Become a donor to DT2! Every dollar helps DT2 • Downtown Dutchtown towards our mission of building a thriving Dutchtown for all of our residents, business owners, and other stakeholders.

DT2 is also now offering the opportunity to make recurring monthly donations! Click the “Sustaining Donation” button and we’ll automatically receive your chosen amount every month.

One-Time Donation   Sustaining Donation

You’ll be taken to the DonorBox website in a separate tab or window to complete your donation via credit card, bank transfer (ACH), or PayPal. Thank you!

Can’t donate right now? Come back to dutchtownstl.org/donate anytime to set up your sustaining donation.

You can read our review of 2020 and plans for 2021 below, or download our brochure in PDF format.

Building a Strong, Vibrant, Resilient, and Thriving Dutchtown for Neighbors and Local Businesses

There’s no denying that 2020 was a difficult year. An unprecedented health crisis and the resulting economic downturn have hit people and small businesses hard.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted everyone’s life. In spite of that, Downtown Dutchtown continued to build a stronger Dutchtown neighborhood. Both DT2 and the neighborhood are forging a path forward and building momentum not otherwise seen in Dutchtown over the last decades.

2021 looks bright. DT2 is poised to take on new challenges, develop solutions, and accomplish more than ever with new guidance from the UrbanMain initiative, renewed interest from neighbors, and new dedicated staff.

Today we’re asking for your help to continue DT2’s mission of promoting a thriving community and shared prosperity by facilitating economic development and fostering opportunity in the Dutchtown neighborhood. Through this mission, we aim to attract diverse ownership, promote places, spaces, and faces, and increase occupancy.

In 2021, we’re seeking to develop a strong base of sustaining donors to help us achieve our mission and build a stronger Dutchtown for everyone. Our goal is to raise $10,000 in annual sustaining donations this year. Your monthly contribution of $10, $25, or $100 goes a long way to our cause.

Your contribution allows us to continue and expand our robust programming, including our work with Missouri Main Street Connection and the UrbanMain initiative, the reactivation of Marquette Park, our campaign to provide additional support for our neighborhood businesses, and so much more.

Though DT2 has been entirely volunteer driven since its inception, in 2020 we were able to hire a part- time staffer to help expand our efforts. Our Dutchtown Growth Manager brings skills and experience that will help us apply for grants, increase volunteerism, promote the neighborhood, and serve the Dutchtown community like never before. Your sustaining donation helps us to further lay the groundwork on which we build a resilient and thriving Dutchtown. Please become a sustaining donor today.

The UrbanMain Initiative in Dutchtown

DT2 has partnered with Missouri Main Street Connection on a first-of-its-kind program in the state. The initiative uses a four point approach that has been successful in reviving historic downtowns in cities across the country and adds a fifth point to address the need of urban neighborhoods like ours. The five points are Organization, Economic Vitality, Promotion, Design, and Safe Clean & Green.

The partnership with Missouri Main Street is a three year project focusing on Downtown Dutchtown that will revitalize our neighborhood’s core and help DT2 develop strategies to implement throughout the Dutchtown neighborhood.

Activating Marquette Park

While the ability to gather with our neighbors was limited by COVID-19, DT2 teamed up with other Dutchtown organizations to bring people together at Marquette Park for activities such as Movie Nights.

Additionally, a partnership has been build with St. Louis’s new Major League Soccer team to sponsor improvements to the soccer field and build a futsal court in 2021. Futsal is related to soccer but played on a smaller pitch.

Not Business As Usual

Dutchtown welcomed several new and revamped businesses in the past year. Despite the ongoing health crisis and economic downturn, entrepreneurs invested their money and time to follow their dreams in Dutchtown.

