Mardi Gras parade is Saturday!

The Mentelle Mardi Gras parade is Saturday afternoon. Come out in your best Mardi Gras attire (including a face mask) and catch some beads! A parade made up of your neighbors will start at 3 p.m. and will circle Mentelle Park until 3:30 p.m. There are two ways to participate:

Join the Parade

Decorate your car, get some beads and join the parade! If you would like to be part of the action, please park your car along the curb on Mentelle Park facing Richmond Road by 2:45 pm. If you live on Mentelle Park, you can position your car at the end of your driveway with your car facing the street. As the parade passes you, just pull out after the last vehicle in line to become part of the parade. Please remember that drivers should be prepared to drive slow — it’s a parade, not a race! — stay off their cell phones and leave bead-throwing to their passengers.
Kids with bikes are invited to be part of the Kids Krewe!  Any children who would like to ride together as a group may do so by gathering at the top of Mentelle Park by Cramer Avenue by 2:45 p.m. They will follow the lead vehicle and must stay together to be safe. This is probably not appropriate for smaller children, who may not be able to stay with the group.

Watch the Parade

Get decked out in your best Mardi Gras outfit and catch some beads! Mentelle Park residents can watch from their front lawns and other neighborhood residents can pick their favorite spot along the median. Please wear a mask and ensure you are physically distanced from those outside of your household.

Prizes!

Two prizes will be awarded: one for “Best Mardi Gras Vehicle” and one for “Best Mardi Gras Outfit.” Prizes will be announced following the parade.

After the Parade

If you are willing to help clean up after the parade ends, just grab a trash bag and take a walk around part of Mentelle Park to collect any discarded items. Your help is appreciated!

Join in the Mentelle Mardi Gras Parade!

On Saturday, February 6 (inclement weather backup day is Saturday, February 13), Mentelle Neighborhood residents are invited to get outside, don your best Mardi Gras attire (including a face mask), and catch some beads! A parade made up of your neighbors and specialty vehicles will start at 3 p.m. and will circle Mentelle Park until 3:30 p.m. There are two ways to participate:

Join the Parade

Decorate your car, get some beads and join the parade! If you would like to be part of the action, please park your car along the curb on Mentelle Park facing Richmond Road by 2:45 pm. If you live on Mentelle Park, you can position your car at the end of your driveway with your car facing the street. As the parade passes you, just pull out after the last vehicle in line to become part of the parade. Please remember that drivers should be prepared to drive slow — it’s a parade, not a race! — stay off their cell phones and leave bead-throwing to their passengers.
Kids with bikes are invited to be part of the Kids Krewe!  Any children who would like to ride together as a group may do so by gathering at the top of Mentelle Park by Cramer Avenue by 2:45 p.m. They will follow the lead vehicle and must stay together to be safe. This is probably not appropriate for smaller children, who may not be able to stay with the group.

Watch the Parade

Get decked out in your best Mardi Gras outfit and catch some beads! Mentelle Park residents can watch from their front lawns and other neighborhood residents can pick their favorite spot along the median. Please wear a mask and ensure you are physically distanced from those outside of your household.

Prizes!

Two prizes will be awarded: one for “Best Mardi Gras Vehicle” and one for “Best Mardi Gras Outfit.” Prizes will be announced following the parade.

After the Parade

If you are willing to help clean up after the parade ends, just grab a trash bag and take a walk around part of Mentelle Park to collect any discarded items. Your help is appreciated!

Visitation today for Clinton Land

Clinton Land, 73, who lived most of his life at 22 Mentelle Park, died January 20 with his wife of 51 years, Sharon, his sister Helen, and his granddaughter Grace by his side. He is survived by Sharon, sons Clint (Jennifer, Christopher,) Denver (Jenny, Elizabeth,) daughter Lindsey (John, Jordan, Grace, Eli, Nevaeh,) and sister Helen (CJ, Sara Jane). Services will be limited to visitation of family and friends at the family home today from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Social distancing and masks required.

MNA board meeting Thursday

The monthly meeting of the Mentelle Neighborhood Association’s board of directors this week has been moved from Wednesday to Thursday at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Any MNA member is welcome to attend. If you would like to attend, email Tom Eblen for a link and connecting info.

