Halloween at the Creek

Plan on attending Halloween at the Creek, a fantastically fun family festival, Sun., Oct. 31, 5:30 – 8 p.m., at the Plymouth Creek Center, 14800 34th Ave., Plymouth.

Experience tons of fun and excitement in a safe environment. Festivities include carnival games, inflatables, live entertainment, prizes, treats and much more. Costumes are encouraged; however, no scary or gory costumes, please. Each paid participant receives a slice of pizza and beverage. This event is geared toward families with children in preschool through elementary. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Pre-Registration: Pre-registration is strongly recommended for this event. Register early to ensure your family’s participation. The cost: $7 for ages 4-adult; FREE for kids 3 years and under. Everyone registers – adults as well as children. Limited registrations will be taken at the door; space permitting. For registration information, call 763.509.5200.

Spaghetti Dinner

Spaghetti Dinner
Friday, September 23,
5:30 p.m. or 7 p.m. seating
Cost :$8 – 12 and up
$5- under 12
$0 – under 3

Get it hot! Get it here! Our first spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the Plymouth Senior program will include spaghetti with meatballs, delicious Italian salad with fresh grated cheese, breadsticks, beverage and cookie. Italian ambiance and background music will be part of the event.

The dinner will have two seatings to accommodate everyone’s busy schedule. Invite your families and neighbors. This will be a great opportunity to “carb up” for the Fire Department 5K and Walk on Saturday. Registration is required by Sept. 20. Call 763-509-5280 to reserve your space or for more information. No tickets at the door.

Movie with the Mayor

Secretariat

 

Video: Movies in the Park

Join Mayor Kelli Slavik for a movie in the park. The movie, Secretariat, will be presented at the Hilde Performance Center. Come out and enjoy this summer’s last outdoor movie with your family and friends.

Secretariat

A housewife with little knowledge of horse-racing fosters one of the greatest race horses of all time as the story of the 1973 Triple Crown winner comes to the screen in this inspirational underdog drama based on the novel – Secretariat: The Making of a Champion by William Nack. The movie stars Diane Lane and John Malkovich.

Farmers Market Newsletter

August 23, 2011

The Farmers Market is held every Wednesday from 2:30-6:30 p.m. at the Ice Center Parking lot, 3650 Plymouth Blvd.

As fall nears closer a fresh new line of produce will be available to market goers including raspberries, apples, pumpkins and more. Last week we had the pleasure of the wonderful Roe Family singers who will be back September 7th and who we hope to get back even once more before the market ends because they were such a hit. You can also expect to see Farmer Marc again for story time before the season ends, look for information on times in the upcoming newsletter.

This week we will enjoy the musical styling’s of Brian Peterson who’s set list includes Country and Folk favorites, Beatles hits, classical Jazz, and original “suburban” folk. Brian has a passion for music and loves sharing it with others. For more information on Brian check out his website at brianartpeterson.com.

Thanks always to all community members and vendors for making the Plymouth Farmers Market such a success!

Here are some reminders for those attending Plymouth Farmers Market:

• All vendors are local and are from within 50 miles of Plymouth.
• Every week, there will be music . This week come and check out Barbara English who will play acoustic music.
• Remember to stop by the information booth and enter your name in the weekly farmer’s market basket drawing.
• We kindly request that you do not bring your dogs to the market, with the exception of service dogs.
• The market does not start until the official horn is sounded. If you arrive before 2:30 p.m., you are welcome to look around, but please do not purchase anything until you hear the horn.

Vendor Spotlight: Great Harvest – Michael and Ruth Kelly

Who can ever turn down a piece of good bread? Especially when the wheat kernels were milled into fresh whole grain flour, the dough is kneaded and everything is baked as the sun rises each morning. If you haven’t stopped by the Great Harvest tent to try a piece of freshly baked bread, you know the first thing you need to do this week at the market.

After years of working in the restaurant business Mike and Ruth started working for Great Harvest Twin Cities and now the Kelly’s have been providing this luxury to their community for over 15 years at their Minnetonka location. They most enjoy working for themselves and with their staff, as well as, serving the community. What puts the Kelly’s bread above the rest is the freshly milled whole grain flower. When grinding your own flour the entire grain is used, nothing is wasted. What’s best is that whole grains are proven to reduce the risk of many chronic diseases, help weight management and provide many essential nutrients, plus freshly ground flour tastes better!  Now, what they don’t use in their breads is just as important,  they never use additives, preservatives, chemicals, or dough conditioners, unlike many grocery store breads.  For instance their Honey Whole Wheat is made with just 5 simple ingredients, freshly ground 100% whole grain flour, honey, water, yeast and salt.  You can’t get much more simple than that! According to Mike and Ruth the top sellers at the Plymouth Market is the Honey Whole Wheat and the Cinnamon Chip bread (Ruth’s staff joked “Plymouth loves their cinnamon!”) And of course, the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies.

