After much consideration, the Friends of SW 9th board members voted unanimously to cancel the 2020 DSM Open Street Festival on SW 9th. The primary concern is safety as it relates to Covid 19 and social distancing. It now seems that re-opening the economy has had mixed results at best throughout the nation. We may not know the full ramifications for several weeks. The Festival doesn’t have ticketing or any other controls on how many guests will attend and by design requires interactions with vendors in close proximity. Furthermore, the board believes that the decision should be made now as planning for this event takes months and many volunteer hours. We want to thank our guests, sponsors and vendors for their past and future support. We look forward to our biggest and best festival in 2021. See you next year!

Again this year, the Friends of SW 9th will be hosting the 6th Annual SW9th Open Street Event.  This is a fun Sunday afternoon event for everyone!  For more information regarding the event, please visit the DSMOpen Street Page, or visit us on Facebook!

What you can expect:  Music (the band Haywire will be performing), Little Princess Parties, Magic Acts, Free Prizes, Climbing Wall, Super Hero’s, Chalk Art, Animals, Slides and Bounce House, Food Vendors and Much More!

Over 100 volunteers helped plant 92 trees on SW 9h St. June 8th 2018 between Army Post Rd.and County Line Rd. on June 9th 2018. Trees Forever and City of Des Moines where the major sponsors of the event with Friends of SW 9th providing 30 pizzas and water to all volunteers. Fun was had by all. Ages ranged from 3 years old to 80 years old on a beautiful day that only took 3 hours to complete. They said it was one one the largest volunteer effort of planting trees in one day in the City of Des Moines.

A Big Thank You to all of the wonderful volunteers that participated in the event.  This couldn’t have happened without you!

 

 

If you live along SW 9th, soon in your mail you will receive the below mailer.  To learn more about the Facade Improvement Program, please visit this link to be redirected to the requirements page and download the application.  

The 6th Annual MacRae Park Clean Up Day was a huge success once again this year!

Over 200 volunteers from the Des Moines area, including groups from Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines came out to clean the park. Several of these groups were on a mission trip to see how people in the United States promote community involvement so they could take ideas back to their respective countries.

Lincoln High School had a large presence once again with representatives from various athletic and activity groups. Local neighbors, business groups, and city council members all pitched in to help remove over 30 tires and 10 dump truck loads of trash.

Thank you to the folks at Cash Saver for providing free food and drinks for all our volunteers once again this year. Also, thank you to the City of Des Moines Parks and Recreation Department for providing us with all the gloves, trash bags, and trucks to carry all the trash away.

We are looking forward o the many new improvements coming this year in the park, including the multi-million dollar overlook project slated to be started this summer. Future improvements also include; dredging the pond and reconstructing the park street.

Thank you everyone for the fun day of beautifying one of our great parks on the south side!