The Northfield Downtown Development Corporation (NDDC) held its annual partnership celebration at the Grand Event Center on Friday night.
Ross Currier’s prediction came true. There was "live music, free appetizers, a cash bar, a low-key raffle, and a whole bunch of friends and neighbors."
See the large slideshow of 9 photos (recommended) or SLOW CLICK this small slideshow:
Jessica Paxton, promoter of all-things downtown Northfield, is teaming up with Mr. music promoter Rich Larson to bring Trailer Trash, Minnesota’s premier honky-tonk band, to the Grand Event Center on Dec. 15 for the Northfield version of their annual holiday show, A Trashy Little Christmas. The evening will include an opening set by Matt Arthur and the Bratlanders.
I caught up with Jessica and Rich last night at the Contented Cow and coaxed Plum St. resident Angie Ekern to pose for a photo with them, holding up an article in the StarTribune from earlier this week that announced the details on the Trailer Trash series of Xmas shows:
Like the classic country songs they purvey year-round, Trailer Trash’s annual "Trashy Little X-Mas" marathon never seems to grow old. The Twin Cities honky-tonk kings have a stocking full of original novelty songs ("I’ve Shopped Everywhere," "Santa’s a Spy") to go with a bulging bag of covers and traditional holiday tunes, played in not-so-traditional and often rowdy ways. [See this StarTribune 2008 profile of Trailer Trash.]
Advance tickets for Northfield’s ‘Trashy Little Christmas’ show are available online via credit card or PayPal here for an amazingly cheap $8 (less than half the price for their show in Rochester). Don’t wait, however. This show could sell out and then you’ll have to confess to your grandchildren someday that you could have been there for the inaugural show but sat around on your fat ass until it was too late.
And yes, trashy old Locally Grown Northfield has signed on to be one of the financial sponsors of the show, along with the NDDC, KYMN, and possibly others. This could be an annual event that’s both great fun for locals and effective at bringing people from around the region to visit our fair city. Thanks to those of you who are LoGro members, LoGro advertisers, and who click on the Google ads. Your financial support is paying for our sponsorship of the show.
So what are you waiting for?
When I was up at St. Olaf’s Buntrock Commons a couple weeks ago for the Eat Local Challenge, I noticed a big NDDC poster outside of The Lion’s Pause with the headline: Locate your business in downtown Northfield.
NDDC Executive Director Ross Currier published an Oct. 3 blog post that explains. An excerpt:
One of the new initiatives that this group developed was alumni entrepreneur recruitment. In addition to promoting downtown Northfield as a marketplace, we wanted to promote it as a business location, particularly to the graduates of Carleton and St. Olaf Colleges. We introduced the concept for the first time at this year’s Homecoming Weekends.
I knew this poster was in the works because back in early August, Ross had asked me to contribute photos for it and they needed one additional: a photo of creative class types working in a coffeehouse.
All month long, I kept watching for a good photo op from my early morning corner office at GBM but it never quite came together.
So on Aug. 29, noticing that I had the raw material for a photo, I asked the laptop users to switch tables. I then asked Nancy Amerman who was sitting with a group of runners to sit at my laptop for the photo. Perfecto.
It should be noted that Nancy felt no shame over helping to perpetuate this fraud, whereas at least I felt conflicted. And yet she calls herself a Christian. Go figure.
Ross Currier’s NDDC blog has the announcement about Crazy Daze today: Alaskan Doughnuts…er…uh…Crazy Daze, this Thursday!
But, yes, this Thursday (July 28th) is Crazy Daze in downtown Northfield. Starting at 8 a.m. with activities until 8 p.m., it’s a whole lot of fun brought to you by the Retail Committee of the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce.
This year’s events include a Watermelon Seed Spittting Contest, 11:00 a.m., Just Food; Bean Bag Toss, 1:30 p.m., Fine Threads; Hula Hoop Contest, 2:00 p.m., Rare Pair; and Classic Cars, 5 p.m., on Division Street between 5th and 6th Streets.
