Hello awesome West Bank friends,

Spring is here and we’ve got some great opportunities for you – some are coming up soon!

West Bank Art Crawl – Proposals due Thursday

The call for proposals for creative projects up and down Cedar Ave closes this Thursday March 31st.

Chosen projects will be installed the week of Earth Day and will be highlighted on an Arts Walk on April 23rd and throughout the summer.

2016 – Major Events

There are quite a few events coming through the West Bank this year. Come to our April meeting and find out more about how businesses can be involved. We’ll be meeting April 21, 3:00pm at Allen Christian’s House of Balls – 1504 S 7th St Ste 108. Minneapolis, MN 55454

Big events on the West Bank this year:

– Northern Spark (June 11, 2016)

– West Bank Block Party (September 10, 2016)

– Open Streets (October 1, 2016)

West Bank Brochure launch – call for coupons! 

We’ll West Bank Area Directories ready to go for the Earth Day celebration, along with maps and way finding at parking lots.

We’re inviting West Bank businesses to offer a coupon incentive in the Earth Day insert we’ll be creating for the brochure. Have a special incentive you’d like to offer? Ideas could include:

– Free appetizer with two meals

– 20% off dinner when you show your ticket / ticket to any West Bank Venue performance

– Free hugs!

Please send us your coupon offer by April 7, 2016 – only text is needed. Please provide an SKU if you are using one and we can list that as well. Email us at westbankba@gmail.com.

This is my neighborhood – Week-long Earth Day celebration!

In conjunction with Earth Day we’re working with community partners to host another week-long celebration. We’ll have neighborhood clean-ups, an art crawl, and more! The week will culminate with an neighborhood crawl Art Crawl on Saturday afternoon leading into the Cedar Cultural’s Center Plaza grand opening celebration.

• Do you have a “This Is My Neighborhood” / Earth Week activity that you’d like help with or want to add to our list? If so, send us:
  • What you want to do (host a clean-up? paint a mural? etc)
  • Send us information for the contact person
  • Let us know if volunteers are needed (and if so, how many)
  • And let us know the date and time (ranging between April 15-23)

You can send this information to: j.weber.mn@gmail.com

The West Bank Vision – conversation with council members

Last year we met to talk about how we can work together more as we shape the long-term vision for our neighborhood. We continue to build on that work and take an engaged path in shaping the future of the West Bank.

Please join us as we connect once again with Council Members Jacob Frey, Cam Gordon, & Abdi Warsame as they share updates and insight on plans for Minneapolis, our neighbors, and how the West Bank / Cedar-Riverside community fits.

How do we work together and cultivate the changes we want to see in our neighborhood? We’ll share information on the neighborhood’s active workgroups, committees, and how you can be more involved.

We’ll be meeting at The Southern Theater, 1420  Washington Ave S, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454 on Friday April 22, 10:00am-11:30am.

Bicycle Benefits 

Bicycle Benefits is a nationwide program that encourages bicyclists to ride to local businesses by offering them discounts or promotions at those businesses. Riders buy a sticker to put on their helmets, and just show the sticker when buying something at the local business.

Being a business partner for Bicycle Benefits is easy. Just choose a benefit (for example, 5% off your purchase, or 50 cents off a coffee), and let us know! We’ll send you a sticker for your window, and add you to the Bicycle Benefits website. It’s as easy as that! If you’d like to sell Bicycle Benefits helmet stickers, you can order them online here.

Bicycle Benefits Twin Cities is managed by the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition. If you have any questions on being a part of Bicycle Benefits, please contact Alex at alex@mplsbike.org. Learn more about the program and see what other businesses have signed up at www.bicyclebenefits.org, and select the Twin Cities.

The website is www.bicyclebenefits.org, and the direct link to the Twin Cities benefits is here:

http://www.bicyclebenefits.org/#/cities/40