Final Vermillion Falls tour this season is Oct. 1

The LeDuc Historic Estate is offering its last Vermillion Falls walking tour of the season at 10 a.m. Oct. 1, leaving from the estate at 1629 Vermillion St. in Hastings.

The tour takes visitors to the falls just blocks away and covers how the Vermillion River and the milling industry shaped Hastings' history.

Tour rates are $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and military, and $3 for students, or purchase a ticket for the tour plus a visit to the estate for $10 for adults.

Reservations are required. Call 651-437-7055 or e-mail Leduc@co.dakota.mn.us/.

Art festival ends todayThe ninth annual Lakeville Art Festival, which features more than 60 artists this year, wraps up today with exhibits from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the grounds of the Lakeville Area Arts Center at 20965 Holyoke Av.

Literary artist Rachel Dillon will be demonstrating a dot painting technique she uses in the illustrations of her children's book about endangered animals. Performing artists also will be appearing, and there will be food and kids' activities, artist demonstrations and community art projects.

Admission is free. For more, go to www.lakevilleartfestival.org or call 952-985-4640.

The free family event will feature a choice of rides: 6,10 or 20 miles. Registration and a short program are planned from 9 to 10 a.m., with rides beginning at 10. A "Sustainability Fair" also will run from 9 a.m. to noon at the park, with music provided by the band Chickpea and Garbanzo.

A musical tribute to community gardeningCelebrate the harvest season with an operetta in a community garden.

The gardens at International Outreach Church, 1512 Woodhill Road in Burnsville, will host "Alcina's Island: A Picnic Operetta" at 4 p.m. today. The event is free and open to the public.

The operetta, performed by Mixed Precipitation, is a reimagining of George Frideric Handel's 1735 opera "Alcina," with the garden as a truck stop along an American highway, sorceresses Alcina and Morgana as truck stop waitresses, and a combination of outlaw country and trucker songs and Handel's classic baroque. There also will be a sampling menu of locally sourced foods, created to compliment the performance.

More information about the operetta is available online at www.mixedprecipitation.org, and more about the community gardens can be found at www.woodhillurban ag.org.