July/AugustCity Council regular meetings: July 25, August 8, August 22 – 7 p.m.

City Council work sessions: No July work session, August 15 – Council meal at 6, meeting at 6:30 p.m.

Citizen Advisory Commission meetings: July 12, August 9 – 7 p.m.

Human Rights Commission meetings: no July meeting, August 1 – 7 p.m.

Planning Commission meetings: No July meeting, August 3 if needed – 7 p.m.

Holidays (city offi ces closed): Independence Day, July 4Events: Duk Duk Daze – July 15-17 (see article, above), Seussical the Musical –Th ursday through Saturday evenings, July 21 to August 6 (see article, on

back), City Day – July 30 (see fl ier, enclosed)

All activities are at City Hall, 4401 Xylon Ave. N. unless otherwise indicated. Agendas and minutes for council and commission meetings are available on the city’s

website. Schedule is subject to change. Call 763-531-5100 for more information.

July2011

Over

New Hope In Focus photo contest

Th e city of New Hope is sponsoringthe second annual New Hope In Focusphoto contest to give local photogra-phers an opportunity to showcase their skills and share some of the things about New Hope that have caught their eye (and their camera’s eyepiece).

Th e contest is open to anyone who lives or works in New Hope. Contes-tants may enter up to three photo-graphs taken in New Hope.

A group of volunteer judges will select winners in three categories: Nature, People, and Places (with a $50 prize for fi rst place in each cat-egory). Judges will also select the best photograph submitted by youth under 18 (with a $25 prize). And, the public will have the chance to weigh in on their favorites, with a $25 Peo-ple’s Choice award.

A registration form and more infor-mation is available on the city’s web-site, www.ci.new-hope.mn.us or by calling 763-531-5103. Th e deadline for submissions is Monday, August 15, at 4:30 p.m.

Celebrate summer at Duk Duk Daze

Duk Duk Daze, New Hope’s annual community celebration, will be July 15 to 17. Most of the events will be in Northwood Park, 38th and Boone avenues. Th e festival will include a variety of fun activities for the entire family, many of which are free.

Fair hours are Friday, July 15, 5 to 11:30 p.m., Saturday, July 16, 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., and Sunday, July 17, noon to 5 p.m.

Activities scheduled include carnival games, rides and food, Lion’s Bingo, music by Honeywagon on Friday and Loose Rock on Saturday night, a kiddie parade (this year’s theme is “Under the Big Top”), the beer tent, and much, much more. And, sports enthusiasts can participate in (or just watch) a tennis tournament and men’s softball tournament.

Th e highlight of Duk Duk Daze, as always, will be a gigantic fi reworks display. Th is year, the fi reworks will be on Friday evening at dusk.

For a complete Duk Duk Daze sched-ule, visit www.dukdukdaze.com.

Make a RAVE! Award nomination today!

It’s not too late to nominate a neigh-bor for a New Hope RAVE! Award. Nominations close on Friday, July 15, for the city’s residential property rec-ognition award.

Any residential property in New Hope is eligible to be nominated for a RAVE! Award, including owner-oc-cupied or rental single-family homes, and multi-family dwellings owned by individuals or corporations. Anyone in New Hope is welcome to submit as many nominations as they like. You can even nominate yourself.

While gardening and landscaping are easily the most popular categories, the RAVE! Awards also include cat-egories for remodeling or renovation projects, additions, general property maintenance, and environmentally sensitive improvements (including use of a rain garden, use of “green” building materials).

To nominate someone for a RAVE! Award, download a nomination form from the city’s website, www.ci.new-hope.mn.us/rave, or call 763-531-5196.

City Day is July 30Th e second annual New Hope City Day is Saturday, July 30, from 9 a.m. to noon outside New Hope City Hall.

Th e fun event provides residents with an opportunity to learn about city projects, chat with members of the City Council and city staff , see some city equipment and watch a variety of demonstrations.

See the separate colored fl ier in this mailing for details.

Safety Tip of the Month

Vacation Home Security TipsNichole Korth, community services offi cer, off ers this checklist to improve home security while you are away from home.

❏ Leave a house key with a neighbor, friend or relative that lives close by. Make sure they have your contact info in case of an emergency.

❏ Stop your mail and newspapers or ask a trusted neighbor to collect it. Encourage them to call 911 if they see suspicious activity in or around your home.

