Recently in Special Events Category

Who's your neighborhood's host with the most? 

The community spirited family whose home has great woodwork or a recent makeover? 

The 2012 Minneapolis & Saint Paul Home Tour is already looking for homeowners and home improvement professionals to feature on the late-April tour. Nominations/applications are due Monday, January 16, and early submissions are encouraged. It's the Tour's 25^th year, and it will be held April 28 and 29, 2012.

 

"People attending the tour are looking for ideas on how to remodel or expand their homes," said Tour coordinator Margo Ashmore. "Homeowners on the tour enjoy  feedback and find it's also a great promotion for their neighborhoods."

 

Contractors often help staff the homes, and homeowners ask family and friends to contribute a few hours hosting. "A good support network makes it fun. It's a great incentive to finish up the last few little projects," Ashmore said. "Recruit help at fall and winter gatherings, and identify clusters of homes to call special attention."

 

Contractors and other vendors may nominate homes they have worked on, and are encouraged to call for more information about sponsorship. Green, energy efficient, and historically-sensitive remodels and expansions get special notice among the 50 homes. It is not necessary to have remodeled the whole house.

 

The tour is a celebration of city living that encourages homeowners to improve existing homes, and to complement the neighborhood vibe if they build new. For more information, call Tour Coordinator Margo Ashmore at (612) 867-4874 or email Margo here. The application can be downloaded from www.MSPHomeTour.com under "nominate."

The Calhoun Area Residents Action Group (CARAG) and Waite Park Community Council will challenge each other next month in a race to 300 Twitter followers.

Twitter has become an increasingly important supplement to the organizations' neighborhood outreach efforts. More than 200 people have subscribed to each neighborhood's Twitter stream, making them two of the most followed accounts among all Minneapolis neighborhood organizations on Twitter. Next month, both groups will try to break the 300 follower mark before the other one. 

This year's Waite Park and Audubon Park Neighborhood Yard/Garage Sale is set for this Saturday, September 17th from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.  Over 40 households are holding sales with a wide variety of merchandise. You can view the participating addresses on the interactive map below and download a list of sales here: FinalSaleList.pdf

View Audubon/Waite Park Garage Sale in a full screen map

Join your Northeast neighbors and folks from all over the Twin Cities at the 3^rd Annual Push Cart Derby at Waite Park on September 10. Put together a team of three people, build a sturdy cart and bring it to the Waite Park field at 11:00 to enter the race. The winning team in the derby will receive $200! Second place will receive $100 and third place will receive a sweet swag bag filled with prizes and coupons from area retailers and other groups. There will also be a $100 prize awarded for the Most Creative push carts.

TO ENTER:

• Build yourself a durable cart that can be pushed on grass and can turn. 
• Get together a team of three people, two pushers and one "driver" (All team members must be over 10 years of age and members under 18 must have parent/guardian approval, all team members must wear helmets to participate).
• Join us for registration at 11:00 AM at Waite Park to register your cart and begin racing!
• Need help? Join us on August 13 for "Learn the Basics of Building a Push Cart" workshop on August 13, at 1:00 pm at Columbia Gardens (3301 Central Avenue NE).

Good new, MPS student enrollment is increasing! We need your ideas and experience to plan for the future. Join us to learn more and be part of developing solutions that may impact school communities for the 2012-13 school year.
 
Wednesday, June 22, 6-8pm, Pillsbury/Windom Park Community Center,
(2251 Hayes St. NE) This meeting will focus on addressing the increased enrollment in Northeast K-5 schools.
 
Meetings will feature small group discussion to explore creative solutions.
Food, childcare and interpreters will be available at all meetings.
 
For more information contact us:
Area A: Lynne Crockett: 612-242-7144 ll44c@aol.com
Spanish, Somali, Hmong information: 612-668-3700
Minneapolis Public Schools:  612-668-0000 www.mpls.k12.mn.us