North Street Neighborhood Announcements - April 20th 2025

[North Street Cochairs]

Hi Neighbors,

Here are some announcements about NSNA happenings (Earth Day Clean-up and Neighborhood Improvement Grants), Public Art (a new mural project and the Emerson Eken Art Walk), Events, Public Transit, and Streets. Lots of great things going on this spring 

1) Greenspace/Earth Day Clean Up reminder

From the NSNA Greenspace Committee: 

Join the efforts of North Street Neighborhood Association in cleaning up Eken Park and Emerson East for Earth Day! Meet us at North Street and Commercial Avenue (butterfly gardens - across from Tip Top) on Saturday 4/26/25 at 10:00AM for supplies and head out with friends and neighbors to pick up trash in parks, along neighborhood streets and bus stops. 

Cafe Domestique is graciously donating coffee for our meet up spot - please bring your own mug.

If you are specifically interested in supporting efforts at Demetral Park, please register with the City to join their Parks Earth Day Challenge!

Collected trash can be disposed of at the following pick up points:

-Demetral Park Shelter (place in or near shelter trash cans)

-Eken Park (place in trash cans or at curb by park sign)

-Washington Manor Park (place in trash cans or at curb by park sign)

More information on our website. 

2) Giving Committee Grant Application is Open

From the NSNA Giving Committee: 

The North Street Neighborhood Association is pleased to announce that the annual Giving Committee grant process has begun. Interested parties can apply for a North Street Neighborhood Association Neighborhood Improvement Grant at this link.  Please note the Eligibility and Stipulation requirements shown, especially the application due date of Friday, May 16th.

To learn more about our annual giving process, or if you would like to be more involved, you can visit our Giving Committee page here. You can see the full details about the process in our policies [PDF].

3) Public Art Mural - Neighbors Invited to Help Paint, Plant, and Celebrate 

From Rylee Wedekind

New Public Art Mural and Pollinator Gardens Coming to Emerson/Eken Park Neighborhood. A colorful and inspiring new public art installation at 2200 Pennsylvania Avenue is coming.  Residents of the  neighborhood are invited to be part of its creation and celebration. 

Rylee Wedekind, the building owner, who grew up near Emerson, is in partnership with the Madison Public Art Project, to unveil Siempre Aprendiendo (“Always Learning”), a painted floating mural by Richie Morales, a Guatemalan-born artist known for his vibrant, layered visual storytelling. Commissioned by the Madison Public Art Project, with materials provided thanks to our Sponsors, Morales’ mural presents brightly colored flowers, hummingbirds, honeybees, an armadillo, and a figurative human head—a symbolic blend of nature, learning, and interconnectedness. The mural will be accompanied by community-created pollinator gardens, bringing ecological life and beauty to the site year-round.

All events are free and family-friendly, with materials provided: Learn more - Madison Public Art Project or the attached invitation. 

4) Picnic on the Patio

From Northstreet

Northstreet Launches Picnic on the Patio: A New Weekly Market Series Celebrating Local Art, Food, Drink & Community
Tuesdays from April 22nd to October 28th | 5-8pm | Family-Friendly & Open to the Public

at Northstreet: 557 North St, Madison, WI (Eken Park)
For more information, follow us on Instagram at @Northstreetmsn and @BloomBakeShop or find our Facebook event here. 

Press release & flyer attached. 

5) Emerson Eken Art Walk

From Adam Raiford Wilson

THE 2025 ART WALK IS ON! September 20, 2025. Details below and in future emails. Registration to open in coming weeks.

I'd like to offer my sincerest thanks to Sara, Charlotte, and Susan for organizing this event for the last two years. It was a fantastic idea, and they poured so much time and effort into making it happen. Even though they've stepped aside, we're lucky to be able to lean on the foundation they built for this event. 

Overall, the structure and timing of the 2025 EE Art Walk will be the same as previous years. Registration process, fees, etc. will not be changing. There are a few procedural things you should be aware of, though: This is now an entirely grassroots operation. "Emerson Eken Arts" as an organization has been dissolved. The website, name, and logo of Emerson Eken Arts should not be used if at all possible. This does mean we'll have to reprint our signage, but with registration fees I don't see this being a problem. 

This email address will serve as the primary one for all art-walk related announcements and questions. Contact emersonek...@gmail.com with any questions. 

6) Public Meetings Scheduled for a North/South Bus Rapid Transit Line

From Madison Metro

A new north-south route will be the next phase of bus rapid transit in Madison. This new phase will bring BRT upgrades to Route B.

A number of public meetings have been scheduled to learn more about the proposed new Rapid Route B as well as a reconstruction project on Park St.
* S. Park St. & BRT-Focused Meetings

• Wednesday, April 30 (Virtual)
  5:00 - 6:30 pm
  Register for Meeting
   
• Tuesday, May 13
  4:30 - 6:30 pm
  Madison Labor Temple
  1602 Park St. Rm 201B 

* Additional Meetings Focused on BRT

• Thursday, May 1 (Two Meetings)
  11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
  UW-Madison, 333 E Campus Mall
  Student Activity Center Caucus Rm, 4th floor
  
  4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
  Warner Park Community Rec Center
  1625 Northport Dr., Community Rms 2 & 3
   
• Thursday, May 15
  4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
  Fitchburg City Hall
  5520 Lacy Rd.
  Council Chambers

For more information, visit madisonbrt.com or email B...@cityofmadison.com.

7) Tree planting, food scraps drop-off, yard waste & brush pick-up

From Streets & Urban Forestry Division

Spring Tree Planting is Underway – Urban Forestry crews are at work planting 1,400 trees in terraces around the City of Madison.  If you have ever been curious about what tree you have on the right of way space in front of your home, you can learn more about it on  the Urban Forestry tree inventory page.

Food Scraps Drop-off Returns Soon: We’ll be back at the same three neighborhood farmers’ markets this year.  Get the details at  www.cityofmadison.com/FoodScraps.

Yard Waste & Brush Set Outs: As a reminder, yard waste and brush are different materials that follow different schedules. Yard waste is plant material, like grass, leaves, weeds, and other things you rake or pull from lawns and gardens. For the schedule, enter your address into the form at  www.cityofmadison.com/YardWaste. Brush is branches and sticks you cut from trees, shrubs, and bushes that could be turned into wood mulch.  For the schedule, enter your address into the form at  www.cityofmadison.com/BrushCollection.