Standing amid the ongoing construction inside 726 Main St. in Eudora, Susan Pelzel says the business she and her husband, Joe Pelzel, plan for the storefront to open its doors Dec. 3. It may not look that way, but most of the work has been done, she said.

The dropped ceiling has been removed and plaster chipped from the now exposed brick of the walls, Pelzel said. The opening should be a party, because the Pelzels are renovating the ground floor of the building as an event venue to be called The Lodge on Main Street. That name harks back to the building being the longtime home of Eudora’s Masonic Lodge. In more recent years, the storefront was home to the Black Cat Cafe and this fall the short-lived Lighthouse teen center.

“We’ve talked about using it for event space before, but we were always very lucky about getting businesses in here,” Pelzel said.

She and her husband thought the use would be a good fit for the community, Pelzel said. There is no privately owned event venue in Eudora that people can rent for such things as receptions, anniversaries, reunions, birthday parties or watch parties for KU or Chiefs games, she said. Enough of the commercial kitchen from its cafe days remains to offer a prep kitchen to renters, she said.

There’s another reason the Pelzels decided to open their own business at the site. It is their intention to renovate the second floor as a loft apartment for their own use.

“We need access downstairs to get upstairs,” she said. “We didn’t want to worry about a tenant dealing with all that construction traffic.”

The Eudora school district will be looking to fill at least two administrative positions next year. At its Nov. 10 meeting, the Eudora school board accepted the resignations at the end of this school year of Eudora Middle School Principal Denise Kendall and Eudora High School Assistant Principal Megan Black. Kendall will be retiring.

Baldwin City’s Lumberyard Arts Center, 718 High St., will have its annual Christmas at Home exhibit from Nov. 27 through Jan. 7. Displayed on the walls of the arts center will be the works of various local contributing artists. Furniture will be placed in the gallery so the art can be enjoyed in a relaxed setting. The furniture will include the solid wood handcrafted works of Conrad Wempe, an Emporia craftsman looking to relocate his workshop to Baldwin City.

The arts center will also be accepting wreaths and Christmas trees for its annual Festival of Wreaths and Trees fundraiser. Wreaths and trees can be dropped off at the Lumberyard from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27, and from 1 to 4 p.m. and 5:30 to 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 28. Silent auction bidding will start Nov. 30. Winners will be announced during the Festival of Lights on Dec. 3.

Eudora will ring in the holiday season Sunday, Nov. 27, with the annual community Christmas tree lighting. The event starts at 5:30 p.m. downtown. Activities include singing, dancing, pictures with Santa, hayrides and more.