Urban Eats launched their reimagined Shared Kitchen and Neighborhood FoodHall concepts. Diners have flocked to the new eateries at Urban Eats. Juanita’s Creole Soul has received critical acclaim for their soul food with a twist. Tacos La Jefa went from serving their birria tacos from their backyard to serving lines of customers at their brick and mortar space. And Perfectly Pastry offers up morning coffee, pastries, and desserts, a niche long unoccupied in Dutchtown. Down Virginia Avenue, Shay’s Donuts also brings breakfast treats to the neighborhood, and work is underway at the former Iron Barley to reinvent the space to a new restaurant.

New shops have come to Downtown Dutchtown as well. Newcomers include Kwamboka, a shop selling clothing, gifts, and other merchandise; Forget Me Not Boutique, specializing in new women’s clothing, accessories, and body care; and Melanin Made Beauty, selling hair and beauty products as well as a range of resale clothing. New barber shops and beauty salons opened on Meramec as well. And Cross Grand established their new brick and mortar location. The business, operated by Dutchtown residents, offers photography, videography, event planning, and more.

Established businesses pushed forward through the pandemic as well. Downtown Dutchtown saw Diana’s Boutique expand into a larger space on Meramec and team up with Thrift $#!& to provide an opportunity to an upstart business. The Original Crusoe’s Restaurant has soldiered on in their 40th year, dishing out their classics for carryout and limited dine-in seating. Logan’s Kids Resale provides virtual shopping opportunities to their customers. Our neighborhood businesses continue to adapt to an ever-changing situation, providing the goods and services our neighbors need while also protecting their safety.

Although many of our businesses have struggled during the pandemic (as have businesses across the country), we’ve been excited to see many of these spaces quickly fill back up. Entrepreneurs see opportunity in Dutchtown, and we’re bullish on the future for our neighborhood businesses both established and new.

Dutchtown Proud

Welcome to Dutchtown, a neighborhood that bears the weight of
our city’s past and stands tall in the truth of who we are today. We are St. Louis’s most populous and densest neighborhood. We are a neighborhood that has experienced growth, contraction, and growth again. We are Dutchtown Proud.

We are proud to be a part of one of the most diverse, gritty, and forward thinking neighborhoods in St. Louis. Proud to look for prosperity here. Proud to tell the doubters why we call Dutchtown home.

We call Dutchtown home by choice. We choose to come together and build community with neighbors who may not look or live their lives exactly the same. We respect our neighbors’ right to choose Dutchtown, regardless of who they are, who they love, what they look like, what they do for a living, or what circumstances brought them here.

2020 marked the kickoff of the Dutchtown Proud campaign across the neighborhood. With a grant from the St. Louis Association of Community Organizations (SLACO), we printed and distributed hundreds of yard signs to show neighborhood pride and unity across the community.

We also produced a video highlighting what makes us all proud to be residents and business owners in Dutchtown. You can find the video at dutchtownstl.org/proud.

Big Plans for 2021 and Beyond

DT2 and the Dutchtown neighborhood had a successful 2020 despite facing unprecedented challenges. Investment is increasing, interest in the neighborhood is high, and we have a fantastic foundation and partners to build a vibrant and equitable community in Dutchtown in the years to come. But our work has only just begun.

We’re asking for your assistance to help continue our mission in 2021 and beyond. A monthly contribution of $10, $25, or $50 helps us to bring resources and reinvestment to Dutchtown and plan a brighter future for all of our residents and business owners. Become a sustaining donor today.

The DT2 Agenda for 2021

The UrbanMain Initiative

The UrbanMain initiative is a three year pro- gram during which we’ll be working closely with the professional staff at Missouri Main Street Connection to implement the 4 + 1 Point Approach. Learn more at dutchtownstl.org/urbanmain.

Support Dutchtown Businesses

In late 2020, we began new efforts to reach out to new and existing Dutchtown businesses to drive sales and provide information. We’re also starting our DT2 Before Hours events—coffee hours that give our business owners a chance to meet, network, and share resources. You can find out more at dutchtownstl.org/business.

