West metro town briefs

Foundation fundraiser The Eden Prairie Foundation will host its annual fundraising ball on March 14 at the Minneapolis Marriott Southwest in Minnetonka.

Tickets for the evening are $135 or $75 and may be claimed as a tax-deductible donation.

The evening will include a social hour, silent auction, dinner, a live auction, raffle and dancing to music of the Bruce A. Henry Band.

In the past, grants from the proceeds have gone to Meals on Wheels, the Eden Prairie Veteran's Memorial, the Eden Prairie Art Center, Teens Alone, Eden Prairie Fire Department and other nonprofit organizations.

For more information, to make a donation or to volunteer at the event, contact Ann Hanson at 612-840-9952 or Lisa Toomey at 952-221-2123. The foundation website is edenprairiefoundation.org.

City Council will hold town hall meeting The Edina City Council will hold its first town hall meeting at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The meeting will be in the council chambers of Edina City Hall, 4801 W. 50th St. Residents can ask the mayor and council members questions and offer opinions about city issues. The meeting also will be broadcast on Channel 16 in Edina, with the video available online later in the week.

The council plans to hold another town hall meeting later in the year.

Excelsior, Greenwood, Long Lake, Minnetonka Beach, Mound, Orono, St. Bonifacius, Spring Park, Tonka Bay and Wayzata lie entirely within the district. Deephaven, Edina, Golden Valley, Hopkins, Independence, Maple Plain, Medina, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, Minnetrista, Plymouth, Richfield, St. Louis Park, Shorewood and Woodland lie partially within the district.

The two openings are due to the end of terms of office for Jeffrey Casale and Lee Keeley. Both are seeking reappointment. Board members serve three-year terms.

Meetings are held the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at 6:45 p.m. at the Minnetonka City Hall. District work sessions are held on the third Thursday of each month at the district office in Deephaven.

The deadline for applications is Feb. 12, with interviews to follow.

For more information or to receive an application, contact Yolanda McCrary by phone at 612-348-3257, by mail at A2400 Government Center, 300 S. 6th St., Minneapolis, MN 55487, or get an application on the Hennepin County website -- hennepin.us -- under "Your county government/Commissioners/Advisory boards."

The event will begin at the Lenox Center, 6715 Minnetonka Blvd., St. Louis Park, and participants will travel by bus to the college. They will have a gourmet lunch and entertainment provided by vocalist Bob Clark, with Mary Kopet on keyboard, presenting "Touching Hearts."

Lunch choices will include walleye with potatoes or cream chicken in a pastry shell along with vegetables, chocolate raspberry torte and a beverage.

Cost is $29 or $34. Registration deadline is Jan. 27. Call 925-928-6444 or go to www.slpseniors.org.

Park District activities Three Rivers Park District has a wide range of wintertime events underway at its parks and facilities in the west metro. Here's a sampling:

• Kits & Cubs: Snowshoes & Flakes. 10 a.m.-noon Jan. 28, Eastman Nature Center, Elm Creek Park reserve, Dayton. Drop off your kids for a snowshoe adventure in the woods creating snow sculptures and snow angels and catching snowflakes on the tongue. They'll warm up afterward with cocoa, a treat and a story. $7. Ages 4 to 5. Reservations required. Call 763-559-6700.

• Winter on the Farm. 7-11 a.m. Jan. 31 at Gale Woods Farm in Minnetrista. Get moving early on a cold winter's morn and help out with the farm chores, collect the eggs, cook them up for your own farm breakfast, and enjoy them with corn muffins and bacon. Make a craft from farm-grown sheep's wool and then enjoy hiking, snowshoeing or sledding. $12 per person, $6 for ages 3-12. Reservations required. Call 763-559-6700.

For more information on these and dozens of other events going on in the Three Rivers Park District, go to www.threeriversparks.org.

Lions Club 5K The Hamel Lions Club's 6th annual "Freeze Your Buns Run" is scheduled for Feb. 1 at the Hamel Community Center, 3200 Mill St.

The 2009 5K run and walk will begin at 9:45 a.m. Proceeds from the event will go to the Donnie DesLauriers Scholarship Fund.

Entry fee is $20 in advance or $25 on the day of the run. A pancake breakfast from 7:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. is included with registration along with a "Freeze Your Buns Run" long-sleeve shirt. For more information, go to www.hamellions.org.

"Got Local?" is an attempt at networking local farmers and local chefs to promote the "homegrown food" movement. Farmers interested in getting their products into Twin Cities restaurants, food buyers seeking sources for local organic fare and food industry professionals interested in learning more about homegrown foods are encouraged to attend.

The event is co-sponsored by Renewing the Countryside, a nonprofit rural sustainability organization, and the Arboretum. To register, call Renewing the Countryside at 612-871-1541.

Admission is $10, but free for members of the Arboretum and these organizations: Green Routes, Minnesota Grown, Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA).

Help for caregivers Health and Wellness Lectures sponsored by NORC (Nurturing Our Retired Citizens) this winter will be aimed at helping family and friends who are caregivers to help their loved ones.

"The Caregiver Journey" is scheduled for 2:30-3:30 p.m. today, offering information on the rights of people who need care and how to advocate on their behalf.

Both lectures are free and will be held at Knollwood Place Apartments, 3630 Phillips Pkwy., St. Louis Park. No pre-registration is necessary.

For more information, contact Joy Gordon, NORC Community Liaison, at 952-542-4819.