One of the goals of Saturday's Connecting the Dots-Neighborhood Celebration of the Year is to showcase positive changes happening in Duluth's neighborhoods.
Where better, then, to hold the annual, free public event than at Lincoln Park's refurbished Clyde Iron Works next to the Duluth Heritage Center?
"Having it right here in Lincoln Park is a badge of respect that we've been working to earn," said Lincoln Park Business Group president Bob Maclean. "The whole development of the Heritage and the Clyde has been a central point of development that hopefully will lead to other development for this whole corridor."
The Lincoln Park Business Group is part of the 27-group collaborative At Home in Duluth-Creating Neighborhoods that Work. The collaborative is working to improve the quality of life in five core Duluth neighborhoods: Central Hillside, East Hillside, Lincoln Park, Morgan Park and West Duluth. The collaborative's plans for each neighborhood involves investing in housing and storefront improvements, helping residents find jobs or increase their income, and making the areas safer and cleaner.
"One of the goals of our neighborhood plans was to invest in Clyde Park, support the Duluth Heritage Sports Center and the activities that are happening there," said Pam Kramer, executive director of Duluth's Local Initiative Support Corporation. "We're excited to celebrate the Clyde Iron and Clyde Park development on-site."
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LISC helps coordinate the collaborative's work. It also is hosting Saturday's event.
"The event is an opportunity to bring together people from all different parts of the community and look at what progress we're making in implementing our neighborhood plans and talk about how to move forward over the next year," Kramer said.
To help residents move forward, the event will include nearly 50 tables of information on such things as housing rehabilitation programs, job programs, match saving programs for people saving money for a new house or business, and various neighborhood groups.
The event also recognizes five neighborhood heroes voluntary working to improve the communities where they live.