But a glance at the home pages of Northfield.org, the Northfield News, Northfield Patch, and KYMN at 6:15 am this morning reveals a complete lack of information about Crazy Daze.
The Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce (the main sponsor of Crazy Daze) lists the event on its community calendar page but with this feeble, generic paragraph:
Don’t miss this crazy shopping spree in downtown Northfield every July. Fantastic bargains are provided by local retailers. Call for details and times for special events taking place all day! (507) 645 5604 or (800) 658 2548.
The featured event page on the Chamber’s Convention and Bureau’s site is even more cryptic:
Don’t miss this crazy shopping spree in downtown Northfield every July. Fantastic bargains are provided by local retailers.
nor is there any mention of the event on the Visiting Northfield Facebook page, nor on the Be Local Northfield Facebook page.
Last year, the Chamber had a Crazy Daze poster/flyer. Was there one this year? I’ve not seen it in store windows, but maybe I’ve just missed it.
Something has failed.
NDDC‘s Ross Currier has taken a cue from Governor Rick Perry’s Proclamation for Days of Prayer for Rain in Texas to issue a similar but opposite proclamation for Northfield this week. I took the photo of him on his knees this morning at the Church of the Blue Monday where we both attend religiously.
He wants sunny skies for the Sixth Annual Taste of Northfield (blog post here, full event info/schedule here), held tomorrow and Friday in downtown Northfield on Bridge Square.
Last year’s Taste was memorable; Day 1/Thursday night was a bust (photos) in part because of a botched triggering of severe weather sirens; Day 2/Friday night was spectacular (photos).
See all Locally Grown’s archived Taste of Northfield blog posts and photos for more.
Here’s the transcript of Ross’ adapted prayer for fair weather:
Almighty Lord God, who for the sin of man didst once drown all the world, except eight persons, and afterward of thy great mercy didst promise never to destroy it so again; We humbly beseech thee, that although we for our iniquities have worthily deserved a plague of rain and waters, yet upon our true repentance thou wilt send us such weather for the Taste of Northfield, that we may receive the fruits of the earth in due season; and learn both by thy punishment to amend our lives, and for thy clemency to give thee praise and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Someone from the NDDC put up this sandwich board in front of the Northfield Post Office this morning. I’m not saying who it was.
See the NDDC’s Keep the Northfield Post Office Downtown page for the latest news.
FYI, the municipal code for sidewalk signs reads:
Sidewalk signs in C-1 and C-2 zones. The use of sidewalk signs shall only be allowed in the central business zones (C-1 and C-2). All sidewalk signs shall be limited to two feet in width and 3½ feet in height, including the support members. No sign shall have more than two faces. Changeable copy is permitted except for plastic letters. The sign shall be placed only in front of the business without significantly limiting the normal pedestrian use of the sidewalk. One sign is permitted for each building/land frontage, and it shall be removed from the sidewalk at the end of each business day. No sidewalk sign shall be lighted. No sign permit is required.
Well, people are very disappointed for the closure of the building. However, there’s this new rumor that building might turn into a commercial office space for rent.
That sign looks to be at least a half inch taller than allowed. Someone should report this.
Last June, I whined about all the ugly recycling bins and newspaper vending racks downtown. There were plans to do something about it.
After being removed for the winter, all 20 recycling bins are now back. And with more than two dozen newspaper vending racks currently downtown (most between 2nd and 5th on Division), it’s pretty ugly. Here’s my count:
Any chance that the City of Northfield Streets, Parks & Facilities Division, the Streetscape Task Force (website still out-of-date), the NDDC, Northfield in Bloom (website dead), 1st Ward Councilor Suzie Nakasian, and whoever else could get together and address this problem this year?
Alas, I wasn’t able to stick around and take photos tonight at the Winter Dance Party at the Grand Event Center, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Northfield and the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation (NDDC).
If you have photos or know of any posted online anywhere, let us know.