When I asked Ruth why its important to buy local she said it’s the best part of the farmers market, you get to meet the actual growers and crafts people who everyday are making what you are buying, which means your food didn’t travel thousands of miles to get to you. Because of this you can taste the freshness in each product. On top of that, for every $100 spent locally 68% stays in the community versus 43% if you spend at a local chain.

Be sure to stop by the Kelly’s tent for a free sample and some great bread (made just hours earlier) to take home for the family. Also, check out their website for more information on the Kelly’s and their operation with Great Harvest at www.greatharvestmn.com/minnetonka.

Upcoming Produce

Ridgeroll Farms pasture raised broiler chickens are in! Stop by and pick up a plump roasting chicken for the oven or grill. They are $3 per pound. In addition we’ll have a full variety of our beef, pork and lamb from which you can choose. Plan your meals for the week and come shop with us!

Thompson Hillcrest Orchards will start providing raspberries soon ,as well as, a wonderful variety of local apples that will be available as we get closer to fall!

Market Happenings

Be sure to check out our upcoming events at the Plymouth Farmers Market:

• This coming Wednesday, August 24th, at the community table the Senior Council from the Senior Center at the Plymouth Creek building with be with us providing information on upcoming programs for the year.
• September 24th is Go Green night at the market where information on being environmentally sustainable will be available.
• The last day of the Market is October 12th so be sure to get to the market and stock up on some great produce!

Family Camping in the Park

Bring your family, friends, neighbors and neighbor’s neighbors for a fun-filled camp out in the Hilde Center!

Whether you are looking to celebrate a birthday with friends or spend some quality time with your family, the Family Camping in the Park event would be a great opportunity for laid back fun for all!

Ages: 3 & Older [All participants must pre-register]
Participants should bring their own camping gear (we recommend pop-up tents). No staking is allowed.

Movie in the Park

After all the fun activities, enjoy watching the Secretariat on the big screen in the park! Secretariat is rated PG: Penny Chenery Tweedy and colleagues guide her long-shot but precocious stallion to set, in 1973, the unbeaten record for winning the Triple Crown.

Schedule of Activities

4:30-6:00 PM	Camping Set-Up
6:00-8:00 PM	Picnic Dinner Playground Games Inflatables Nature Walk
8:00-9:30 PM	Movie (Secretariat)
9:30-10:15 PM	Ghost Stories
11:00 PM	Lights Out

Clean-Up & take off at 10:00 AM Saturday

To register or for more information, please call 763-509-5200 or register online.

Movies in the Park

Simon Birch

 

Video: Movies in the Park

Movies will be presented at the Hilde Performance Center. Come out and enjoy the summer evenings with your family and friends! Movies begin approximately 8:00-8:15 p.m. (please be aware that curfew laws still apply). Concessions are available for purchase.

Simon Birch

• Rated PG, 114 minutes, Comedy/Drama

A young boy with stunted growth is convinced that God has a great purpose for him.

Ken Carpenter was interviewed by Alex Stenback, mortgage banker/loan office at residential Mortgage Group. To learn more about Alex and catch his blog postings, check out: http://www.behindthemortgage.com/.

Agent Beat™ : 7 Quick Questions with Ken Carpenter

by ALEX STENBACK on AUGUST 9, 2011

For this week’s Agent Beat™, we chatted with Ken Carpenter, of RE/MAX Results in Plymouth.  Truly one of the good guys on the local real estate scene, Ken and his 3-person team (filled out by a full time assistant and a buyers agent, Svitlana Pashko) sold 62 homes in and around Plymouth and the Western suburbs in 2010.

That’s good for the top 25 at RE/MAX locally, by the way, and with just ten years in the business puts him in rock-star territory, though he’d probably disavow that characterization and is the opposite of what we call the “Ego Agent.”

Whatever you choose to call him, after even a short conversation, you quickly pick up that Ken is a very good guy and even better real estate agent.  Plus he spends his non-real estate time putting in 10,000 miles a year touring on his motorcycle, which is very cool.

