West metro town briefs

Rotary wants to beat bicycle parade record Members of the Edina Morningside Rotary Club hope to set a new record for the world's largest bike parade. The first Edina Bike Parade is May 17, and 3,000 bicyclists are needed to set a record. The current Guinness World Record for the World's Largest Bike Parade is 2,152 riders.

Children 8 and up and adults are welcome. Riders will meet near Rosland Park in the southeast corner of Hwys. 100 and 62 and ride their bikes on a two-mile route around Cornelia Park.

The fee is $5, and advance registration is required. The money raised will help resupply food shelves in the community, install bike racks at local schools, and repair playgrounds damaged by war in the Middle East.

For information, visit www.edinabikeparade.com. Contact event co-chairwoman Annie Kennedy at anniebkennedy@comcast.net or 612-817-2323 or Steve May at maysteve@comcast.net or 612-850-5027.

Remodeling fair Plymouth, Maple Grove, Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Crystal, New Hope, Robbinsdale and Osseo will sponsor a free Northwest Suburban Remodeling Fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Crystal Community Center, 4800 Douglas Drive N., Crystal.

The fair features advice by 85 contractors and workshops on how to select a contractor, basement refinishing, kitchen remodeling, landscaping, bathroom projects, window replacement and kitchen cabinet refacing.

The American Institute of Architects will review house plans. Building inspectors will answer questions about city codes.

Shorewood Mayor Christine Lizee and Excelsior Mayor Nick Ruehl will host the gathering to hear presentations on the history of the building and to get public comment on whether the center should be sold.

The building, which is in Shorewood, is owned by Deephaven, Excelsior, Shorewood, Tonka Bay and Greenwood and has been operated by a nonprofit group called The Friends until last December.

Three of five members of the Shorewood City Council would like to buy the building from the other cities and sell it to the Lake Minnetonka Cable Commission, said Lizee, who does not favor sale of the building.

Celebration to honor poet Robert Burns Bagpipes and drums played by the Minnesota Police Pipe Band will kick off a free 250th anniversary celebration of the birth of Scottish poet Robert Burns on Thursday at the Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis.

The performance begins at 6:30 p.m., and seating is limited. Singer Ross Sutter will perform with the Night Scotsman and Highland and Scottish country dancers in the library auditorium, and Jack Barker will deliver the "Address to the Haggis," Burns' poetic salute to the famed Scottish meatloaf.

Libraries will get new phone numbers As part of the ongoing consolidation of the Minneapolis Public and Hennepin County library systems, phone numbers for Minneapolis libraries will change to Hennepin County Library's 952 area code numbers this year.

Roosevelt Library's phone number changed this week, to 952-847-2700. Libraries will change over throughout the year, in order of library size from smallest to largest. Customers who dial a library's old phone number will automatically be forwarded to the new number.

For up-to-date numbers, check the library website at www.hclib.org.

Networking event to focus on interviews "Landing that Key Interview" will be the topic at the Crossroads Career Network's next networking meeting 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Thursday at Grace Church, 9301 Eden Prairie Road, Eden Prairie.

Harry Urschel, owner of eExecutives Search Professionals, will lead the discussion, which is free and open to all.

Arboretum plans springtime classes The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum has springtime classes and events planned in the coming weeks. Here's a sampling:

• Using Native Plants in the Garden, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. April 25; $30 for arboretum members, $40 for non-members. Learn to use native plants in easy-to-care-for landscapes to provide year-round natural beauty.

• Creating a Landscape Plan for Your Home, 6:30- 8:30 p.m. Thursdays, April 16, 23, 30 and May 7, 14, 21. $110 for members, $130 for non-members.

• Color in the Garden, 10 a.m.-noon April 18, $20 for members, $30 for non-members. Learn how color can give your garden extra spark.

For more information on these and other classes and events at the arboretum, call 952-443-1422 or visit www.arboretum.umn.edu.

According to Bob Roepke, who chairs the Carver County foundation's board of directors, securing the $20,000 grant is a "great start, but our ultimate goal is to raise funds to create an organization that is sustainable for the long-term benefit of those living and working in Carver County."

The Community Foundation for Carver County is primarily a grant-maker and not a direct service provider. To learn more about it, go to www .carvercountyfoundation.org and click on "view our video," or contact Mary Langworthy at 952-250-5138 or via e-mail at mlangworthy@carvercounty foundation.org.