It’s a beautiful time all around, yet I can’t help but watch the booths where nothing delectable — at least, nothing material — is sold. When we became an independent group a year and a half ago, we struck a deal with our founding organization, the Kingfield Neighborhood Association, to give them a market table in perpetuity.

Each week, neighborhood staff and volunteers show up to talk about the business of building a better neighborhood, not just on Sundays but every day, and not just with what fits in a shopping bag, but what fits in your life.

Last year, KFNA was busy raising money for bike cops — each week, a few more sections between wheel spokes were colored in on the white poster board, and by the end of the season, some thick-calved constable had a nice ride to patrol the neighborhood as we walk it and ride it. As we know, you get a better feel for things when your odometer is your lungs instead of a gauge.

This year is the Year of the Dog. As in, dog park. Those of you with pooches may be aware that there’s no off-leash park south of Lake Street. Considering the masses of mutts on every block these days, this means man’s best friend is more like persona non grata (canis non grata?) — civically, anyway.

A group of dogged (couldn’t resist) volunteers is trying to make the park not just a reality, but a neighborhood amenity. After years of false starts, there is serious momentum for a section spreading from the 40th & Nicollet corner of Martin Luther King Park. The newly constituted park board has turned from roadblock to facilitator, and the neighborhood association staff is doing the hard, necessary work of getting all the stakeholders (not just leash-holders) involved.

This is where the market comes in. The KFNA staff and volunteers are at their table every week, puppy-dog eager to explain the proposed layout, the glorious benefits and yes, the potential hurdles. It’s an all-comers thing, where a floating focus group of 1,500 each week get the info and give their input.

There’s no doubt that the market has become one of the primary channels for the neighborhood to come together over a project that, done right, could add an amenity for Kingfield and surrounding neighborhoods that can be as beloved as our farmers market seems to be. There are lots of reasons we live here, but we’re happy the Kingfield Farmers Market helps create more.

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Kingfield Farmers Market
The market runs every Sunday through October, 8:30 a.m.–1 p.m. at 43rd & Nicollet. It features locally grown food, music and more. For more information, visit kingfieldmarket.org.

Congratulations to all who won prizes, ate well, enjoyed the music, dance and good deals, or connected with neighbors. There are some photos on the Celebrate 38th page of this website, along with links to more. Some of the history tidbits and links to more local history are posted on the local history page of this website.

On Saturday, October 3, 2009, Minnesota residents around the state will join more than a 150,000 people across the U.S. by touring more than 5,000 homes, businesses, and schools to learn about renewable energy and energy efficiency by participating in the 14^th annual American Solar Energy Society’s (ASES) National Solar Tour. The Minnesota Solar Tour is sponsored by the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society (MRES), the local chapter of ASES.

“Last year more than 50 sites participated in the Minnesota Solar Tour, hosted by MRES, with over 2,000 visitors, and this year we expect even more participants,” said Doug Shoemaker, MRES Events Chair. “Solar Tour participants will open up their homes and businesses for the public to see how solar energy and other forms or renewable energy can be used to 1) drastically reduce monthly energy bills, 2) reduce harmful carbon emissions, and 3) enjoy rich tax credits and cash incentives as they improve their property values.”

The Peichel residence in the Kingfield neighborhood is having solar panels installed this week, just in time for the tour. The roof-mounted panels will produce an estimated 3772 kWhr per year, which is half of their current residential and electric vehicle usage. They hope to further increase energy efficiency and reduce vehicle usage to live within the energy available from the array.

The free self-guided Minnesota Solar Tour is a series of open houses featuring more than 50 solar-powered homes, businesses, and organizations in the Twin Cities and many other Minnesota communities, which have incorporated solar thermal, solar photovoltaic (PV), and passive solar, as well as alternative energy technologies like geothermal heat pumps and wind turbines. Details on the participating sites, pictures, and State / Metro maps of the locations can now be found at www.MNSolarTour.org.

“The state has $3.4 million for solar energy rebates for the biennium,” said Stacy Miller of the Minnesota Office of Energy Security. “Minnesotans who install solar energy systems may also be eligible for federal and utility incentives.” More information on Minnesota Office of Energy Security programs is available at www.energy.mn.gov. Additional information on state, federal, and utility incentives is available at www.dsireusa.org.

Celebrate 38th Street–Connecting South Minneapolis for over a century!

Live music, performances, art, food, special treats, garage and sidewalk sales, open houses, history snapshots, and more!! Events and happenings all along 38th street. Check the Celebrate 38th page of this website for events, locations and times as they are confirmed.

• Kids and families: Come at 9:30 am to 38th & Pleasant to make instuments
• Join the parade starting at 38th and Nicollet at 10:00!
• Diverse music and dance performances ; live ‘garage band’ music 2-7
• History Hounds: Come anytime to Investigate 38th!
• Activities stretching from Lakewood Cemetery east to Bloomington Avenue!

More to come–check back on the Celebrate 38th page as the date approaches…

Hungry for a Better-Looking, More-Connected Neighborhood? On Thursday, September 17th, you can do something about it!

Visit here to see the complete listing of particpating restaurants!

Now in its third year, Eating for Art brings local restaurants together to raise money for arts programming in the Kingfield and Lyndale neighborhoods. While the past two year’s Eating for Art supported the Walldogs on Nicollet project, which recently won the Celebrating the City Public Art Award from the Minneapolis Arts Commission, this year the money raised will split between two community-arts projects.  Proceeds from Eating for Art will be given to a new Family-Arts programming initiative at Leonardo’s Basement supported by KFNA that is helping to build families’ connections across our neighborhood, and encourage exploration and experimentation in the arts; and the Hosmer Music and Dance from Around the World Program, which is a partnership between LNA and Hosmer Library that brings free live music and dance programming to Hosmer Library and Painter Park.