Kingfield Neighborhood Association

Captivating Calm: the 13th Annual Kingfield 2021 Garden Tour

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Thursday, July 15th, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM / 27 Gardens throughout Kingfield!

This year’s tour includes a Minneapolis Heritage Tree site – a yellow buckeye, Mom’s donated hostas, and Asian Python Beans. Be inspired by productive vegetable planting, blooming boulevards or shady backyard patios guarded by gnomes.

Curious? Check the map or watch for signs saying “Garden Tour Here on Thursday” to pop up later this week and plan your route. Stop by one or stop by all 27 yards to see what your neighborhood gardeners have been planting during the pandemic.

Visit 1 or visit all of the 27 varied and intimate spaces! The tour is free and open to all, although donations will be accepted to support the education garden and orchard at MLK Park growing produce donations for The Aliveness Project. Suggested donation is $3 if you visit 1 garden;$10 if you visit more than one. Donate via Venmo at @kingfield_kfna or via text “Garden Tour” to 44321.

Little Kickers Soccer Program: summer 2021

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Located at MLK Park, in the field near Nicollet Ave. & 42nd Street
Fun Soccer Games Program for Young Children – Ages 4-8
Wednesdays: starting June 23 and continuing through August 18, 6:15-7:30 PM
$20 a season for Minneapolis residents

This summer, on Wednesday evenings from 6:15 to 7:30 PM, on the grass of ML King field #1, the Minneapolis Park Board and the Kingfield Neighborhood Association will again host a program for 4- through 8-year old boys and girls, of all nationalities and backgrounds. The program is designed around soccer basics and soccer balls, and lots of action. But the highest priority of the program is that the kids have fun; have fun playing games with soccer balls, and want to come back the next week, enthusiastically, to play the games with soccer balls again.

If you can imagine; dads, moms, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, (you!); joining in to play the games with your 6-year-old son, your 4-year-old daughter, and the the other 15-20 kids in their age-group, on the field. The adults are regularly invited to join in games kicking the soccer balls, and pretending with the kids for: “Ouch!”, “Allegators”, “Go Get It”, “Islands”, “Bandits”, and “Buffalo Hunter”.  There is the occasional soccer scrimmage for the older groups at the end of session, but mostly it’s about teaching soccer through these other, “silly”, games.

The Little Kickers Program uses these little-kid teaching-games, led by 2 or 3 parent-coaches trained in a bunch of the games, to groups of a dozen to 20, or so, 4-year-olds, 5-6 year-olds, and 7-8 year-olds. The games are about teaching skills and behaviors core to soccer, but the games are generally not soccer games, and we don’t do “drills”, we don’t form organized teams for the summer, and parents don’t commit to being team soccer coaches for the summer. Parent coaches don’t need to be athletes, nor need to have experience playing organized soccer.

If you want to be one of the “Official” parent coaches, we will provide training in June at a two-hour games-learning session from a one of several college-level soccer coaches who actually use these games in their professional roles, working with their upper level youth programs and their college varsity soccer teams. But they are fun, kid games. Not serious soccer drills.

Interested? Send and email to Michael Vanderford, at .

KFNA is an organizing organization. Support KFNA Directly this week with any size donation this week as part of Give to the Max.

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We are not a “homeowners association” or a membership organization. Everyone in Kingfield belongs to KFNA. Our work is often low visibility, behind the scenes, and focused on supporting community members. In these uncertain times this support is critical.  Yet the reality is that the city of Minneapolis is facing significant budget pressures and KFNA’s financial support will be cut significantly over the next several years. To continue to exist in our current capacity, we need donations and engagement from you, as neighbors and stakeholders.

Please consider a financial donation to allow KFNA to continue to be an active community builder and voice at the table.  Every dollar helps. Support KFNA Directly this week with any size donation this week as part of Give to the Max.

Kingfield CommuniTree Project; a Virtual Walk in the Park!

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Hello! We are the Kingfield CommuniTree Forest at MLK Park!

This year is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day! We trees were hoping for merriment and celebrations, with children playing and adults picnicking under our branches. We were looking forward to sharing our beautiful park with you, but instead it is very quiet here due to all you humans being in quarantine. We miss you!

Take a virtual walk in the park and visit us at https://bit.ly/KingfieldCommuniTree and then send a quick note to me, or one of my fellow trees, and we will write you back!

 

 

Join David on the KFNA BOARD: NOMINATIONS OPEN THROUGH 3/10/20

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David Robbins, KFNA Board of Directors since 2019.

David says, “I am excited to continue working on KFNA’s outreach initiatives. I also look forward to working on the Blaisdell/First Avenue Bike Corridor project.”

Join David working on these projects and on the KFNA Board of Directors by submitting your nomination here, by March 10th. Online voting for the Board begins March 11 and carries through the annual meeting which will be held on March 18, beginning at 5:30 PM at MLK Park.