More of us came to appreciate our backyards and outdoor living spaces during the pandemic, if for no other reason than they provided a somewhat safe haven for us to socially distance ourselves from one another and still be able to visit with friends and family. 

So, it should come as no surprise that many folks in the St. Louis Jewish community decided to either spiff up their outdoor living areas or in some cases, create inviting new ones, be it with additions like a swimming pool surrounded by a stone patio and stairway, leading to an upper terrace and lounge area; outdoor kitchen; eco-friendly and sustainable gardens; natural landscapes with a mix of chickens, bees and birds; upcycled sculptures; water features and more.

At the end of the month, the Jewish Light will highlight eight backyard and outdoor spaces belonging to local Jewish homeowners that have been enhanced, refurbished and/or constructed from scratch in a 30-minute video as part of our Outdoor Living Showcase. 

This is the first event of this kind that the Light has undertaken. It’s inspired not only by the unique ways Jewish St. Louisans are utilizing their outdoor spaces but also by our mission, which in part is to connect the local Jewish community. 

We hope this video will make for enjoyable viewing as well as provide great ideas and numerous resources should you be interested in small upgrades or major changes to your outdoor property.

The Jewish Light Outdoor Living Showcase video is completely free to view and will be available starting July 28 at www.stljewishlight.org/outdoorliving. Between now and then, we will be highlighting these outdoor spaces and the Jewish homeowners who envisioned and helped create them, both online and in the July 28 print edition of the Light.

Also, between now and then, please consider purchasing a raffle ticket online, at www.stljewishlight.org/outdoorliving  to win an outdoor living gift basket worth more than $1,000. Items include a bronze mushroom patio heater from Forshaw; gardening basket from Quiet Village Landscaping; barbecue tools and other outdoor entertaining goodies from Schnarr’s Hardware Company; $100 gift certificate from Weekends Only and a gift certificate from AR Workshop in Olivette to paint a sign for your yard or porch.

We’re excited to showcase these incredible outdoor living spaces and appreciate the homeowners who helped make this happen, along with our generous sponsors: Baker Pool Construction; Harvey Kornblum Foundation; R.J. Mayer Homebuilder; Gershman Mortgage; Midwest Bank Centre; Beth Manlin (Dielmann-Sotheby’s International Realty); GardenHeights Nursery; Allen Outdoor Solutions; Douglas Cohen; Pernikoff Construction Company; County Living Magazine; and Caryn and Bruce Sandweiss.

So mark your calendars, and in the meantime, treat yourself to a few — or many! — raffle tickets, at $10 for one or $25 for three. Again, go to www.stljewishlight.org/outdoorliving for details.