From the ONK Home Tour page:

We regret to announce that Old North Knoxville has canceled the Victorian Holiday Home Tour for 2020.

After 31 consecutive years hosting one of Knoxville’s favorite holiday traditions, we are certainly disappointed to reach this difficult decision. However, we know that the health and safety of our guests and homeowners must always be our most important consideration.

We plan to be back stronger and better than ever next year in 2021, so mark your calendars now for Saturday, December 4th and Sunday, December 5th in 2021!

Mobile Meals is one of the largest beneficiaries of the funds raised by our home tour event each year, and they could use our support now more than ever. If you wish to donate to Mobile Meals directly, you can do so online in any amount at secure.donationpay.org/knoxseniors.

Learn more about plans for the 2021 Home Tour at victorianholidayhometour.com.

The ONK board met by teleconference on Saturday, May 23, and approved two measures:

• To extend suspension of in-person meetings through Phase 3 of the Knox County/Knoxville phased reopening
• To postpone our annual donations to area public schools until they reopen

The board will continue to meet by teleconference until we’re able to resume meeting in person. To ensure transparency, board actions will be posted here and copied to the ONK Facebook page. Neighbors with questions or concerns that they’d like to bring to the board—officially or unofficially—can post them to the Facebook page or email onkhomes@gmail.com.

To borrow Mr. Rogers’s well-known phrase, it’s easy to “look for the helpers” in Old North. Kelly Arsenault—chair of the Kindness Committee—and Cat Shteynberg have put together an assistance program for ONK folks to help one another with errands, grocery delivery, meal preparation, and other services through the difficulties of the pandemic. Signup and details are available through a Google spreadsheet available on the ONK Facebook page (not posted here because it contains private information). If you need help connecting or have questions, email Kelly, kellyarsenault24@gmail.com, or call 865-280-2172.

The program even made local news reports. Thanks, Kelly & Cat!

In keeping with public health recommendations, the board has voted to cancel or postpone all ONK events and activities in April and May. This includes the monthly potlucks, the park and greenway cleanups, the Easter egg hunt and brunch, and the ice cream social at Guy B. Love Towers. We’ll work to reschedule when possible and hope to put together some extra events for summer and fall. Meanwhile, watch this space for new ways to connect with neighbors and look out for one another.

For our March 9 potluck meeting, we’ll be welcoming Vanessa Hensley, director of resource center services with Volunteer Ministry Center. She’ll be talking with us about VMC’s services, including the low-barrier shelter that opened last year. We’ll also be electing new board members and looking ahead to spring and summer events. Join us beginning at 6:30pm at St. James Episcopal Church—use the back entrance off Folsom Avenue. See you there!

Enjoy a relaxed evening hanging out with neighbors and helping raise funds for the city’s 2020 Neighborhood Conference! This year’s Neighborhood Challenge is happening Wednesday, February 12, between 5 and 10 pm. The location for all North Knoxville neighborhoods is Hexagon Brewery, 1002 Dutch Valley Drive. A portion of all sales that night goes to support the conference. See you there!

The Old North Knoxville neighborhood association will be hosting our inaugural plant swap and giveaway during our June potluck meeting on Monday, June 10, at 6:30 p.m. We are meeting, as usual, at St. James Episcopal Church, 1101 N. Broadway. Enter the rear of the fellowship hall building from Folsom Avenue.

Here are the guidelines for the plant swap:

• If you have plants from your yard or home that you would like to share, bring them with you to the meeting. Plants are welcome as bare root starts, containers plants, seeds, or bulbs/rhizomes. Please label your plants.
• Come early to set up your share items at 6:15 p.m.
• You do not need to bring plants to leave with plants, so bring along a basket or bag to carry home your treasures.

Enjoy something new for your home or yard, as we gather to eat togethe and find out about what is going on in our neighborhood and what the city is doing that could affect our neighborhood. All ONK residents are welcome.