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Business Ken:Ken sells homes in Plymouth and surrounding areas with RE/MAX RESULTS www.hennepinproperties.com | 763.591.6016 Personal Ken: Ken lives in Plymouth with his Family – daughter in college and son in highschool. He logs 10,000 miles per year touring on his motorcycle.

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7 Quick Questions with Ken Carpenter

A: It has been a bit of an odd year – the first half was a little slower to pick up than we expected, but things are happening in a pretty big way now.  I’ll give you an example: In June of this year (usually among the busiest months) we sold about half of what we’d normally see.  In August, we have four times my average business on the books.  This business can be like that – always is in some ways, but I don’t think the never winter helped the spring market get off to is normal start.

Q:  Let’s shift over to the big picture for a minute.  We are something like 4 years into the real estate downturn – where do things go from here?

A: Hard to know with any certainty, but we could see another 15-20% decline in home values before all is said and done – in my market, we are still seeing price reductions, and it is incredibly competitive price-wise. I will mention some of the recent press about rising prices: It is very hard to take much stock in that – the traditional measures like median price don’t tell the whole story, and are highly subject to the mix of homes sold. Last year the market was heavily influenced by tax credits, and that skewed median prices lower. This year, the mix is a little more “in balance,” so in some areas the median price has come up. This is not the same as broadly rising prices – we are not there yet.

Q: With that in mind, what are you telling your home sellers?

A: More than a few sellers (by that I mean those that have a legitimate need to sell) are tempted to wait until the market bottoms and starts to improve to make up for past losses. But we need to understand exactly what that entails. Even if we knew that prices would only drop another 10%, appreciation rates after the bottom will be 1 or maybe 2%. That means we are looking at a 7-10 year wait, just to get back to today’s price, much less a price from 2006 or 2007.

For most it is better to sell now, and get into a home that works for them.

We’ve also had a lot of success renting out homes, so the owner can move-on and buy another – to the point that we now have 20 properties under rental management. There are many advantages with this option – more people should consider it.

The point is that a home is a sacred thing. We need a home that fits our life, our family needs, our goals and our aspirations. No matter what people think, read, or hear, there are many, many, options. To suffer through a housing situation that does not fit your needs does not make any sense.  The market we are in is the “new” normal.

Q: What about home buyers, any advice for them?

A: You can’t time this market. If your job is stable, your family needs fit and you feel good about your prospects, then jump right in. Prices are good and rates are ridiculously low – they will both go up eventually, which is going to take a big bite out of affordability and purchasing power.

You’ll look back on this market, 10, 20 years from now and say ‘Holy Cow’ that was a good time to be a buyer.

Q: Best real estate story you can tell from this year?

A: You know, I sold the least expensive home of my career this year. A $34,000 rambler townhome. It was also probably one of the most rewarding sales. This was a woman, over 60, who works at Wal-Mart. She’d been paying rent living in her brothers basement for years. When she came to us with no idea whether owning a home was even possible.

She now owns a home, pays about half what she was paying in rent, could not be happier, and is one of our most loyal referrers of business.

For us it is not about the $700 commission – it is about helping people achieve something they never thought they could do.

Q: What is the one thing that would convince you that the real estate market has turned for good?

A: When we see price reductions stop, and when we see the really bad markets like Arizona, and Florida start to rise – then I know we will not be far behind.

Q: Last question – what sets you and your team apart, really, from other agents?

The first thing is the team. Without one, it is very hard to provide the level of service that this business demands today. Between myself, my assistant, and my buyers agent, our clients needs are always met promptly and professionally. This is not possible with an organization that is one person deep.

For example, Svitlana Pashko has been a buyers agent &  more in the team and just loves the business and helping people.  The deals she finds for our buyers and the way she makes sure all the details are handled for a smooth closing is just outstanding!  Our clients just love her!

I’d also add that my background as an engineer and in executive management really informs my approach as a real estate professional – I am a detail guy, and understand the importance of communication, attention to detail, negotiation, and problem solving. We are very pro-active, and as a result see very few small problems turn into large ones.

Lastly, and it might sound pat, but we really live the principal of doing right by the customer and the transaction rather than focusing on commission. When you do that, the business takes care of itself.
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Like what Ken has to say?  Ken and his team can be found online here [www.hennepinproperties.com] or just pick up the phone and give them a call 763-591-6016