Mentelle Neighborhood Association

Farmers’ Market coming to Mentelle!

Mentelle neighborhood is about to get even better!

The Lexington Farmers’ Market is preparing for the grand opening of its Tuesday – Thursday market June 4 in the Warehouse Block. To get used to the space and allow the farmers and staff time to work on details, the market is hosting four neighborhood preview days — like a “soft launch.”

Neighborhood preview dates are May 21, 23, 28 and 30, roughly starting at 7 a.m. and continuing through around 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. The market will have many farmers but they may not be in the same spot each week. There likely will be adjustments to layout and logistics after each session, and the market will seek customer feedback on what is working and what isn’t.

But it will be great having the Tuesday-Thursday market, which formerly was at the corner of South Broadway and Maxwell Street near Rupp Arena, within walking distance of our homes.

Hambrick Block Party is May 19th

From MNA board member D’lorah Hughes:

The second annual Hambrick Avenue Block Party is next Sunday, May 19, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. All Mentelle neighborhood residents are invited for food, fun, and community-building. Please bring your own drink and a dish/snack to share!

Hambrick Avenue will be blocked off, so please walk or park on Ashland or Walton avenues. We’ll have:

balloon art by local artist Twist & Shout
a visit from the Lexington Fire Department – truck arrives at 4 p.m.
sidewalk chalk and bubbles
cornhole, Jenga, pickleball and other yard games
a bounce house for the kids
And more!

We hope you’ll join us!

Hazardous waste collection Friday

Lexington government is sponsoring a hazardous waste collection event this weekend. The Mentelle Neighborhood Association is coordinating an opportunity to drop off hazardous waste products from your homes and garages at Ashland Elementary in advance of this event. This service will allow you to free-up your weekend so you don’t have to wait in line to drop off your waste!

On Friday, May 10, you may drop off one box load of any of the hazardous waste products on this list at the Ashland Elementary School parking lot between 5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Shelby Reynolds will take this load to the drop off center on Saturday. Please note:

This service is free to members of the Mentelle Neighborhood Association. If you are not a member but live in the neighborhood, we request that you join our Association or pay $10 cash when you make the drop off.
Please limit your load to one medium-size box. Many neighborhood residents will want to participate, so please be reasonable.
You must limit your items to things on the list. Please do not ask for exceptions. Please be sure items are well sealed so they will not spill.
This is a first-come, first-serve service. Once the pickup truck is filled, we will cease taking items.

Thanks from the median committee

From Jill and Ray DeBolt, chairs of the Mentelle median committee:

A huge thank you to all those who have donated their time to keeping the Mentelle median beautiful!

We had a dedicated work crew on Saturday, April 20th, who weeded and mulched the beds: Ray and Jill Debolt, Gil Dunn, Tom Lillich, Shelby Reynolds and Barb Wagoner.

Many neighbors have contributed to keeping the median looking nice throughout the year: Janet Howard and her grandson cleaned out the naturalized bed and maintained the bed on the 3rd median, Barb Wagoner has spent many hours working on the Richmond Road entrance bed, and the Eblen and Giancarlo families picked up sticks prior to the Easter egg hunt. Many more have contributed by picking up trash and other unsightly deposits, caring for trees etc.

Thanks to all who have contributed an estimated 50 hours of sweat equity over this past year!

Book and plant swap is today!

Have any extra books, plants, cuttings or seeds you would like to share with neighbors? (And get a few for yourself?) Then come to the neighborhood Plant & Book Swap in the Mentelle Park median nearest Cramer Avenue today, beginning at 2 p.m.

While you’re swapping and socializing, there will be a wine tasting by a local wine merchant. If you want to participate, there is a suggested donation of $5 per person.

Plant & Book Swap Saturday April 27

While you’re swapping and socializing, there will be a wine tasting by a local wine merchant. If you want to participate, there is a suggested donation of $5 per person.

If you live in Mentelle neighborhood — between Walton Avenue and Mentelle Park, East Main Street/Richmond Road and Winchester Road — and are not a member of the Mentelle Neighborhood Association, please join to help support more activities such as this. Click here for more information.

Mentelle median cleanup April 20

Did you know that the Mentelle Park median is an official city park? That’s why the city arborists do such a good job of taking care of our trees, and the city landscaping crews keep it mowed in warm weather. But it’s up to us to keep it looking its best. That’s important, because the median is the site of several neighborhood gatherings each year, including the Easter Egg Hunt we had on March 30 and the fall potluck we will have in September.

Neighborhood volunteers will cleaning up the median on Saturday, April 20, beginning at 9 a.m. Please come out and join them if you’re free that morning. If questions, contact Jill DeBolt, co-chair of the median committee.

Thanks for a great Easter egg hunt!

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Thanks to everyone who came out for the annual Mentelle Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt this morning. Our neighborhood children found all 912 donated eggs within 10 minutes!

Special thanks to: Kim Naujokas, who organized the event and donated the coffee and Spalding’s donuts; Dean Holt, who starred as the Easter Bunny; and to all of you who donated candy-filled plastic eggs and cleaned up and prepared the Mentelle Park median for today’s event.

You can support this and other great neighborhood events by joining the Mentelle Neighborhood Association. Click here to join.

Easter Egg hunt is tomorrow!

We look forward to seeing all Mentelle Neighborhood residents and their families tomorrow at 10 a.m. for our annual Easter Egg Hunt. Thanks to the generosity of our neighbors, we have plenty of eggs for another wonderful hunt this year!

We will gather in between the two medians closest to Cramer Avenue. Kids aged 5-10 will hunt on the first median (closest to Cramer) and those younger than 5 will hunt on the second median. The Easter Bunny will be with us for photos from 9:45 – 10:30 a.m. Complimentary coffee and Spalding’s Bakery donuts will be available for all neighborhood residents to enjoy.

See you at the hunt!

Giving eggs for the hunt? Hop to it!

Our annual Easter Egg Hunt is right around the corner! If you wish to donate filled plastic eggs for the Mentelle Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 30, please bring them to the porch of 29 Mentelle Park. Donations will be accepted until the evening of Friday, March 29. We would love to have at least 600 eggs to make this a fun and memorable event for our neighborhood’s children. Thank you to everyone who has already dropped off eggs!

The hunt will begin at 10 a.m. on the Mentelle Park medians near Cramer Avenue. There will be two hunts — one for little kids through age 4 and one for bigger kids ages 5-10. Bigger kids will hunt on the median closest to Cramer and the little ones will hunt on the second median. And the Easter Bunny will be there starting at 9:45 a.m. for photos and to hand out additional treats to the kids.

No small children in your household? No problem! We hope that all Mentelle Neighborhood residents will come out to socialize with your neighbors and celebrate the beginning of spring. Complimentary coffee and delicious donuts from Spalding’s Bakery will be available to all.

We hope to see all Mentelle Neighborhood residents there!