DT2 After Hours

DT2 After Hours, our monthly happy hours in support of neighborhood businesses, will resume in the spring of 2021. While safety will be the preeminent concern, we believe it’s still important that we continue to bring our community together and bring attention to our new and established businesses. Keep an eye on our Dutchtown calendar for more After Hours and other events.

Movie Nights at Marquette Park

We have also begun planning for our third year of summer Movie Nights at Marquette Park. Our Movie Nights have brought hundreds of neighbors into the park for family friendly entertainment, food trucks, community organizing, and more. See our schedule at dutchtownstl.org/movienight.

Collaboration with Dutchtown Organizations

DT2 will continue to work closely with the Dutchtown Community Improvement District to promote and improve the vital corridor running through the center of our neighborhood. After helping to form the CID in 2017, we’re proud to see our efforts coming to fruition with infrastructure improvements and the development of new strategies for safety, beautification, and promotion.

The Neighborhood Innovation Center has been an invaluable partner over the last year, providing a space to safely gather for outdoor events, technology to hold remote meetings, and becoming Dutchtown’s de facto community center as they continue to develop their long term organizational goals. The NIC will be an integral part of community building in Dutchtown.

We will also aim to strengthen our relationship with Dutchtown South Community Corporation as they undergo a leadership transition while they continue their efforts to empower residents, provide affordable housing, and implement the Gravois Jefferson Historic Neighborhoods Plan.

Organizations such as Thomas Dunn Learning Center, Employment Connection, and the Cure Violence program, as well as our neighborhood schools and congregations and our elected officials will all have a seat at the table beside our residents and business owners to ensure that our work continues to be guided by a diverse array of voices from within the Dutchtown community.

Support DT2 Today!

DT2 has long operated with only a shoestring budget and volunteer staff. This year, we hope to take our work to the next level.

With our new Dutchtown Growth Manager and our work with organizations like Missouri Main Street Connection, opportunities and resources previously unavailable to us are coming into view.

But right now, we need funds to continue our ongoing work of building community and promoting the Dutchtown neighborhood through marketing, events, and other outreach.

DT2’s 2021 Fundraising Goal: $10,000 in Sustaining Donations

We’ve made it easy to continue your support for DT2 · Downtown Dutchtown. Simply go to dutchtownstl.org/donate where you can opt to make a recurring or one-time donation. Recurring donations will automatically be debited from your account monthly.

With nearly $3,000 already committed for 2021, we can reach our goal when 25 more people donate $25 a month. But contributions in any amount are greatly appreciated and go a long way to helping DT2 continue our important mission of promoting a thriving community and shared prosperity by facilitating economic development and fostering opportunity in the Dutchtown neighborhood.

We also still accept donations by check. You can send your check payable to DT2, 3207 Meramec Street, St. Louis, MO 63118.

Spring is off to a great start at Marquette Park! Neighbors are already taking advantage of the nicer weather to get out and enjoy the space that sits at the center of Dutchtown. We’ve long recognized Marquette Park as an incredible asset for our neighborhood, but there is plenty of work yet to be done.

Marquette Community Day Kickball Tournament

So far, we’ve already held a kickball tournament in support of Marquette Community Day. MCD is a massive back to school event that takes place in the park in August. They provide backpacks, school supplies, clothing, haircuts, and more to help Dutchtown kids start their school year off right. We had sixteen teams take to the fields and dozens of spectators came to root them on. See more photos here.

The official tournament was originally scheduled for the end of March, but that was a blowout—sustained winds of 30 miles per hour with some serious gusts made it nearly impossible to play. We postponed the games, but we still made the most of a day at the park. Neighbors played music and grilled wings and brats, kids and parents played, and someone had the foresight to bring kites!

More Sunday Fun at Marquette Park

We had so much fun on these Sunday afternoons that we want to make it a regular thing. Coming soon: South Side Sundays at Marquette Park! Keep an eye out for more details to come.