Gas line work nearing completion

Columbia Gas and its contractors will be working to complete final restoration work for the pipeline replacement project in the Mentelle Neighborhood over the next several weeks.  Installation of the main and service lines is complete, and restoration of sidewalks, driveways, landscaping and roadways is underway on Cramer, Hambrick, Franklin and Bullock avenues.

Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians should use caution and follow the direction of signage and flaggers in the construction zone.
Customers with questions or concerns can call the Columbia Gas project hotline at 859-288-6355 or send an email to company communications specialist Risa Richardson at: risarichardson@nisource.com.

See the ‘Celebrate Winter’ winners

Thanks to everyone who entered the first Celebrate Winter contest for Mentelle Neighborhood Association members to decorate and light your home. Here are the winners, who receive a gift certificate to a nearby locally owned business.

1 Mentelle Park  Unit F  — Barbara Wagner   Shiny ornaments on bare branches cut through the gloom of a winter’s day.

24 Mentelle Park — Clark Lester and Logan Wilson   An angelic trio looks down on a wonderland of color and light.

25 Mentelle Park — Selma and Eddie Owens   Classic and Classy.

41 Mentelle Park — Kate Smith   Jupiter and Saturn have nothing on these shining heavenly bodies. Or the brilliant reindeer (Florence Lightengale) ready to spring into flight.

42 Mentelle Park — Jill and Ray DeBolt    If we had a pretty arched attic window, we’d decorate it too.

709 Aurora Ave. — Jeremy and Melissa Miller   Wow! Just wow!  

718 Aurora Ave. — Bethany Baxter and Willie Davis   Evergreens and white lights on a cozy cottage brighten the night.

808 Aurora Ave. — Helen Martin    Gotta love a holiday parrot in winter. Or is it a toucan? 

809 Aurora Ave. — Erin (Crum) Johnson    Keep your mitts off the boxes and bows. That nutcracker soldier could land some hard blows.

728 Bullock Place — Tracy and Pat Davis   Lush evergreens and a candle’s gleam in every window make this a home for the holidays.

145 N. Hanover Ave. — Steven and Justine Pickarski   Deck the porch, door, windows, shrubs and tree, ’tis the season to be jolly. 

312 Hanover Court — Chris and Mercedes Harn   Red-bowed wreaths and icicle lights, these are a few of our favorite sights.

811 East Main St. — Kendall Peaks  Wherefore art thou, Santa Claus? The balcony is decorated and awaits your reindeer paws.

You better watch out Sunday: Santa Claus is coming to Mentelle

Santa will be driving through Mentelle neighborhood, waving to children and posing for socially distanced photographs on Sunday, Dec. 20, from 2:30 p.m. until 4 p.m., courtesy of Chad Walker and The Warehouse Block.

But you don’t have to stand out in the cold to watch and wait for the jolly old elf, who will be riding in a red hotrod rather than a sleigh. Parents can use their smart phone or computer to track Santa’s trip through the neighborhood at this website, which will go live Sunday.

Also that afternoon, prizes will be awarded in the Mentelle Neighborhood Association’s first “Celebrate Winter” contest for members to decorate and light up their houses and yards for the holidays.

The association spent $500 on gift cards from 13 local restaurants and merchants to reward the best-decorated houses and, more importantly, to support our local businesses to help ensure they’re still around next year when the pandemic ends.

Gift cards were purchased from: Blue Door Smokehouse; Coles on Main; Selma’s Catering; Etchison Florist and Lady Bug; Lucia’s World Emporium; Wilson’s Grocery & Meats; Centered Holistic Health; Mirror Twin Brewing; Rolling Oven Pizza; Popcorn Paradise; Le Petit Delicat; Ruth Hunt Candies; and Sav’s Restaurant & Homemade Ice Cream.

It’s your last chance to sign up for the ‘Celebrate Winter’ contest

You have two more days to enter the Mentelle Neighborhood Association’s  “Celebrate Winter” contest for members to decorate and light up their houses and yards for the holidays. Valuable prizes — gift certificates to nearby merchants — will be awarded in several categories. This is a great opportunity for pandemic creativity.  Show off your elegance! Indulge your inner Griswold!

Entry deadline is end of the day December 12, and decorations will be judged after December 16.  Click here to download the entry form.

Winners will be announced and prizes awarded December 20. That afternoon, from 2:30 p.m. until 4 p.m., the Warehouse Block management has arranged for Santa to tour the neighborhood in an antique hotrod with socially distanced greetings for kids.