Scenes from Opening Day for North City Farmers’ Market’s 7th Season

Although Friday night’s storms and early Saturday morning rain threatened to put a damper on the opening day celebration for North City Farmers’ Market’s 2013 season, we still managed to enjoy a great day INSIDE Old North St. Louis Restoration Group’s Gallery at 2700 N. 14th Street.

For more photos, check out the album on the North City Farmers’ Market Facebook page by clicking HERE.

Come back EVERY Saturday, rain or shine, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.  If it’s clear outside, the market will be in the street, along the 2700 block of N. 14th Street (across from Crown Candy); if it’s raining, we’ll be back in the gallery at 2700 N. 14th Street.

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Rain Postpones Land Lab Groundbreaking But Can’t Dampen Enthusiasm & National Exposure

Due to the drizzly weather today, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Sustainable Land Lab project has been postponed until a later date.  Watch for details later on the re-scheduled date.

Despite the rain, work crews from some of the Land Lab projects were on-site today to begin transforming the empty lots into attractive and functional demonstrations of positive re-uses of vacant land in the city.

The Mighty Mississippians crew was willing to brave the elements to begin planting on the lot at 13th and Montgomery.

The Bistro Box team installed a signboard to show visitors what will be coming to the northeast corner of 13th and Montgomery.

Although the ceremonial kick-off didn’t happen, that hasn’t stopped the buzz and outside interest in the project.  Yesterday the American Public Radio program, Marketplace, broadcast a story about the Land Lab on public radio stations across the country (including St. Louis Public Radio, 90.7 FM).  Click on the image below (or HERE) to read the text version of the story or to listen to the story online.

Thank you to St. Louis Public Radio reporter Adam Allington for getting this story out to the rest of the world.

Meanwhile, at the corner of N. 14th Street and St. Louis Avenue, work is being completed on a major upgrade to the Crown Square plaza space across the street from Crown Candy Kitchen.

Made possible with financial support from Equifax Foundation and the Regional Business Council, the project was planned and coordinated by Rebuilding Together St. Louis.  Volunteer crews fromScottrade and Equifax put in a lot of labor over the past few days to achieve these great improvements.

With covered outdoor seating, we look forward to attracting some of the customers at Crown Candy who just can’t wait for a table inside and other visitors to the community.  And, the covered stage area will also be a great amenity for our live music and other performers who come out to the North City Farmers’ Market and other events throughout the year.

Thank you again to all of the volunteers, Equifax, Scottrade, Rebuilding Together St. Louis, and all who contribute their time and resources to help us beautify and improve Old North!

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Thank You to All of Today’s Volunteers

We’re in the midst of last minute preparations for this evening’s Trivia Night for North City Farmers’ Market and the 13th Street Community Garden, but we first would like to thank all of the volunteers who joined us today and put in hundreds of hours of hard work on neighborhood improvement projects that otherwise would have taken us weeks to complete.

It all started with the St. Louis Rams, who then reached out to Monsanto.  Eventually, we ended up with about 100 outside volunteers who came in to work in multiple teams led by ONSLRG staff and board members and neighborhood residents.

The following are just some of the photos of the hard work put in by these generous individuals.  Click HERE to see more photos in our Volunteers folder on our Facebook site.

Thanks to the assistance of the employee-volunteers from the St. Louis Rams and Monsanto, and other volunteers from Old North (and our practicum students Kristin and Becky), we were able to get new street trees planted along Montgomery and N. 13th Street, a trench dug and a new irrigation system installed at the 13th Street Community Garden, the garden’s storage shed got pointed (and much other garden work got done), weeds got pulled at Wingmann Park, and we even were able to get tables and chairs moved down the street and set up in the former Sobel Dept. Store building in time for this evening’s trivia night.  Thank you again to all for all of your help!

Later we’ll be posting a big thank you to all of the volunteers who are working at this very minute to make it possible for the trivia night to happen!

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Trivia Night Just 2 Days Away… But Still Time to Join Us!