Sundays are a great time to visit Marquette Park. Enjoy the playground and the green space, and stick around to catch a Liga Latina soccer game.

Summer Fun On the Way

We’re excited to announce that for a third year in a row, we’ll be hosting Movie Nights at Marquette Park! These events have brought neighbors together, even through the pandemic, to enjoy the park, learn about community activities, and take in some family friendly entertainment. We’ll have three Movie Nights in the park this summer:

• Saturday, June 5th
• Saturday, July 24th
• Saturday, August 28th

We’re hoping to make that final summer Movie Night a Dive-In Movie at the pool—which we’re so happy to see reopen this summer! Having a big, free, public pool right in the middle of our neighborhood is an amazing asset for the kids and families in Dutchtown.

And the Marquette Recreation Center is another great resource for our neighborhood kids. This summer, the Rec Center will host basketball, boxing, and other camps that are filling up fast.

Partners for Marquette Park

We’ve got a dedicated group of neighbors, including Allies of Marquette Park and Dutchtown South Community Corporation, doing their best to reactivate the park. The park is an invaluable asset for Dutchtown, one of the densest, youngest, and poorest communities on the South Side.

Dutchtown South has organized the Common Sound Festival at the park in September, which brings neighbors together through music and dance. They’ve organized a storybook walk to bring the joy of reading to neighborhood kids. And DSCC has been alongside our neighbors as we continue to push for improvements at Marquette.

Allies of Marquette Park held a fundraiser in 2019 that raised over $7,000 to provide chairs and lounges for the otherwise unfurnished pool. We’re hoping to put the new furniture in place as the pool opens this year. AMP has been at the forefront of planning events and attracting interest and investment in Marquette Park.

Challenges at Marquette Park

While we love to accentuate the positives in Marquette Park and throughout Dutchtown, we have to note that we’ve struggled to get the needed improvements we want to see at Marquette. Marquette Park is improving through hard work from our neighbors and in spite of a number of obstacles.

Pains at the Pool

The Marquette Park Pool has long been surrounded by a chain link fence topped with strands of barbed wire. For years, we have requested that the barbed wire come down. It won’t effectively prevent the occasional trespassing that may occur, and in fact may be a greater liability to the city (read our letter on that subject).

But more importantly, fencing in our kids and families with such harsh and unpleasant surroundings conveys a message that pool patrons are less than welcome. Our pool should not look like a prison. We’ve asked time and time again for the barbed wire to be addressed, and received little in response aside from a few broken promises.

Aside from the barbed wire and the lack of pool furnishings, the locker rooms (and the Rec Center which contains them) are in rough shape. The facilities could use major upgrades, but instead suffer from a lack of even basic maintenance.

Struggles for Soccer Players

Allies of Marquette Park have also been working to get improvements to the soccer facilities at the park. Though the soccer field is regularly utilized by Liga Latina, youth soccer teams, and neighbors just out to kick the ball around, the facilities are nearly nonexistent. A couple of rotten wood goal posts without nets mark either end of the pitch, which is pockmarked by potholes and puddles. The players often come out ahead of time to mow the field and paint lines themselves.

Making Due on Movie Nights

Since we schedule our Movie Nights far in advance, we give ample notice to the city that a large group of residents will be in the park at a specified time. We call months, weeks, and days in advance to request that trash is removed and grass is cut. These requests usually go unheeded.

Before every Movie Night, our volunteers make sure to allot time to pick up the trash that accumulates around the Field House and across the park. Trash cans are usually overflowing, so we must pack the trash up and take it out to nearby alley dumpsters. To make sure we leave the park better than we found it, our volunteers and a hired crew stay into the dark to ensure everything is properly cleaned up.

We also invite the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to send community engagement officers to our Movie Nights—not necessarily out of security concerns, but rather to give the police an opportunity to meet and interact with the community they serve. The police arrive, station themselves at the edge of the park nearly out of view, and never get out of their vehicles.

