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🍨 Table manners, theater magic, traffic impacts, and fundraiser pie

🍨 Table manners, theater magic, traffic impacts, and fundraiser pie

Dustin Hart
February 18, 2026

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Good day, Wayzata. This is Wayzata Scoop: the local newsletter that gets you through winter's grand finale. Almost there, people.

In today’s Scoop:

Hotel Landing Hosts 32nd Year of Wayzata Cotillion (Grades 4-8) 🍽️
Good Works Theater Celebrates 25 Years with Free Mary Poppins Production 🎭
Highway 12 Work Starts April: Attend Feb. 19 Meeting for Traffic Impact Details 🛣️
Pie Day Returns: $5 Slices Fund Plymouth's 55+ Programming 🥧

Let’s nose-dive on in.

— Dustin Hart

📢 TALK OF THE TOWN

Wayzata Cotillion Returns: Where 4th-8th Graders Learn to Navigate Formal Dinners

When a program promises to give kids "the tools to succeed in any room they walk into for the rest of their life," that's either ambitious life skills training or setting expectations really high for table manners. Probably somewhere in between.

The 32nd Annual Wayzata Cotillion runs Sundays from March 8 through May 17 at Hotel Landing (925 Lake Street East, Wayzata), designed for students in grades 4-5 and 6-8. JDW Cotillions teaches social skills for first impressions, table manners and dining etiquette, and face-to-face communication skills to build confidence – basically everything that smartphones have made optional but formal dinners still require.

The multi-session program culminates in a Final Showcase & Parents Night on May 17, where parents can actually take photos and videos (only at the showcase – classes themselves are media-free). Dress code is formal attire required, with young ladies needing short white gloves, which feels distinctly old-school but that's kind of the point of cotillion.

Registration open at cotillion.com/jdw/registrationstep2/MN#wayzata. The premise: structured classes that build lifelong confidence, social skills, and leadership through learning etiquette that doesn't involve screens. Whether your kid needs polish for future networking events or you just want them to know which fork is which, cotillion delivers the curriculum.

Ten weeks of Sunday evenings, one showcase finale, skills that theoretically last a lifetime. Sometimes traditional works.

Sundays March 8-May 17 at Hotel Landing. Register at cotillion.com. Questions: [email protected] or 303-789-1447.

Good Works Theater's Mary Poppins: 25 Years of Free Community Productions

When a community theater celebrates its 25th year by staging Mary Poppins with free performances, disability-friendly shows, and ASL interpretation, that's "practically perfect in every way" in more than just the obvious reference.

Good Works Community Theater presents Mary Poppins The Broadway Musical March 11-15 at Wayzata Community Church (125 Wayzata Blvd E, Wayzata), continuing their quarter-century tradition of free performances for the community. Ticket reservations required but zero cost – it's the kind of theater access that removes financial barriers while maintaining production quality.

The classic plot: England 1910, Bert introduces the troubled Banks family, young Jane and Michael have terrorized previous nannies, Mary Poppins arrives mysteriously to teach them how to value each other and remember what love and community actually mean. Chimney-sweeping rooftop traversals, colorful characters, fantastical magical world – basically everything that makes Mary Poppins a "jolly holiday" for entire families.

Performance schedule runs Wednesday-Sunday with six shows total, including Saturday March 14 at 2 p.m. as a disability-friendly performance with ASL interpretation. That's intentional accessibility built into the run, not just an afterthought matinee.

Twenty-five years of bringing "Good Works" to the community through theater that lives up to its middle name. ALL are welcome – they capitalize it for emphasis, and they mean it.

March 11-15, multiple showtimes.

Free with ticket reservation at wayzatacommunitychurch.org/good-works-community-theater.

Questions: Autumn Toussaint, 612-251-3396.

Highway 12 Construction Meeting: Where MnDOT Explains April-Fall Road Work

When major highway construction is about to disrupt your commute for six months, showing up to the public meeting where they explain the plan seems like minimum due diligence.

MnDOT's hosting an in-person public meeting Thursday, Feb. 19 from 5-7 p.m. at Wayzata City Hall Community Room (600 Rice St. East) to detail Highway 12 construction between Wayzata and Minnetonka. The work starts in April, finishes in fall, and will definitely impact traffic patterns – which is why the project team is doing the full presentation, Q&A, and email update sign-up process now rather than just posting signs and hoping for the best.

Short presentation kicks off at 5 p.m., covering project overview, traffic impacts, and construction schedule. Then Q&A for people who have specific concerns about their particular commute routes or business access. It's the kind of public engagement that only works if actual public shows up to engage.

Project webpage at dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/hwy12wayzata-minnetonka has additional information and email update registration, but the meeting offers direct access to the people planning the work. Questions get answered in real-time rather than through submitted forms that may or may not get responses.

Six months of construction, one evening to understand what's happening and why. February 19 attendance might save significant frustration later.

Thursday, Feb. 19, 5-7 p.m. at Wayzata City Hall Community Room (600 Rice St. East).

Plymouth's Pie Day: Where $5 Buys Dessert and Supports Senior Programming

When freshly baked pie with ice cream costs $5 and the money funds senior programming, that's either a really good deal or really underpriced pie. Either way, community wins.

Plymouth's annual Pie Day fundraiser hits Friday, March 6 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Plymouth Community Center (14800 34th Ave. N), serving slices of cherry, apple, wildberry (no sugar added), lemon meringue, coconut cream, banana cream, and French silk pie with ice cream. Five dollars per slice with ice cream cup, or $25 for a whole pie with six ice cream cups. No presale orders – you show up, you buy pie, transaction complete.

All money raised supports programming for seniors/active adults ages 55 and older, which means your dessert habit directly funds community services. Plus the Plymouth Rockers Performing Senior Chorus takes the stage at 11 a.m., so you get live entertainment with your pie consumption. That's solid value proposition for a Friday late morning.

Three hours, seven pie varieties, live music from seniors, proceeds benefiting senior programming. It's the kind of fundraiser that's transparent about where money goes and delivers actual quality pie instead of asking you to buy wrapping paper or cookie dough you don't need.

Five dollars, one slice, direct community impact. March 6 sorted.

March 6, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at Plymouth Community Center (14800 34th Ave. N). $5/slice, $25/pie. Cash or card at event.

Questions: 763-509-5200.

📖 QOTW (QUOTE OF THE WEEK)

"Do one thing every day that scares you." - Eleanor Roosevelt

🌪️ WEATHER WATCH

We're dropping from 41° to 20° in four days – winter remembered it's February and came back with a vengeance.

Wed 18 41°/30° Cloudy ☁️ | 💧89%

Thu 19 33°/14° Cloudy ☁️ | 💧23%

Fri 20 27°/8° Cloudy ☁️ | 💧16%

Sat 21 25°/5° Mostly Cloudy 🌥️ | 💧4%

Sun 22 20°/17° Mostly Cloudy 🌥️ | 💧3%

Mon 23 24°/21° Partly Cloudy 🌥️ | 💧4%

Tue 24 39°/12° Partly Cloudy 🌥️ | 💧7%

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