West metro town briefs

Kim Crockett, chief operating officer of the Center of the American Experiment, a Minnesota think tank, will speak to the Republican Seniors of Minnesota on Tuesday, March 3. Her topic will be "What We Can Expect for the Future of Public Pensions (and Debt)."

The Republican Seniors of Minnesota meet on the first Tuesday of each month at Poor Richard's Commonhouse, 8301 Normandale Blvd. Each gathering starts at 10 a.m. with a business meeting and coffee, followed by a guest speaker and lunch.

For more information, call 952-828-1943 or e-mail repseniorsmn@gmail.com.

The Northern Gael musical group will play Scottish and Irish music at a concert at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 8, at Bloomington Old Town Hall.

The free concert is sponsored by the Bloomington Historical Society. Northern Gael is made up of Laura MacKenzie, Danielle Enblom and Ross Sutter.

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum will host the Mill City Farmers Market from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 7, in the Oswald Visitor Center. Shoppers can choose from an abundance of fresh produce, freshly milled grains and flours, preserves, artisan cheeses, pastured meats, beautifully crafted ceramics, kitchen utensils and more.

For a full list of vendors, go to millcityfarmersmarket.org.

The exhibition, in the Oswald Visitor Center's Great Hall, will feature more than 50 sculptures ranging in size from tabletop pieces to large, free-standing creations in a range of media from bronze to welded steel to wood and ceramic. A variety of artistic styles — from contemporary to tradition, representational to abstract — will be featured.

The exhibition is open to the public and free with arboretum gate admission.

Eden Prairie's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is seeking volunteers for its new Cultural Services Unit (CSU).

The group will represent various ethnic and cultural groups and assist CERT with outreach efforts during a disaster or communitywide emergency.

About 20 community members will be selected; volunteers must attend six training sessions in April and May.

The ICA Food Shelf held its "Sizzle for a Cause" fundraiser Feb. 19.

The event, modeled after the Food Network's "Chopped" program, featured head chefs from top area restaurants competing for the Golden Cleaver.

All proceeds from the event, held in Excelsior, went to support the west metro-based ICA Food Shelf.

For more information on the organization, go to icafoodshelf.org.

The Kroening Interpretive Center in Minneapolis will host a "Weather Forecasting for Adults" class from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Feb. 28.

Go to threeriversparks.org/events/W/weather-forecasting-for-adults.aspx for information.

When the Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion School wraps up its annual chess tournament on Saturday, trophy winners will get their awards from one of the best players in the world: grand master Wesley So.

On top of that, they'll get a chance to play So the following week.

The immersion school, located in New Hope, has one of the largest school chess clubs in the Twin Cities, with 165 members, according to the Robbinsdale school district.

The tournament will be divided into two groups — kindergarten through second grade and grades 3-5 — and trophies will go to the top five players in each.