If supporting 2 great causes isn’t enough, we’ve got a lot of other good reasons for you to attend the 3rd Annual Old North Trivia Night benefit for North City Farmers’ Market and 13th Street Community Garden.  The following represents our Top 10 reasons to attend the trivia night THIS FRIDAY, April 19, at 7 p.m.:

(1) complimentary beverages, courtesy of Six Row Brewing Co. and Urban Chestnut Brewing Co.;

(2) an opportunity to enjoy the company of a great mix of passionate and engaged community residents and friends of Old North;

(3) a silent auction featuring many incredible items, including:

• St. Louis Cardinals memorabilia (such as items autographed by the late, great Stan Musial);

• Posters from Firecracker Press;
• Delmar Loop package, with gift certificates to events at the Tivoli and the Pageant;
• many other items from Left Bank Books, Washington Avenue Post, the Curio Shoppe, Black Bear Bakery, knitted items from Norah Ryan… and even more come;

(4) an opportunity to spend a Friday evening in the award-winning Crown Square (2010 “Overall Excellence in Historic Preservation” Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation & HUD Secretary) in the heart of an award-winning community (2011 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement from EPA and 2013 Growing Green Award from U.S. Green Building Council-Missouri Gateway chapter, among others);

(5) this year’s event will take place in the spacious former Sobel Dept. Store building at 2612-24 N. 14th Street (see below), which means you’ll have plenty of breathing room and won’t have to worry about the competitors at the next table overhearing all of your good answers;

2612-24 N. 14th Street, before & after Crown Square redevelopment

(6) door prizes, 50-50 raffle, and other opportunities to win a variety of unique items;

(7) cash prize for the winning team;

(8) the chance to exercise your brain and challenge your memory - and if you’re good, you can show off how smart you are; if you’re not so adept at trivial matters, you can demonstrate how good you are at not sweating the small stuff;

OK, we said there are plenty of reasons to attend Friday night other than the next 2, but we can’t have a Top 10 list without the most important reasons:

(9) help make it possible for the 13th Street Community Garden to continue growing some great, fresh and healthy fruits and vegetables for residents of Old North, some of which is made available for sale at Old North Grocery Co-op and North City Farmers’ Market;

(10) help make it possible for Old North St. Louis Restoration Group to cover the costs of coordinating North City Farmers’ Market throughout the market’s 7th season!

So, now that we’ve convinced you, here are the not-so-trivial facts to remember:

When: Friday, April 19 at 7:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.)

Tickets: $15/person or $100/table of 8

How to RSVP: stop by the ONSRLG Offices (2700 North 14th Street), or call (314) 241-5031, or send an e-mail to info@onsl.org.

Please help us spread the word by passing this along to others who might be interested.  We’ll look forward to seeing you Friday evening!

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Our Latest E-Newsletter & Invitations to Join us for Land Lab Celebration (THIS Thurs.) & Trivia Night (next Fri.)

If you didn’t get our latest e-Newsletter in your in-box, click the image below to view the web-version. And if you’d like to get on the subscription list to receive these periodic messages in your in-box, just send an email to info@ONSL.org and put “subscribe to e-newsletter” in the subject line or in the message.

Within this issue, please take note of two special events coming up that we invite you to attend:

1) Thursday, April 11, at 6:30 p.m. - Celebration & reception in honor of the Sustainable Land Lab Competition winning projects at Bridge, 1004 Locust Street in Downtown St. Louis.

2) Next Friday, April 19, at 7 p.m. - 3rd annual Trivia Night to benefit North City Farmers’ Market and 13th Street Community Garden at 2612 N. 14th Street.

===================================

::::::  Sustainable Land Lab Celebration  ::::::

The jury for the Sustainable Land Lab Competition has made their selections - and the winners will be announced on Thursday.  Come out to celebrate with the winners and hear their presentations on what they’ll be doing on the selected lots in the Crown Square area of Old North.  We’re hoping representatives from the teams that did not get selected through this process will also be in attendance, so this should provide another opportunity to lobby them to pursue their concepts at other sites in Old North. The event will take place at Bridge in Downtown at 1004 Locust.  Doors open at 6 with the program beginning at 6:30 p.m.  See the flyer below for more details.

:::::::  Trivia Night  :::::::

Whether you’re a trivia buff or just enjoy being around a lot of cool people - come on out on Friday, April 19 for a fun time in support of two great causes.

