Join Habitat at Open Streets St. Paul this Sunday

People not only deserve safe, decent homes, but safe, decent neighborhoods. That is why Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity’s Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI) is taking part in two events this fall – one in Minneapolis and one in St. Paul – that promote active lifestyles, local businesses and transportation, and neighborhood pride. Open Streets St. Paul will take place on September 15th on a portion of University Avenue. Open Streets Minneapolis will take place on September 21st on a portion of Lowry Avenue. This will allow local residents, as well as visitors, to explore these vibrant neighborhoods like never before by walking, biking, or skating. In addition there will be various activities, musical performances, and booths sponsored by local businesses and organizations.

Habitat’s booths for each event will be located in our NRI focus neighborhoods: in the Frogtown/Rondo community in St. Paul and in the Jordan community in Minneapolis. While Habitat for Humanity is best known for its homebuilding, Habitat also has some phenomenal programs such as A Brush with Kindness, the Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Program, as well as NRI. NRI as a program is specifically focused on building community, not just building houses. It takes more than one safe, affordable, quality house to revive a neighborhood. That is why NRI has taken the initiative to partner with community members and local organizations to help build capacity and make sustainable change for everyone in Frogtown/Rondo and in Jordan. We want our families to be safe, successful, and proud of the neighborhoods they live in.

The Open Streets event in St. Paul will take place on Sunday, September 15th, from 11am-6pm on University Avenue between Hamline Ave and Marion Street. The event will include programming such as yoga, dance lessons, cooking demonstrations and sampling, bike safety classes, and live music. There will also be a Passport Program for people to take part in with the chance to win a bike! For this event, Habitat’s Booth will be located on the south side of University Ave at Victoria St.

Open Streets Minneapolis will take place the following Saturday, September 21st, from 11am-6pm on Lowry Avenue between Vincent Avenue North and Lyndale Avenue North. The Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition modeled their event after the Colombian tradition of “Ciclovia,” in which residents are able to celebrate the open streets safely, free of cars. There will be food trucks, live music, yoga, and other fun activities. For this event, Habitat’s booth will be located at the intersection of Logan Ave North and North Lowry Ave.

For more information visit openstreetsmpls.com or stpaulopenstreets.org. We hope to see you there!

By: Leah Hubbard