Wanna get to know the Twin Cities? Make time on Saturday! Statewide, participating gardens celebrate Community Garden Day by opening up their (mostly figurative) gates to their communities to commiserate, socialize, share, and show-off their hard work so far this year!
You might be shy about showing up to some of these unfamiliar gardens with unfamiliar people, but I guarantee these community gardeners are so excited about hosting hoards of guests for the day, and more importantly, getting to know their neighbors. Here is a directory of participating gardens and their planned events. I love the Community Garden Day Map on the CGD website. You can see the locations of the gardens that are participating, and click on the dots to see what’s going on. Many of the gardens are hosting meals, live music, projects, games, classes, tours, and hundreds of other activities to suit your interests.
The community garden I participate in, Sholom Community Garden in Saint Paul, was pretty late to the show this year, but we’re still planning on a casual potluck lunch, garden tours, and lawn games from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Many of my fellow gardeners will be there, and I know at least a few of us are so proud of our garden space. With all of the challenges it has given us (mostly having to do with weed-seeds), we’ve still managed to transform a weedy, empty piece of land into a productive, beautiful space. And we really want you to come see it! So please stop by for lunch!
Some events I noticed:
MCTC Urban Farm Collective in Downtown Minneapolis
3-7pm – Potluck, art in the garden, live music, kids cooking classes, and educational demonstrations of several types of composting
Midway Green Spirit Community Garden – Pierce Butler Rd & Hamline Ave
12-3pm – visitors can do our Show and Tell Activity at their own pace, meandering through the garden to read what our gardeners have learned and what makes them proud!
1pm – Community Circle: One of our gardeners will talk about the volunteer effort to grow and donate food to a local food pantry.
1:15pm – Growing Peppers for Seasoning: Another gardener has been growing peppers for 10+ years and has developed his own method for preparing the peppers to make spice blends.
1:30pm – Beehive Demonstration: One of our bee-keepers will talk about caring for the beehives at Green Spirit.
NE United Methodist Church Gardens – Cleveland & Lowry NE
7-9pm – Enjoy a grilled slice of the pizza garden; garden tours; recycled garden art activity.
Eat Street Community Garden – 2416 1st Ave
4-5pm – Opening night of “The Return of King Idomeneo: A Picnic Operetta,” by Mixed Precipitation. 5-course tasting menu of performance inspired delicacies served during the show. Donations accepted; reservations encouraged.
5-6pm – Gathering.
North End Community Garden – 3027 Penn Ave N
11 – 2pm – Fresh, homemade foods, using gardengrown ingredients; steel pan drum duo; tours of the garden.
Cornercopia U of M Student Organic Farm – Dudley Ave & Lindig Ave
4-7pm - Potluck; live music; tours; season extension & composting workshops; croquet tournament; make a Cornercopia T-shirt; plant fall crop seedlings to take home!
