December 15, 2009 - The 2010 Minneapolis & Saint Paul Home Tour is looking for homeowners and home improvement professionals who would like to put their homes on the Tour. Nomination/applications are due Thursday, January 21, 2010, and early submissions are encouraged. The Tour, in its 23rd year, will be held Saturday and Sunday, April 24 and 25, 2010.

Past participating homeowners have said they "liked the incentive" to get their home improvement projects done in time for the tour, though it is not necessary to have remodeled the whole house. "It was nice to get all the compliments from strangers to reinforce what I'd heard from friends and family," said one homeowner.

"Contractors often help staff the homes, and homeowners ask their families and friends to contribute a few hours," said Margo Ashmore, Tour coordinator. "A good support network hosting the home makes it fun. Talk it up at winter gatherings. Community leaders also should start now, identifying individuals or clusters of well-kept and remodeled homes to ask to participate."

Contractors and other vendors may nominate homes they have worked on, and are encouraged to call for more information. Green, energy efficient, and historically-sensitive remodels and expansions get special notice. Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) manages the tour as a celebration of city living that encourages homeowners to improve existing homes. Many organizations and businesses sponsor the tour.

For more information, call Tour Coordinator Margo Ashmore at 612-673-5103 or email her at link@nrp.org. The application can be downloaded from MSPHomeTour.com under "nominate."

Non-profit organizations may also be interested in a new opportunity: The Tour will offer four workshops in the hour prior to the tour on topics of green building, historic preservation/renovation, planning a whole-house rehab, hiring professionals, or others you may suggest. For more information on the opportunity to present a workshop, write to Margo Ashmore at link@nrp.org.



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