Field House Failings

The beautiful Marquette Park Field House was renovated at significant cost within the last decade. However, it was severely underutilized and quickly fell into disrepair, either due to the quality of the rehab work or the lack of basic ongoing maintenance. Elevators and air conditioning systems have failed, making the Field House inaccessible and inhospitable for events we may have liked to hold there—provided the city would provide a permit and work with us on the exorbitant rental fees.

The restrooms in the Field House are also malfunctioning. As a result, we have to provide portable restrooms at all of our events. The cost to do so comes from an already tiny non-profit budget. (If you’d like to help us stretch that budget a bit further, you can donate here.)

The Future of Marquette Park

We have a community in Dutchtown that wants and needs to use Marquette Park. We have a strong and growing contingent of neighbors and community stakeholders putting forward their own time, sweat, and funds to do the best we can with our limited resources.

But city leadership hasn’t invested the time or resources to develop this wonderful asset in the center of Dutchtown that could serve so many people who need places to go and things to do. Marquette Park sits in the middle of a neighborhood that has more people per square mile than anywhere else in the city. Nearly 40% of our neighbors are under the age of 18, and median household incomes are well below average for St. Louis.

Dutchtown neighbors deserve to feel welcome and safe at Marquette Park. We want grass cut, trash taken out, and barbed wire removed. We want a clean and safe Rec Center. We want functioning restrooms. Our neighbors and our neighborhood deserve these things.

Alderwoman Cara Spencer in the 20th Ward and Alderman Shane Cohn in the 25th Ward have both supported and pushed for improvements at Marquette Park. But it’s important to note that most of the directions and decisions regarding city parks come from the executive branch—the Mayor’s Office and the Board of Public Service.

With the inauguration of Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, we’ve made an appeal to her and the city for renewed interest and investment in Marquette Park. We hope we have a willing and able partner in Mayor Jones and her team. We hope for a commitment to building a better Marquette Park and a stronger Dutchtown. Mayor Jones and the City of St. Louis will have a dedicated group of neighbors behind them. We hope to see them here soon.

If you’re reading this and you’re not in the Mayor’s Office, but you’d still like to help, you can make a one-time or sustaining donation to help us carry on our work in Marquette Park and throughout Dutchtown.

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri hosts a series of online seminars in May to help businesses build strengthen their business plans, apply for loans, and build relationships with banks. These one-hour sessions, presented via Zoom, are free to business owners and take place every Wednesday during the month. The classes are presented in partnership with the Urban League’s Women’s Business Center and the Small Business Administration.

Business Planning

May 5th, 5:30pm–6:30pm

Planning to launch a new business? Learn why you should create a business plan before you start. This session will cover key components of a business plan, including understanding its primary purposes of creating an effective strategy for growth, determining your future financial needs, and attracting investors and lenders. Reserve your spot on Eventbrite.

Loan Readiness

May 12th, 5:30pm–6:30pm

Seeking a loan for your business? Learn what documents you need before you apply. This session will help you understand what basic documents are needed up front in order to be prepared for the loan application process. Reserve your spot on Eventbrite.

The Life of a Loan

May 19th, 5:30pm–6:30pm

You’re ready to apply for a loan, now what? Learn about the loan process and other funding options for your small business. This session will cover the loan process from beginning to end. It will also cover alternatives when you may be declined by a traditional bank or financial institution. Reserve your spot on Eventbrite.

Banks and Bankers

May 26th, 5:30pm–6:30pm

Do you have a bank partner? Learn about banking services and products and which banking partner might be right for you. This session will cover what to look for in a banker and tips for determining which bank partner may be right for you. You’ll also learn about bank products and services and how they can help your business. Reserve your spot on Eventbrite.

DT2 • Downtown Dutchtown and other neighborhood partners work to bring resources to Dutchtown business owners, new and established, to help our businesses and neighborhood thrive. Visit dutchtownstl.org/business or join our Dutchtown Business Owners Facebook group to find out more.

