West metro news briefs: Edina Film Festival will run Nov. 7-9

The third annual Edina Film Festival benefiting the Edina Art Center will be held Nov. 7 to 9 at Landmark's historic Edina Cinema. Films include Minnesota-made, indie, foreign, documentary, classic and shorts.

On Nov. 9, filmgoers are invited to dress up as their favorite characters in "The Big Lebowski," practice their favorite line and watch the movie. The festivities will continue at AMF Southtown Lanes with unlimited bowling, trivia contests and drink specials from 10:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.

For a full schedule of films and to buy tickets, go to http://tinyurl.com/lsl7y4z.

The Bloomington Federated Woman's Club is sponsoring a marketplace and style show on Saturday, Nov. 2, at Minnesota Valley Country Club, 6300 Auto Club Road.

The show will raise money for scholarships for students from Bloomington. Vendors will include Jockey Person to Person, Designs by Karen Severson and more.

Shopping starts at 10:30 with lunch and a style show afterward. Tickets are $27. For more information, go to www.bfwcminnesota.org.

The 14th annual gala to raise money for VEAP, which provides food and services to needy residents of Bloomington, Richfield and Edina, will be held Nov. 15 at the Radisson Blu hotel at the Mall of America.

Last year, VEAP provided more than $7 million in services to residents in the communities of Richfield, Bloomington and Edina on a $1.9 million budget. The organization relies on 800 volunteers and both financial and in-kind donations from local businesses, congregations, foundations, organizations, schools and individuals to run its programs.

Farmers markets, gardeners and residents in Bloomington, Edina and Richfield contributed 20,050 pounds of produce to VEAP this growing season. VEAP runs the biggest food shelf in the state.

To raise the visibility of the program, Bloomington Public Health ran a contest that asked people to guess how much produce would be donated. Bloomington city employee Barbara Pederson was the winner, guessing 20,000 pounds.

Some of the contributions came from farmers markets, where there were bins to take donations. Together the three markets donated 12,000 pounds of produce.

VEAP officials say demand for fresh fruit and vegetables is high at their food shelf, which is used by more than 8,000 people each month.

Roger Hoel was the organization's founder, and Donna Hoel has contributed thousands of hours to it over the years.

The event will take place from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Minnetonka Community Center Dining Room, 14600 Minnetonka Blvd. Community members and past and current participants of the association are encouraged to attend. Go to www.musicasso ciation.org or call 952-401-5954 for information.

Chaska Valley Family Theater will present "All Hands on Deck" at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8-9 and 2 p.m. Nov. 9-10 at the Chaska Community Center, 1661 Park Ridge Drive.

Reminiscent of the Bob Hope/USO road tours, the musical brings to the stage more than 40 songs. Tickets are $15 in advance, $17 at the door.

Starting Thanksgiving Day weekend, the troupe will present the musical "Annie" at Chanhassen High School's theater, 2200 Lyman Blvd. Shows will run from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1, then again from Dec. 5 to 8. Tickets are $17 for adults, $12 for students, or $15 for each member of groups of 10 or more.

The Plymouth Fire Department is collecting Halloween candy until Nov. 1 to send to deployed military personnel, children, veterans, first responders and wounded soldiers.

Residents can drop off candy at Plymouth City Hall, 3400 Plymouth Blvd., until 4:30 p.m. Nov. 1. Whole bags of candy can be donated; no Pixie Stix will be accepted. The candy will go to Hopkins-based Shamblott Family Dentistry, which ships it overseas through the organization Operation Gratitude.

Last year, area families from Plymouth and the Three Rivers Park District donated 30 pounds of candy. For more information, call Plymouth City Hall at 763-509-5000.

Plymouth Community Theater will start performances next month of the comedy, "Crosswords."

The play, written by resident Heidi FitzGerald, is put on by the Plymouth Arts Council. Performances will be Nov. 14 to 17, with shows at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets are $15 in advance or $18 at the door. A 20 percent discount is available for groups of five or more.

To buy tickets, call 763-509-5200 or 763-509-5280. More details are at www.plymouthartscouncil.org.

A program aimed at increasing awareness among Jewish women about their elevated risk of carrying a cancer-linked gene mutation will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10, at Temple Israel, 2324 Emerson Av. S.

The program, called "Knowing Saves Lives," is part of a national campaign. A panel of experts that will include doctors, genetic counselors and carriers of the so-called BRCA gene mutation will discuss the heightened risk, things to watch for and options for those who carry the gene.