❏ Leave contact information on your refrigerator where police can fi nd it in an emergency.

❏ Make sure that all windows and doors are in good repair and can be properly secured.

❏ Check your outside lights to make sure they are all working.

❏ Make arrangements to have your lawn mowed (summer) or driveway and sidewalk shoveled (winter) if needed.

❏ Turn down the volume on your telephone so that it cannot be heard from outside the residence.

❏ Remove all valuables and lock the vehicles that will be left behind, and hide the keys inside your home.

❏ Place several lights, radios, or televisions in your home on electric timers in diff erent rooms and set for diff erent times to give the appearance someone may be there.

❏ Keep window shades, blinds, and curtains in their normal positions so they don’t give away the fact that you are not home.

❏ Close and lock all windows, doors, sliding glass patio doors, and over-head garage doors.

❏ Conduct a fi nal walk through of your residence to make sure that all of the doors and windows are locked.

For more home security tips, contact Offi cer Korth at 763-531-5140.

Register soon for National Night Out

Sign up now for New Hope’s National Night Out, Nite to Unite. Th is year’s celebration is scheduled for Tuesday, August 2, from 6 to 9 p.m.

While the traditional “lights on” and front porch vigils remain a part of theevent, activities have expanded to include block parties, cookouts, and much more. Th e goal of the event is to help develop police-community part-nerships and neighborhood camaraderie and to foster awareness of crime preven-tion and local law enforcement eff orts.

To register or for more information about New Hope’s National Night Out, Nite to Unite visit the city’s website at www.ci.new-hope.mn.us, or contact Offi cer Korth at 763-531-5140. Register soon to reserve a visit from a police K-9, city offi cial, or West Metro Fire or if you plan to block off your street.

OBMT presents Seussical the Musical

Th is is the 41st year that New Hope has presented musical theatre under the stars. Th is summer, Off Broadway Musical Th eatre will present Seussi-cal the Musical on three consecutive weekends beginning July 21.

Performances are Th ursdays through Saturdays, July 21 to August 6. Friday and Saturday performances begin at 9 p.m. Family-friendly Th ursday shows begin at 8 p.m. Th e August 4 performance will be signed by an American Sign Language interpreter (August 5 rain makeup).All performances are free, but audi-ence members are invited to bring a food shelf donation. Th e New Hope Outdoor Th eatre is located at 4401 Xylon Ave. N. (just west of City Hall). Visit obmt.org for more information.

Recreation CornerDuk Duk Daze tennis tournamentSign up for the Duk Duk Daze tennis tournament July 15 to 17. The tournament includes singles, doubles and mixed-doubles brackets with four age groups: 14 and under, 15-18, 19-44, and 45 and older. Matches are best two out of three sets with a tie-breaker at six all. The tournament is single elimination with a consolation bracket. Matches will be played at Civic Center, Hidden Valley and Lions parks, and at Cooper and Sunny Hollow schools. The tournament is $15 for singles and $12 per player for doubles. Tournament t-shirts are $10.

Mini Masters is August 1Mini Masters is a fun golf event for kids ages 4 to 7 years old and a parent, with tee times from 4 to 6:30 p.m. on August 1. Golfers use a special plastic golf set and sponge golf balls on a nine-hole course laid out especially for kids. The fee, which includes use of equipment and a goodie bag, is only $6 per golfer for residents of New Hope, Crystal, Golden Valley or Robbinsdale and $9 for non-residents. The event is at Crystal’s Bassett Creek Park, 6001 32nd Ave. N.

Men’s and Co-Rec Fall SoftballRegistration opened July 1 for a Men’s Class D-E fall softball league on Mon-days or Wednesdays and a Co-Rec league on Tuesdays. Play begins the week of August 15. The team fee is $430, plus $12 per player who does not live or work full-time in New Hope.

July Youth Sports Camps The New Hope Parks and Recreation Department is offering several youth sport camps in July. Scheduled camps include soccer for kids in grades 2-5, girls’ volleball camp for girls in grades 3-9, tennis for youth in grades 3-9, skate-board for those ages 6-10, track, and separate boys’ and girls’ basketball camps.

For more information about these programs or to register, call the New Hope Parks and Recreation offi ce at 763-531-5151.