There is a giant pencil coming to Lake of the Isles. If that sentence confuses you, you must not have heard about the David Rees and Curtis Ingvoldstad project to carve a 20 foot tall pencil in the front lawn of a home facing the lake. Melody wrote a piece that might encourage you to stop by this Saturday at 1 p.m. for the inaugural sharpening of the pencil.
Open Streets Lyndale kicks off on Sunday at 11 a.m. We will be there with a table (location details to come), and would love to see you!
If you haven't been before, the street is shut down to all vehicle traffic, and you can walk, bike, or roll up and down visiting with friends, local businesses, or hanging out at one of the many booths.
Here's a quick tip from me – at the last Open Streets Lyndale, I saw a band called Loki's Folly play outside of Twin Town Guitars. They're an indie-punk trio featuring three siblings (aged 20, 15, and 10) and they rock super hard. They're playing there at 2:45 p.m. on Sunday. Go check them out if you can.
One interesting tidbit from thePark & Recreation Board meeting last night. Commissioners Elizabeth Shaffer and Cathy Abene proposed an amendment to a resolution granting the Met Council a temporary easement and extended construction permit for the Southwest Light Rail project's tunnel next to Cedar Lake.
The amendment will give the Board's Director of Environmental Management more regular data on erosion and sediment reports that are done throughout the construction process, as well as corrective actions that are taken as a result of those reports.
The goal is to make sure Cedar Lake and the surrounding parkland aren't impacted throughout the process.This comes after a vote in January (which both commissioners supported) to delay construction and the road closure unless certain conditions were met. Both say they are now supportive of extending the permit and associated parkway closure after the passage of this amendment.
LINK ROUNDUP
Southwest Minneapolis State Representatives Jamie Long and Frank Hornstein wrote an editorial calling on Republicans to return to pass bills from the state legislature so Minnesota doesn't miss out on billions of dollars in federal funding that's just sitting there. (Star Tribune)
Did you know Butter Bakery has homemade ice cream? If it's anything like literally everything else they make, it's going to be pretty good, so go try a scoop or a carton soon. (Facebook)
LynLake restaurant Side Chick has temporarily closed for rebranding. Heavy Table covered some of the issues that may have led to this last summer. (Disclosure: Melody is heavily quoted in this piece) (Instagram/Heavy Table)
COMMUNITY RESOURCES
MPS has a bunch of summer programs for kids of all ages, from sports to field trips to community education to ceramics, and registration is open now.
The Park and Recreation Board has summer classes for kids, which range from free to $10/day, which are also open now.
OUT & ABOUT
The Salon Blonde grand opening is today at 314 W 42nd St. from 6 - 9 p.m. Swing by and check it out. (Sponsored)
Bachman's is hosting an intro to gardening event tonight at 6 p.m.
The Linden Hills Chamber Orchestra is playing tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Lake Harriet Bandshell.
Two solid options for some outdoor yoga tonight: 7:00 p.m. at East Cedar Lake Beach and 7:30 p.m. in the Sculpture Garden.
StoLyette, Florina, Head Shrink, DJ Soft Abuse are playing tonight at Mort's.
George Slade will be discussing his book My Father's Shirts, which explores the relationship between a parent and child during a journey with Alzheimers, tonight at Magers & Quinn.
