It is ALREADY August! And as the summer progresses, albeit too quickly, the debut of the Franklin Ave Open Streets event is fast approaching. With over 30 Seward area businesses participating, the event is primed to be a huge success!
Deb Ervin, from ArtiCulture, has been commissioned by the SCCA to assist in the coordination of the event, and has done a wonderful job thus far. She graciously took some time to sit down to offer an update on the particularly exciting activities going on during Open Streets, and also discuss the overall importance of the event.
In addition to all of the dynamic and creative activities is the underlying benefit of community development. Open Streets MPLS aims to connect businesses not only to each other, but to the greater community. It serves as a great opportunity for fellow business owners – some brand new to Seward and some that have been in the neighborhood for years – to interact and collaborate with each other. The planning process alone has brought business owners from Ventura Village and Seward together for the common goal of making the event a success.
Seward’s strong sense of community and identity lends to the safety and security of the neighborhood. By creating opportunities for people to cross over Cedar and connect with their neighbors, Open Streets Franklin will increase the vitality and livability of the greater South Minneapolis community.
One of the more unique events taking place throughout the day encouraging folks to visit Phillips and Seward will be the ROLL FRANKLIN mini-parade. Bedlam Theatre is partnering with Hope Community’s Intersections and Not Bad Rap coalition to roll down Franklin on a trolley. The trolley will hold furniture that will be used to set up a pop-up living room space at Hope Community. After the living room is set up, there will be a live hip hop performance from the Not Bad Rap artists, who will be performing from a platform of scaffolding. As the day progresses, the trolley will be re-loaded, and the venture back to Bedlam while the hip hop artists will continue to perform while on the move. The mini-parade is designed to encourage people to cross back and forth between the Seward and Ventura Village neighborhoods.
Zipp’s Liquor will have a live bluegrass band in their parking lot with beer and vodka tasting, courtesy of Du Nord Craft Spirits and Harriet Brewing. There will be bartending games happening in this area as well. Across the street from them, Soberfish will have will have all day happy hour, food for purchase outside, a dunk tank, and even a fish toss! Soberfish, who recently celebrated it’s Grand Opening, saw this as a great opportunity to expand their clientele base by having a fun and unique (a fish toss?) activities for Open Streets participants to experience.
If you’re looking to work off some of the beer and food calories, you can head down to Triangle Park for yoga and crossfit classes. Solcana Crossfit and Big River Yoga will have pop-up classes throughout the day that will both engage and invigorate participants’ mind, body, and spirit. Across the street from them, Addis Market will be hosting their Ethiopian coffee ceremony.
Further down Franklin around Cedar and the LRT Station, there there will be a pop-up farmers market, SPOKES kid rodeo, a dog wading pool and a variety of Seward/Ventura village artists showcasing their work.
Stay connected and up to date on Open Streets MPLS news via social media:
Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/639970109432170/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OpenStreetsMPLS
Hashtag: #openstreetsMPLS
A special thanks to the SCCA Board members who have managed the outreach, planning, and coordination of the first ever Open Streets Franklin. There is no doubt that this event will be a great success and asset to the community!
– See more at: http://sewardbusiness.org/?p=1745&preview=true#sthash.QRlwDLyA.dpuf
