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Nov 273 min read

LaSalle Park 2023 Year in Review

Updated: Nov 27

Sorry for being so belated in sharing all these great updates for our neighborhood! We were quite busy last year. Here is a summary of accomplishments and activities for 2023.

Mardis Gras 2023

For the second year in a row, LaSalle Park volunteers manned a double beer and drink tent in support of Soulard Mardi Gras. While it makes for a very long day for the volunteers, the event netted almost $3,500 for the Association. We plan to volunteer again in 2024 and are gathering volunteer names now!

Community Building: Kickball games

The Association funded two formal kickball games with neighborhood kids this summer, including food, drinks, and summertime outdoor gifts for the kids. Thanks to all who helped prep the field, setup and take down, and especially to those who came and played kickball with the kids! Best part, we later witnessed impromptu neighborhood games… Yay!

Neighborhood Meeting Signs

We have new yard signs announcing our meetings, and attendance is up! Here’s to increasing neighborhood involvement every year.

Repairing the bricks on the mall

While not an accomplishment of the board per se, volunteers in the neighborhood came together and repaired the loose / missing bricks on the Pedestrian Mall caused by the open fire hydrant in the heat of the summer. Perhaps we can help find a better way for the kids to keep their cool this summer, eh?

Community Building: Music on the Mall

The neighborhood association hosted one music night on the mall this year, with the musicians being funded by St. Louis Bank and beverages from 4Hands Brewery. Root Down performed, features Bob Row (LaSalle Park's Music Laureate) on keyboards and vocals, Kyle Kersteng on lead guitar and vocals, and Jake Row on drums. Other neighborly donations covered drinks, food, and summertime outdoor gifts for the kids. We are exploring the potential for funding for the musicians so that this can pick this up again for 2024 if desired.

Neighborhood Cleanup and Mall Tree Planting

Neighborhood residents up to clean up the mall and save it from falling into further disrepair! Neighbors and businesses that support LaSalle Park also stepped forward to fund the purchase of 10 trees to replace trees cut down on the Pedestrian Mall (aka “The Red Brick Road”). Many thanks to the businesses and residents who financially supported this, and to the residents and friends who engaged in the planting of the trees and the celebratory barbecue afterwards! Be on the lookout for bricks recognizing the financial sponsors for each tree.

if you’d like to participate in sponsoring something, we’ll have more opportunity for other items to be funded including benches on the mall. Reach out to any board member if you’d like to participate. The photo below shows shows the Mall before & after.

Neighborhood Night Out

LaSalle Park turned out again to celebrate Neighborhood Night out, and with generous sponsorship from Employment Connection. We had tables and chairs and live music put on by John Hoffman, our neighborhood DJ. We also had a new highlight with the introduction of a slack line setup by new LaSalle Park resident Lindy Wormwood. The slack line was in use non-stop by the kids from the moment it was setup until the end of the event! Thanks to organizers and sponsors for pulling off another fun night.

First Ever Bingo Fundraiser

The Association created a brand new Fundraiser … Bingo! Attendance was great, lots of people were engaged to pull it off, and best of all the event raised over a thousand dollars for the Association! Many thanks to the donators of prize items and the organizers for creating another evening of neighborhood camaraderie.

Outing to Houska Gallery

We celebrated “artist-in-residence” Lauren Tracey. Let us know if we have a reason to celebrate you next year!

LaSalle Park Holiday Party

We wrapped the year with a festive gathering at our favorite neighborhood brewery, 4Hands. 28 LaSalle Park residents and friends joined in the fun and we voted on and then recognized Brent Holmes, Meg Holmes, Ben West and Amanda Chasnoff, with “Spirit of LaSalle Park” awards. We also brainstormed some ideas for activities for 2024, so we can’t wait to see what 2024 has in store for us!