You’re still Dutchtown Proud, right? You should be! Even in the face of a nationwide crisis, Dutchtown neighbors pulled together, supported each other, and kept our neighborhood moving forward. We should all be proud to see our neighborhood keep going and growing.

Last year, we wanted to demonstrate the sense of community and togetherness that might not be readily apparent to outsiders or passers-by. To do so, we started distributing Dutchtown Proud yard signs in exchange for a name-your-price donation to DT2 • Downtown Dutchtown. The campaign was a huge success, with 200 signs distributed all over Dutchtown.

Order Your Dutchtown Proud Sign

We’re bringing back the Dutchtown Proud campaign in 2021. We have more neighbors than ever ready to organize their blocks, clean up the streets, participate in committees, support our local businesses, and show off what makes the Dutchtown community strong, resilient, and ready to take on the challenges our neighborhood faces. Let’s let everyone know!

Get Your Dutchtown Proud Sign!

This year, we’re offering the same deal—order a sign, name your price, and we’ll come drop one (or two or ten) off to you!

Order Your Dutchtown Proud Sign

We suggest a contribution of around $15. The signs cost us about $5 each to produce—a big thanks to A Big Difference Signs and Graphics for helping us make these sturdy, union made signs affordable! Any funds in excess of the cost go straight to DT2 to help continue the work of building a unique, diverse, and thriving Dutchtown for everyone.

Can’t afford $15 right now? No problem. We’ll even give you one for free. Just go through the ordering process, name your price at $0, and we’ll still be happy to have another neighbor displaying their Dutchtown pride.

Free Dutchtown Proud Sign for Sustaining Donors

New for 2021, we’re giving out Dutchtown Proud signs to anyone who becomes a sustaining donor to DT2. Set up your monthly recurring donation and we’ll send you a sign. Just let us know where to drop it off.

Become a Sustaining Donor

Any contribution helps—$5, $10, $25, or $50 a month goes a long way to support the exciting work DT2 has planned for 2021 and beyond. This year, our goal is to raise $10,000 through sustaining donations. With nearly $3,000 already committed for 2021, we still have a long way to go, but we hope you can help get us there.

Where Do the Funds Go?

After covering the costs of the signs, all proceeds go to DT2 • Downtown Dutchtown, our 501(c)(3) community development non-profit. DT2’s mission is to promote a thriving community and shared prosperity by facilitating economic development and fostering opportunity in the Dutchtown neighborhood. Through this mission, we aim to attract diverse ownership, promote places, spaces, and faces, and increase occupancy.

Established in 2005 as a neighborhood business association, DT2 has always run on a shoestring budget with an all-volunteer staff. In 2020, we were able to hire our first part-time employee, Dutchtown Growth Manager Jessica Payne. Jessica brings years of experience in neighborhood development and non-profit management, and her skills are helping to raise funds, secure grants, plan projects, and attract and retain volunteers.

DT2 recently partnered with Missouri Main Street Connection to participate in the UrbanMain program, the first such program in Missouri. Following Main Street’s four point approach, DT2 established new committees led by neighborhood stakeholders to more effectively plan for Dutchtown’s future. The committees are already planning and executing projects such as neighborhood cleanups, business support programs, and activities to activate Marquette Park.

Even with limited ability to gather regularly in person, the last year has brought more engagement than ever between DT2 and the community. New volunteers, new and long-time residents, and new and established businesses continue to team up to move Dutchtown forward. Dutchtown has momentum like never before.

Keep Building Dutchtown—Get Your Sign Today!

If you’re new to the neighborhood, stake your claim with a Dutchtown Proud sign! If you’ve recently felt inspired by the growing sense of community rising in Dutchtown, show off that spirit with a Dutchtown Proud sign! If your sign blew away over the winter, get a new Dutchtown Proud sign! If you want to show unity on your block, get a few Dutchtown Proud signs and share them with your neighbors!

