Bancroft Neighborhood Association

Pupuseria de las Palmas is now open for business on the northeast corner of 42nd and Cedar (former location of Stabby’s).  They offer delicious Latin American food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, featuring pupusas, which are like a Salvadoran version of pasties (like Hot Pockets, but 1000 times better).  BNA is thrilled to see a new local business in this location that was empty for far too long.  We hope the neighborhood will come together to support this great new addition to the area.

At Saturday’s Blooms Day event at Mark Sauter and Hung Truong accepted the 2011 Best Community Garden award on behalf of Bancroft.  We all look forward to another season of fresh food and neighborhood fellowship in this beautiful garden.

It’s almost Blooms Day! Don’t miss out on the plant sale and free workshops, AND seeing BNA Master Gardener Mark Sauter accept an award on behalf of the Bancroft Community Garden. The event takes place at Kenny Community School (5720 Emerson Ave S) from 8:30 to 1:00 on Saturday May 5th.

More information at http://www.metroblooms.org/bloomsday.php

Early in the afternoon of May 6th there will be explosions in the Bancroft Meadows.  As part of a participatory performance art project, bicyclists will lob ceramic ‘bombs’ full of flower seeds onto the Meadows’ grassy slopes.  But before the bombs fly you can experience the rest of this project by visiting the Soap Factory.  The opening reception is April 28th from 7 to 11pm and admission, as always, is free:

FLO(we){u}R highlights a little known detail of American history. Beginning in 1914 terra cotta factories, which produced the decorative facades on buildings in downtowns across the United States, were commissioned to make ceramic test bombs for the military. Historically, the ceramic bombs were filled with baking flour and dropped from airplanes. The white marks made by the broken shells allowed early pilots to calibrate their targeting. The Soap Factory’s location in Minneapolis’ historic milling district lends rich context to the humble materials filling each bomb.

The Soap Factory’s gallery space will house a full scale bomb manufacturing facility and all aspects of production will be on display, from clay mixing through molding to drying. Over the course of the project, labor will accumulate in the form of dummy test bombs. Two variations of the terra cotta dummy bomb will be produced based on original WWI blueprints. One model is fired for use as a seed shaker. The second model is un-fired will be used for test launches and a one time seed dispersal at the end of the exhibition. These seeding will leave new white blooming mark on the landscape.

During FLO(we){u}R, the audience will not only be able to see production in process; they will be able to interact with the dummy test bombs in multiple ways. Deviating from the military’s intentions towards accuracy and destruction, the interactive and performative elements will address dispersion and formation. Ginsburg and Madrigal use history and metaphor to insert a poetic undoing of the bombs’ military past. Gallery visitors are encouraged to fill bombs with a custom dispersal mix of flour and white blooming seed mixes. This mix will be scattered throughout Minneapolis by on artist-led seed walks throughout the Minneapolis Park system or by bicycle on seed rides. In this way, the artists reverse the military precision of aerial targeting and allow for a more open-ended random dispersal.

An additional seed scattering event is scheduled for June 9th during the Northern Spark Festival. A full schedule of artist talks, seed rides and events will be available at www.soapfactory.org

BIKE BOMB SEED SHAKER RIDES

May 6th to Bancroft Meadows: departs 12:00pm

May 13th to Theodore Wirth Park: departs 3:00pm

May 20th 14th St & Quincy St NE: departs 3:00pm

ARTIST TALKS

May 4th 8:00 pm

May 19th 4:00 pm

May 25th 8:00pm

TALKING IMAGE CONNECTION: FLO(we){u}R Power, May 12th 8pm

CLOSING EVENT AND MOLD SALE: May 26th 7:00 pm

Saturday May 5th from 3:00 – 6:00 at Pearl Park (on Diamond Lake Road and Portland Ave)

All About Family is hosting a dads and kids event where dads and their kids are going to make a Mothers day gift to honor their wives, mothers and baby mommas.  There is no fee: just donate what you can and each child will go home with a Mothers Day gift (long before Mothers Day) Hide it and keep it for mothers day or give it right away, the choice is yours. Participants will also help make gift bags for a local area food shelf for families in transition, and a meal will be served at 5:00.

This is a great way for dads to spend time with their kids (age is open) and create a gift for the mother of their children. This is open to dads who are not with the mothers of their children and also to step-dads,granddads, boyfriends etc.

Reserve your spot by contacting kelley01@visi.com

Come learn more about the Community Energy Services program and how to reduce energy waste in your home at one of our presentations!  We always provide coffee, cookies and FREE childcare.  You will also have a chance to schedule a home energy visit* from our energy experts.  Presentations begin promptly at their scheduled time and typically last between 45 minutes to an hour long.  To register by phone call 612-219-7334.