The trivia night to benefit North City Farmers’ Market and the 13th Street Community Garden has become an annual tradition now.  As the photo above shows, we had a full house at last year’s event - and advance reservations for this year have already exceeded last year’s number.  So, by popular demand, we’re moving the event across Montgomery Street to the former Sobel Dept. Store building at 2612-24 N. 14th Street.

With a little more than a week to go, you still have time to get your team together. We’ll have some light refreshments and complimentary beverages courtesy of Six Row Brewery and Urban Chestnut Brewing Co. The cost is $15 per person or a table of 8 is just $100.  If you want to come but can’t drum up 7 friends to go in on a table, you still can participate!  In addition to fun questions and prizes, we’ll have superb silent auction items (including some great Cardinals memorabilia) and more.

To reserve your space, call the ONSLRG office at 314-241-5031 or send an email to info@ONSL.org.

And… even if you can’t attend the trivia night, you can still support ONSLRG’s work to bring healthy and affordable foods to Old North as part of our comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategy.  All of these projects take a lot of time and coordination - and we need your financial support to continue this work.  Please make a contribution today! Click HERE or on the button below to make a secure, online contribution.  Or, if you’d like to discuss other ways to contribute, give us a call.

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Scenes from Land Lab Exhibit and Open Mic for Arts in Old North

Thank you to all of the residents and friends of Old North who came out to the Old North Gallery on Thursday evening to view the Sustainable Land Lab exhibit and afterwards to speak up for the arts in Old North.  As noted in our post from earlier on Thursday, the evening offered a convergence of art, sustainability, and community in the form of two, back-to-back events: a reception for the viewing of concept boards in the Sustainable Land Lab Competition, and an “open mic” session designed to allow residents and other community stakeholders an opportunity to express their thoughts on the presence of arts in Old North and their ideas for how additional support for the arts can help further the neighborhood’s revitalization.

Sustainable Land Lab Competition Exhibit Reception

St. Louis Beacon - Kresge Arts St. Louis Open Mic Event

Attendees were greeted with the upbeat steel drum music of Jamaica Ray.

A standing-room-only crowd was on hand to share their perspectives and listen to each others' thoughts on the role of arts in Old North.

William Burton Jr. of the 14th Street Artist Community discussed the capacity of the arts to bring different groups of people together.

Dave Eisenbraun shared his experience of raising three sons in Old North and how pleased he is that his son & daughter-in-law are raising his granddaughter in the neighborhood.

ONSLRG's community engagement specialist, Claire Wolff, described how arts have been a key part of many of the group's initiatives, including music and children's activities at the North City Farmers' Market.

Former ONSLRG intern M.K. Stallings talked about the power of poetry and how much the neighborhood has changed for the better over the past 10 years.

Terry Harris, with his daughter Mhari at his side, shared why he and his family recently moved into the neighborhood and what he appreciates about the arts programming for children that Old North already offers.

We had many more who took their turn at the microphone and offered their testimonials about Old North, but due to space limitations, we can’t acknowledge or show you all of them.  However, please check out the St. Louis Beacon’s report on the event, which includes a brief summary and a video of selections from the meeting.  Click HERE for their report, “Old North residents celebrate rebirth, discuss what can be.”

If you couldn’t make it to the event but still want your voice to be heard, you can express your thoughts, ideas, hopes or other observations online, through Wednesday, March 27, by clicking HERE.

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How can YOU help Old North Continue Revitalization & Defy the Odds?

It’s not easy to turn a neighborhood around after more than a half-century-long downward spiral.  The little, historic neighborhood of Old North Saint Louis, however, is defying the odds and confounding the skeptics. Old North’s success with attracting new residents and businesses has demonstrated that reversing the pattern of abandonment and decay is possible.  And the dramatic 28% population gain from 2000-2010 shows how incredibly effective community-based development can be, especially when it involves strategic and coordinated investments in historic preservation, mixed income housing development, and other public improvements.

But the job is far from over.  The loss of historic buildings that reflect the neighborhood’s unique character and architectural integrity can undermine Old North’s positive momentum.  The devastating fire that consumed 1415 Benton yesterday provides a disturbing illustration of the continuing danger to the health, safety, reputation, and overall viability of the community posed by abandonment and neglect.

