A new public art project in Kalamazoo will replace the grey paint on utility boxes with photographs of the city- all captured by members of the community.

Camera stations can be found downtown in Bronson Park and on the Kalamazoo Mall, as well as in the Vine and Edison neighborhoods. Each station includes two disposable cameras that community members are invited to use to take a photograph of the city through their own eyes. After taking a photograph, the cameras should be returned to the station for the next photographer. Once all exposures have been used, cameras may be left at the station or returned to the Kalamazoo Public Library.

Once the film is developed, the photographs will be used to wrap 10 utility boxes in the city. The first wrapped utility box can be found on the corner of Rose and Lovell Streets. It features images of the Kalamazoo Public Library. At the conclusion of the project near the end of summer, all will be included in an exhibition at the Kalamazoo Public Library.

Come and shop at the Kalamazoo Farmers Market's first ever Kids Market on Thursday, August 8 from 2 - 6pm! You'll find home-grown, hand-made, hand-produced, or re-purposed items made by folks 17 and under. You can RSVP on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/342162593142599/.  

Would you or someone you know like to be a vendor at the Kids Market? Applications are now open! Be sure to read the Rules and Expectations. Follow this link to apply: https://forms.gle/5ZxuUdL8qUnDbBYR7

The regularly scheduled Thursday afternoon market will occur during this time as well. For more information on that market, please check out its event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/353141475327588/

The Kalamazoo Historic Preservation Commission will present three workshops to help the owners of Kalamazoo’s older homes make common repairs. The “Old House Owners Workshops” will be offered this summer at the Sexton’s Lodge located at Mountain Home Cemetery at 1402 West Main Street, each focusing on a different repair commonly needed in older homes.

Saturday, July 20, Old House Conditions and Maintenance, 9am – 1pm: Homeowners will learn about looking over old homes for problems, and what causes common problems. Registration is $15 and includes coffee and doughnuts.

Saturday, July 27, Window Repair and Rehabilitation, 9am – 4pm: Homeowners will learn to make old windows work like new again, learning about the window assembly, how to replace putty, broken glass, and missing or broken sash ropes and adding weather stripping. Registration is $25 and includes lunch.

Saturday, August 3, Masonry Care and Maintenance, 9am – 4pm: Homeowners will learn the structural and material details about masonry construction and how to replace failing mortar. Registration is $25 and includes lunch.

Registration is open to people that live or own property within the City of Kalamazoo. Interested homeowners can register online via Eventbrite here. You can also learn more by following the Old House Owners Workshops Facebook page here.

The Old House Owners Workshops are presented by the City of Kalamazoo’s Historic Preservation Commission with funding from the O’Connor Fund for Historic Preservation and assistance from the Old House Network and the Michigan Historic Preservation Network.