Saturday, April 28 at 10:00am, Green Central Park School  (3416 4th Ave S)

*Community Energy Services Home Energy Visit is currently available only to Minneapolis homeowners in owner-occupied single-family, duplex, triplex and four-plex homes.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) is seeking community members to serve two-year appointments on the Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee (MBAC).  Those interested in serving on this committee should submit an application before 4:30 p.m. Friday April 27, 2012.  Applications are available at www.minneapolisparks.org in the volunteer section or by calling customer service at 612-230-6400.

The MBAC functions as an advisory committee to the Mayor and City Council as well as the Park Board, and serves as a liaison to bicyclists, businesses, neighborhoods, and other communities and agencies. It promotes commuter as well as recreational bicycling, advocates for bicycling infrastructure improvements, encourages safe riding, and works to involve city residents interested in bicycling issues.

The Park Board will appoint three at-large members from the Minneapolis Bicycling community. The term will be from June 1, 2012 to May 31, 2014. The MBAC currently meets the last Wednesday of every month from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. There is no compensation for serving on the committee.

Originally formed in 1990, the MBAC’s initial membership represented the Mayor’s Office, Public Works, City Planning, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, City Graphics, Meter Monitors, City Council, the State Legislative Liaison, the City Public Information Office, the Minneapolis Police Department, the Minneapolis Park Police and a local liaison. Over time, the membership has evolved to include additional staff and community members.

The City of Minneapolis has adopted a new zoning code that makes it easier to grow and sell fresh, local food in the city. The zoning code text amendment approves two new land uses—for market gardens and urban farms—and sets development and design standards. Community gardens are already allowed in most areas of the city and there were more than one hundred of them in place last year. This new effort expands food growing opportunities for the benefit of resident health, the environment and the economic vitality of the city.

Under the new code, barriers that make it difficult to establish land uses for agriculture in the city have been removed. Urban agricultural land uses are now expanded in all zoning districts to include:

• Small market gardens, 10,000 square feet or less of growing area on the ground, on a rooftop, or inside a building.  A new temporary use permit was also created, allowing a farmstand to operate for up to 15 days per year.  This allows market and community gardeners limited ability to sell products at the location they are grown.
• Larger market gardens, on the ground, on a rooftop, or inside a building. Conditional use permit required; must be compatible with surrounding properties.
• Urban farms, limited to industrial districts and the general commercial district (C4 district), allowing produce to be grown, processed and distributed on the same lot.

The change in the zoning code originates from a broader vision and a specific recommendation for policy changes to support access to land for growing food and to support local food-related activities that was put forward in the first phase of the Homegrown Minneapolis initiative.

Stemming from the Homegrown Minneapolis initiative, the Minneapolis City Council formally adopted an Urban Agriculture Policy Plan in 2011. The Urban Agriculture Policy Plan clarified that development and agricultural land uses can be accommodated throughout the city. The plan was managed by the Minneapolis Departments of Health and Family Support and Community Planning and Economic Development and funded by the State Health Improvement Program and funded by the Minneapolis Department of Health and Family Support’s Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP), which aims to help residents live longer, healthier lives by reducing the burden of chronic disease.

The Urban Agriculture Policy Plan has been incorporated into the City’s comprehensive plan, The Minneapolis Plan for Sustainable Growth, to guide the decisions of elected officials and provide a basis for land regulation through the zoning ordinance. The comprehensive plan contains several goals and policy statements regarding healthy communities through connections between land use, transportation, urban design and community access to food. A healthy community is a sustainable community, and planning and zoning provide us with opportunities to create a healthier population and a more sustainable environment.

Bancroft Elementary’s Parent Teacher Organization is hosting a community art night on Tuesday the 27th from 5 to 8pm at Bancroft Elementary School.  Join your friends and neighbors for a celebration of the rich art culture flourishing in our neighborhood.  Admission is free and the event includes a handmade art sale, a gallery of student art, and children’s art workshops put on by local organizations.  More info at http://www.bancroftschoolpto.org/

2012: THE YEAR OF COMPOST!
To encourage area residents to make 2012 the year to start composting, Saint Paul’s Union Park District Council (which is what Saint Paul calls its neighborhood associations) is offering training, $25 COMPOST BINS, and even a chance to win gift certificates from area businesses. To learn more, visit https://sites.google.com/site/unionparkcomposter/home. There you can take a crash course in composting, test your knowledge, and reserve your compost bin! The offer is open to both Minneapolis and St. Paul residents.

If you think composting is a good idea, sign/Like the Resolution Compost 2012 pledge on their homepage. If you already compost, consider sharing your story to inspire others.