Old North Saint Louis Restoration Group has shown over and over again how vacant, historic, and even severely deteriorated buildings can be transformed into attractive and productive community assets.  For examples of some of these developments, click on the photo below to see a short YouTube video.

None of that would have been possible without an engaged and determined community and a neighborhood-based community development organization with the charge of preserving Old North’s history and unique sense of place.

Although the comprehensive, neighborhood-wide revitalization of Old North requires major investments in the physical dimension of the neighborhood (through historic preservation, new home construction, neighborhood clean-ups, and community gardens), a viable and sustainable community also requires a healthy social dimension.  Consequently, ONSLRG’s work also involves addressing the needs of the community’s residents - as defined by the community - and efforts to nurture strong and supportive relationships among residents.  One of the best vehicles for achieving both of these goals has been the North City Farmers’ Market.  The open-air market in the heart of the neighborhood (every Saturday from June through October) brings healthy and affordable foods to the neighborhood and serves as a weekly platform for informal community building.  As an event that is open to all residents, as well as visitors, the market  celebrates the diversity of the community, shows off the vibrancy of the neighborhood, and draws customers to the new businesses setting up shop at Crown Square.  Click on the image below to see a short, high quality video that captures the spirit and atmosphere of the North City Farmers’ Market.

ONSLRG’s ambitious mission to revitalize the physical and social dimensions of Old North in a manner that respects the community’s historic, cultural, and urban character requires a lot of time and effort from both volunteers and professional staff.  If you’d like to contribute some of your time, click HERE to learn more about the various opportunities to volunteer with ONSLRG.

Because Old North Saint Louis Restoration Group relies on residents, friends, and other supportive individuals to cover a significant chunk of our costs for maintaining an office, employing a professional staff, and implementing a broad variety of community improvement initiatives, your financial contribution can help us continue our work.  Nearly 3/4 of ONSLRG’s $338,709 operating budget for 2013 will need to come from foundations, corporate grants, individual contributions, and memberships.  Since corporate and foundation grants require a good deal of staff time to research and prepare applications, direct contributions from individuals and businesses represent the best way to allow our staff to dedicate more of their time and focus to the work of revitalizing Old North. Please show your support by clicking on the Donate Now! button below.

If you know of others who may be interested in our work, please pass this information along to them via personal contact, postings on Facebook, or tweets on Twitter.  Thank you to all who have helped ONSLRG do so much over the past 32 years.

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New YouTube video for North City Farmers’ Market

We’re a little more than three months away from the start of the farmers’ market season, but thanks to a generous contribution of time and professional skills by Megan Kimball, we have a new, high quality video that captures a bit of the sights, sounds, and feel of our North City Farmers’ Market.

Click on the image above or click HERE to view the video on YouTube.  And once you’re there, be sure to give it a “thumbs up” - and forward the link to all of your friends and/or share with others via Facebook or Twitter.

Thank you to Megan and all who agreed to be interviewed and/or cooperated in one way or another to make this video possible.

And while we’re on the subject of North City Farmers’ Market, our third annual trivia night fundraiser for the market and the 13th Street Community Garden is scheduled for Friday, April 19 at 7 p.m. Since space is limited, it’s not too soon to get your table together and reserve your space now.  If you know of any good sources for items appropriate for the silent auction, contact our practicum students, Kristin and Becky, at the ONSLRG office to get them the information.

Contact the ONSLRG office at 314-241-5031 or send an email to info@ONSL.org if you have any questions or if you’d like to volunteer to help with trivia night.

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Highlights from Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck; and Welcome to New ONSLRG Board Members

Old North Saint Louis Restoration Group hosted the 2013 edition of our Annual Meeting & Pot-Luck Supper on Monday evening with another good showing of neighbors, community stakeholders, and other friends of Old North.

Among the actions taken at the meeting, the following individuals were elected by ONSLRG’s members to serve on the ONSLRG Board, with terms running from February 2013 through February 2015:

• David Eisenbraun (returning for another term on the Board), resident of 1400 block of Sullivan; senior engineer at Nidec Motors;
• Graham Lane (also continuing service on the Board and currently serving as the Board’s Vice President), resident of 1300 block of North Market; sculptor / art instructor at St. Louis Community College;
• Bryan Reckamp, resident of 1400 block of Sullivan; web developer / designer at Arsenal Studios;
• Rev. Jonathan Stratton, executive director of Episcopal Services Corps (which recently purchased a home in Old North and will begin assigning interns to work with community-based organizations in the community in August) and Curate for Christ Church Cathedral.

