Cohosted by Sabra Waldfogel, a member of the Kingfield Homebased Professionals Planning Team

The Kingfield Home-Based Professionals continue with their Third Week of the Month Happy Hour gathering! On Tuesday, March 18th, please join them at The Lowbrow from 3:00 – 5:00 PM (4244 Nicollet Avenue South). No formal agenda, just a casual gathering of neighbors who work from home!

Please RSVP with your anticipated time of arrival on the discussion thread for The Lowbrow gathering at either the Facebook Group
or the LinkedIn Group

Questions? Contact scott@kingfield.org

Spring is right around the corner! Be sure to stop by Dr. Martin Luther King Park for this annual spring party. Activities include cookie decorating, basket making, egg hunt with prizes, entertainment and a petting zoo. Light refreshments will be made available while supplies last. Admission is $2 per person/$5 per family. No registration required.

Now in its 20th year, Dining Out For Life raises money for The Aliveness Project—an organization that serves Minnesotans living with HIV/AIDS. It’s simple—you eat at a participating restaurant, and a percentage of that day’s sales benefit The Aliveness Project. Look for Dining Out For Life Ambassadors in red aprons to welcome and thank you (and give you red “I ATE” stickers!) Reservations are strongly recommended—especially for dinner.

These Kingfield restaurants are generously participating in Dining Out for Life 2014:

For the full list of 240 participating restaurants, visit here

Help spread the word via Facebook

Continuing a tradition started last year, the Kingfield Home-Based Professionals are gathering for lunch at Blackbird Café at 12:30 pm on Thursday, April 24th. Blackbird is donating 40% of its sales (including alcohol) to The Aliveness Project. A table for 12 home-based professionals has been reserved. RSVP via LinkedIn or email scott@kingfield.org

Join us for the 20th annual event to help clean up our parks and our neighborhood. It's easy to get involved; no pre-registration is required! Arrive at MLK Park between 9:30 a.m.-noon and check in at the registration table to get a bag and instructions on where to pick-up and leave trash. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own work gloves. There will also be fun activities for kids and vendors selling items utilizing recycled materials. The KFNA Crime Prevention Committee will be teaching everyone how to use the City’s 311 apps to report neighborhood issues like graffiti and pot holes!

Butter Bakery Café invites neighbors to participate with them in this spring's Growing Community - Growing Locally garden efforts!

Here are two ways for you help:
April 26th, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Join us for a boulevard and outdoor clean up. We'll be preparing our space for plantings and could use your muscles for some digging.

April 30th, 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM. Join us at the Butter community table to start seedlings, talk gardening, put together outdoor planters, and lend a hand to the residents of Nicollet Square as we help them prepare their backyard garden for this new growing season.

Watch for our garden events on the Butter Facebook page - join in and enjoy the opportunity to be a part of local food production!

The City of Minneapolis Development Review Customer Service Center – the place where you can get a permit for all your building or remodeling projects – is having a Spring Open House on Wednesday, April 30th for Minneapolis Residents! This is a great opportunity to take a tour of the center, meet city staff and ask questions about your projects, meet Mayor Hodges and Minneapolis Council Members, attend free informational sessions on home building projects, green initiatives, health home living environments, and more!

Event details:
Minneapolis Development Review Customer Service Center
SPRING OPEN HOUSE
Wednesday, April 30th
3:30-6:30 p.m.
Minneapolis Public Service Center
250 South 4th Street
Third Floor
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Free Off-street Parking Available

For a complete program agenda, including the times of all the free informational sessions visit the Minneapolis Development Review website.

Light refreshments will be served and free radon home testing kits will be given out while supplies are available.

Urban Farming-- # 39663
Kids ages 6-16 will learn about urban gardening in this hands-on program utilizing the Mosaic Garden at MLK Park. Dig, plant and care for the vegetables and create your very own feasts from what you grow. Class will be led by an experience 4-H instructor. Class supported by KFNA, Hennepin County Master Gardeners, and MN State Horticultural Society. No cost but need to register online here.

Indoor Volleyball Camp-- #38947
For youth ages 8-13, held one week in June. Effective teamwork and good sportsmanship will also be emphasized. Campers should wear comfortable clothing for movement, tennis shoes, and knee pads (optional).

Archery— #39631 Learn the 11 steps to archery success in this exciting new program. Certified instructors will determine student's dominant eye, teach proper archer form, shot execution, and follow-through. Class will be held indoors following the National Archery in Schools Program regimen taught in over 12,000 schools throughout the country. All participants will qualify for an all parks tournament held August 19th at the Lake Calhoun Archery Range. This program is sponsored by Tips Outdoors Foundation and their partners.

What is a Little Free Library? It’s a “take a book, return a book” gathering place where neighbors share their favorite literature and stories. In its most basic form, a Little Free Library is a box full of books where anyone may stop by and pick up a book (or two) and bring back another book to share.

Are you a host home to a little free library? If so, we would love to hear from you! We are hoping to plan a fun event to showcase all of the wonderful libraries in the Kingfield Neighborhood, and would be thrilled to include yours! Send your contact information to Cheryl@Kingfield.org

The core of our King Park Little Kids Soccer Program is to have a cadre of "parent-coaches", trained in the teaching games, available for leading on any of 8 to 10 Saturdays from mid-June to mid-August. You don't have to be there all Saturdays, just the ones you are town. With approximately 15 parent-coaches total available, we have enough coaches available for any given session. Are you interested in supporting this program?

If so, please send a note quickly to info@kingfield.org with a "Yes for King Park Summer Soccer” in the memo line and KFNA will get you more information directly from the Volunteer Coordinator of this program. The program provides a training session (maybe two different option days this spring) in the games by Sheila McGill, the University of St. Thomas Women's Soccer Coach, in late May or early June.

Each year, on the first weekend in August, Metro Paint-A-Thon rallies volunteer teams from corporations, congregations, and civic groups to paint the homes of seniors and people with disabilities.

Metro Paint-A-Thon is a program that helps low-income seniors and people with permanent physical disabilities continue to live independently in their own homes. A volunteer team is matched to scrape, prime and paint the exterior of each eligible home/garage, thereby keeping it well-maintained, beautiful and an asset to the neighborhood. All of this is done at no cost to the homeowner.

Paint-A-Thon welcomes referrals and accepts applications from all eligible homeowners. To be considered, completed applications must be received by mid-April. Selected homeowners are notified by mail in early July of each year.

To qualify, the applicant must meet the following criteria:

• Be over the age of 60 or have a permanent physical disability
• Own and occupy a single-family home in Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott or Washington County that needs the exterior painted, but does not need major repairs
• The monthly household income cannot exceed 200% of federal poverty level

For more information, visit Metro Paint-A-Thon’s website here