Order Your Dutchtown Proud Sign

The final weekend of March brought together Dutchtown businesses, organizations, neighbors, and shoppers from across St. Louis for an exceptional display of the strong community here in our neighborhood. Music, food, and fun brought people from all walks of life into the streets of Dutchtown.

Downtown Dutchtown Spring Sidewalk Sale

We started on Friday and Saturday with the Downtown Dutchtown Spring Sidewalk Sale, featuring over two dozen shops, restaurants, vendors, and organizations along three blocks of Meramec Street. Repeat shoppers and new customers flocked to find unbelievable deals and unique flavors.

The weekend sale was organized by the owners of Kwamboka, Logan’s Kids Resale, and other Dutchtown business owners who began to organize via the Dutchtown Business District Facebook group. Working together, our neighborhood entrepreneurs kept the registers ringing as they showed off our eclectic Downtown Dutchtown shops.

Meanwhile, the food vendors at the Urban Eats Neighborhood Food Hall served up delicious dishes that can only be found in Dutchtown. Black Coffee and Perfectly Pastry helped us wake up for a big day of shopping. Juanita’s Creole Soul Café satisfied stomachs until selling out. And Tacos la Jefa brought foodies from around the region to enjoy their unique birria tacos, quesadillas, and nachos.

Neighborhood organizations were on hand touting the growing momentum in Dutchtown and recruiting neighbors to get involved. DT2 • Downtown Dutchtown, Cure Violence, Thomas Dunn Learning Center, and Dutchtown South Community Corporation all helped to spread the word about neighborhood programs and resources.

On Saturday, Cross Grand brought the Easter Bunny to Downtown Dutchtown for photos with kids and adults alike as shoppers and neighbors continued to stroll Meramec. The warmer weather brought even more shoppers to the district on the second day of the event, including many new visitors to the neighborhood.

Marquette Park Cleanup

Earlier on Saturday, several neighbors gathered at Marquette Park for some spring cleaning. Volunteers donned gloves and grabbed their grabbers to tackle some of the trash that accumulated over the long winter. With spring springing, the park got a much needed cleanup before the busy season begins.

Marquette Community Day Kickball Tournament

The Marquette Community Day Kickball Tournament was scheduled for Sunday, March 28th. But with sustained high winds and stronger gusts, the weather was a little too tough for the friendly games.

So the games were postponed until April 11th. But the day was still sunny, and with a DJ on hand and bratwursts and chicken wings ready to cook, neighbors still decided to make the most of the day.

A couple of impromptu, unsanctioned games took place between teams who arrived early. The players will have a competitive advantage when the official tournament happens now that they’re familiar with the quirks of the fields at Marquette.

Meanwhile, the hero of the blustery day was a visitor who brought several kites to the park and shared them with the kids (and adults) still in attendance. Pilots took to the open hill next to the Field House and their kites effortlessly took off and glided across the sky.

Music and barbecue smoke filled the park as a few dozen neighbors continued to brave the chilly winds. Kids played together, adults danced together, and even the teenagers appeared to enjoy themselves.

Later in the afternoon, a couple of high-level amateur teams took to the Marquette Park soccer field for a match. Fans gathered around the fringes of the park to take in the game, a regular occurrence on weekend afternoons in Marquette. Allies of Marquette Park have long pushed for improvements to the heavily used pitch, and hopefully some significant investment is on the horizon.

So, that’s what happened in Dutchtown this past weekend. We hope you were there! But if you missed it, you can always make the most of a weekend on the South Side by visiting our unique shops, patronizing our restaurants, or relaxing in our park. Keep an eye on the Dutchtown events calendar for more special events, or just come visit anytime!

By the way, there’s a bunch more photos on the DutchtownSTL Flickr page. See more photos from the sidewalk sale, Sunday in Marquette Park, or just browse around.