The Dayton's Bluff  First Annual Vacant Home Tour

Saturday, May 3, 2008, 12 noon to 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 4, 2008, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

The historic St. Paul neighborhood is striking back against a foreclosure crisis that has flooded Dayton's Bluff with 300 vacant buildings. The neighborhood, named for a 19th-century land speculator, is throwing open the doors of 10 bank-owned houses that are sitting empty. The goal is to find families to re-homestead the houses and restore them to life.

The free trolley tour will shuttle people around to houses registered with St. Paul's vacant building list that range in price from $60,000 to $130,000. Some houses are move-in ready, but others may require thousands of dollars of work to bring up to code. All are structurally sound, according to the Dayton's Bluff District 4 Community Council.

The Dayton's Bluff trolley tour starts at the Dayton's Bluff District 4 Community Council offices at 798 E. Seventh Street. For information, call 651-772-2075 or go to www.daytonsbluff.org.

 

2008 Twin Cities Bungalow Club Home Tour

Saturday, May 10, 2008
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Bungalow Club members free; non-members $5 

Tour starts at 3627 27th Avenue S., Minneapolis.  This is a self-guided tour; no reservations necessary.  There are eight homes on the tour—four in Minneapolis and four in St. Paul.  Pick up a tour map with the homes’ addresses and descriptions any time after 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 10th at the first house:  3627 27th Avenue S., Minneapolis (just west of Hiawatha Avenue between 35th Street E. and 38th Street E.).

The Twin Cities Bungalow Club’s popular spring home tour will feature eight beautiful bungalows and other Arts & Crafts era houses.  You’ll see:
• A “green” bungalow renovation, which includes the use of reclaimed and recycled building materials, new energy-efficient appliances, new insulation, and even a kitchen countertop made of 100 percent recycled paper!
• A beautiful 1920s Dutch Colonial home with original interiors, including an entirely original kitchen.
• Bungalow kitchen cabinets crafted from salvaged vintage birch to match existing cabinets—they’re all beautiful, and you won’t be able to tell the old from the new! 
• Loads of classic bungalow features:  rich oak woodwork, built-ins, brick fireplaces and oodles of charm.
• An early 1930s home with seven original light fixtures, an all-original Art Deco bathroom and even a bedroom that retains its original floral wallpaper. 

Mark your calendar for May 10 and join us for this annual Twin Cities Bungalow Club celebration of vintage homes.  The tour is a great way to get ideas for your own home, chat with like-minded homeowners, and cruise bungalow neighborhoods.  And it’s a great way to kick off spring!  Questions:  612-724-5816.

 

 

Friends School Plant Sale  

Friday, May 9, 2008, 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 10, 2008, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 11, 2008, 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. (half price)

Minnesota State Fair Grandstand Building, St. Paul
www.friendsschoolplantsale.com

Each year on Mother’s Day weekend in May, St. Paul’s Friends School puts on the biggest fundraising plant sale in Minnesota, perhaps even in the Midwest.  Over 1,900 varieties of plants are offered
    
The sale is held in the State Fair’s Grandstand Building, where there is lots of indoor space with plenty of light and even indoor bathrooms.  Free parking is available anywhere on the Fairgrounds, but especially in the Midway, just southwest of the Grandstand.
    
The sale carries a full line of annuals, perennials, climbing plants, native wildflowers, and vegetables, with selected water plants, roses, and trees and shrubs. A catalog of the 2007 offerings is available on the sale’s Web site (www.friendsschoolplantsale.com), with PDF versions available in the catalog section of the site.
    
Entirely volunteer-run, the Friends School Plant Sale has become a Twin Cities institution with loyal fans.  The Friends School of Minnesota is a K–8 grade school founded in 1988 in the tradition of the 80 Quaker Friends Schools across the U.S.

 

3rd Annual Chicago Arts & Crafts Show and Sale

Saturday, May 17, 2008, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 28, 2008, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Concordia University, River Forest, IL

 More than 45 top dealers from across the country will offer antiques by Stickley, Limbert, Roycroft, Rookwood and many more, as well as the highest quality reproductions from the era.  The show features furniture, metalwork, pottery, textiles, art and lighting, as well as a selection of vintage reference materials from the period.  Call 651-695-1902 for more information or visit www.eastwoodgallery.com/artsandcrafts-chicago.html.

 

9th Annual Twin Cities Arts & Crafts Show and Sale

Mark your calendar now for the 9th Annual Twin Cities Arts & Crafts Show and Sale, September 20 and 21, 2008, at the Minnesota State Fair grounds.  Details to come, or visit www.eastwoodgallery.com.