• Christina Blash, a member of Fresh Anointing Church (on Sullivan & N. 14th), as a presidential appointee; and
• Terry Harris, a resident of 1300 block of North Market, who has accepted the opportunity to serve as co-chair of our Social Outreach Committee.

These new members will serve with members elected at the 2012 Annual Meeting and the chairs of ONSLRG’s five standing committees.   A full list can be found on the “Board” page of the “About Us” section of ONSL.org by clicking HERE.

Other scenes from the event:

Thank you to all who attended to celebrate the progress achieved in 2012 toward ONSLRG’s mission to revitalize the physical and social dimensions of Old North in a manner that respects the community’s historic, cultural, and urban character.  There is still much work to be done, so 2013 will continue to be another action-packed year of work.

ONSLRG staff and committee chairs presented information about the following upcoming events, programs or projects:

• multiple neighborhood clean-up days, including the annual Brightside blitz weekend, April 6-7, and the St. Louis University “Showers of Service” Day on Saturday, April 13, and other “Macho Action Group” board-up, clean-up Saturdays to be coordinated through the Real Estate Committee;
• work days at the 13th Street Community Garden (Feb. 23 and March 16, both 9 a.m.-noon);
• Neighborhood Open Meetings on the 4th Thursday of most months;
• various tasks at Old North’s other community gardens, with plans to be discussed at the next Green Space Committee meeting on March 11 (6 p.m. at the ONSLRG office);
• the ongoing “Brickstarter” campaign to support the preservation of historic buildings in Old North in need of stabilization, starting with the building at 1316 North Market;
• the kick-off of several other public improvements on Saturday, April 27, including major enhancements of the Crown Square corner plaza area at N. 14th & St. Louis Avenue with Rebuilding Together and volunteers from Equifax, and work the 4 lots that will benefit from projects through the Sustainable Land Lab competition;
• the 3rd Annual Trivia Night Fundraiser to benefit North City Farmers’ Market and the 13th Street Community Garden, scheduled for Friday, April 19;
• the Annual Old North House & Community Tour, scheduled for Saturday, May 18;
• the 7th season of North City Farmers’ Market, Saturday mornings, June 1-October 12.

Attendees had the opportunity to sign up to volunteer with all of the above and to participate on one of ONSLRG’s committees (Fund Raising, Green Space, Marketing, Real Estate, and Social Outreach).  If you missed the meeting and still want to get involved, please send an email to info@onsl.org or give us a call at 314-241-5031.

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North City Farmers’ Market Harvest Festival & End of Season Celebration THIS SATURDAY, Oct. 13

Please join us this coming Saturday, October 13, to celebrate the completion of another successful season for North City Farmers’ Market.  Our traditional end-of-season Harvest Festival will feature:

• Live music by Barefoot Jones
• cooking demonstrations by Cooking Matters
• children’s activities brought to us by BOTH The Magic House, St. Louis Children’s Museum, AND St. Louis Children’s Hospital
• Vinnie the Mime

AND, back by popular demand:

• our pre-Halloween costume contest with both a children’s and adult division!

Of course, this wouldn’t be a farmers’ market without actual vendors.  This week we’ll have a bumper crop of many great local vendors, including:

• our own 13th Street Community Garden
• Old North Grocery Co-op
• Zee Bee Market
• Black Bear Bakery
• MK Fruits and Veggies
• New Roots Urban Farm
• Del Carmen: “Black Beans a la Cubana”
• Homegrown
• ReTrailer
• Karen’s Creations
• Linda’s Creative Designs
• El Chico Bakery
• Freddie Lee’s Ghetto Sauce
• Stuff N Things
• Benton Park Creations
• Mound City Soap Company
• La Mancha Coffeehouse

Because this is a special day, the market will be open until 1 p.m., a full hour beyond our usual closing time.  So, come on by any time between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. - or, better yet, come on out and spend the whole time with us!  And please invite your neighbors to join you!

For more information, visit the market’s blog: http://www.northcityfarmersmarket.blogspot.com.

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