddish favorites, Venezuelan pop and jazz, and European, Latin and American standards.