Pictures from Halloween

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Halloween Celebration – October 27th

Bring your ghouls and goblins out for a morning of pumpkin decorating, games, and a costume parade around the neighborhood. Dogs in costume are also welcome.

October 27th, starting at 10AM on the Sunnyside Mall at Magnolia.

 

Have questions, or interested in volunteering? Contact Chris Korn via e-mail at ckorn1947@yahoo.com.

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Danny Did bake sale this Saturday

Looking to support a great cause, visit with neighbors and snack on homemade baked goods?

Stop by the Bake For Danny Did bake sale Saturday, Sept. 29, 1-3pm at the Sunnyside Mall on Magnolia. 

All proceeds will be donated to the Danny Did Foundation and their mission to prevent deaths caused by seizures.  (www.dannydid.org)

The Danny Did Foundation’s name derives from the last sentence of Danny’s obituary: Please Go And Enjoy Your Life. Danny Did.  Danny died at age 4 from a seizure in his sleep and his parents, Mike and Mariann Stanton, started this foundation to help prevent other families affected by epilepsy from experiencing the same tragic loss.

Every dollar raised will make a meaningful difference for the 3 million U.S. families who are impacted by epilepsy.

Please stop by if you can!

Feel free to contact Carrie McAteer-Fournier with any questions about the event: cmcateer8@gmail.com

The Danny Did Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation organized in the state of Illinois and recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

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Cool off with GWNA Ice Cream Social on Sunday, August 26

Summer may be coming to an end, but there is still time for a little fun in the sun.

Enjoy ice cream and visit with your neighbors at the GWNA Ice Cream Social:

• Sunday, August 26
• 4-5 PM
• Sunnyside Mall

Cost is $2 per serving. Unable to attend? Donations accepted for this and future GWNA projects.

Not a member?  We’ll be accepting membership applications and dues, $20 annual per household, at the event.

Membership dues may be mailed to: GWNA—4432 N Clifton, Unit 3N, Chicago, IL 60640

Volunteers needed! If you can help, please send an email to Carolyn at cstrucklewis@gmail.com

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Latest News and Menu Money Survey Results

Hope everyone is doing well during this spring/summer transition.  Here’s the latest from Graceland Wilson Neighbors Association:

Menu Money Survey Results for Neighborhood Improvements

Thanks to the 57 GWNA members who completed our GWNA Menu Money Survey and shared their suggestions for spending the $1.3 million allocated to each ward for our streets and alleys’ improvements.  To review the survey executive summary, please click here (PDF).

Residents were also asked to comment on the Sunnyside Mall with ideas on improving this public space (and people had a lot to say!). To see everyone’s ideas and comments on Sunnyside Mall, please click here (PDF).

Chris Korn, GWNA President, and Carolyn Lewis, Vice President, met with Alderman Cappleman and his staff to present the survey findings. Here is a summary of what we learned:

• Some of the changes are happening now.  The alley between Malden/Magnolia has already been stripped of asphalt.
• The Sunnyside Mall will not be getting running water due to costs and its the responsibility of the residents based on how it was designated when it was created.  The Alderman suggested that we could meet with a rep from the Water District to discuss collecting rain water via rain barrels and creating retention ponds in the mall.
• The alley between Clifton and Racine is not scheduled to be resurfaced at this time and when it is, it will likely not be using brick pavers due to costs.
• Lighting: The city is getting away from light poles with 2 lights (one over the road and one over the sidewalk). The ones over the sidewalk break too often.  We were told that it is the responsibility of the neighbors to light the sidewalk.
• A few days ago, I saw the guys turn on the water at Broncho Billy and they said the city is going to implement timing devices on all of their water features city wide with a 15 minute/15 minute off cycle.  The buttons that you push to turn on water features are too expensive to be repaired and they are frequently breaking.

Gay Pride Parade Route begins at Montrose & Broadway—Sunday, June 24

The 43rd Annual Gay & Lesbian Pride Parade will have a new parade route with the starting point stepping off from Broadway & Montrose at noon on Sunday, June 24.  GWNA neighborhood will include the staging area with floating lining up at 8 a.m. along both sides of Montrose from Broadway west to Clark St, and marchers along both sides of Broadway from Wilson to Montrose. We are in contact with the alderman’s office and various city departments to ensure our neighborhood ends up safe and clean and that parade visitors respectfully enjoy our neighborhood.

Residents should be prepared for huge crowds at the Wilson El Station and throughout the neighborhood. Plan on severe traffic disruptions.  Street parking along Montrose and Broadway will be banned, And through traffic will likely be closed. Please plan ahead. More information from GWNA will be sent closer to the parade date.

Wilson El Station Reconstruction Survey—We want to hear from you!

If you haven’t heard, the Wilson El Station will be undergoing a massive reconstruction project thanks to $135 million from various sources. The initial planning and survey work has already begun. This reconstruction will be the single most important project in shaping our community’s future. For those of us who have endured the Wilson El Station’s current conditions—we look forward to sharing our ideas on the project.

We’re asking you to take just a couple minutes and answer the survey questions now.

Please click here to take the Wilson El Station survey now!

Our intention is to collect the comments and ideas from a broad range of people who do or would use the Wilson El Station and present these findings to The Alderman and the CTA.  We believe this information will be essential for making public transportation a safe and welcoming gateway to Uptown.  After you take the survey, we encourage you to please forward it to others.

Coming Soon

• More details on the Gay & Lesbian Pride Parade, June 24
• Next Meeting: We’re currently planning one for mid-July (currently looking at 7/16 @7PM, but Date/Time/Location TBA officially in the next newsletter)
• Home Safety
• GWNA Summer Events

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Halloween 2011 Recap w/Photos: Fun Had By All

Graceland-Wilson Neighbors held its 2nd Annual Halloween Party last Saturday and it was a roaring success (maybe not coincidentally, given the numerous lion and tiger cubs roaming the mall).

Countless kids came out, plentiful pecks of pumpkins were decorated, spooky stories were read, cartons of candy were consumed, and much mirth was had by all.  It was lovely to see so many neighbors enjoying the beautiful morning together.  Special thanks goes to Kami McLochlin for her dynamo-like efforts in organizing the event.

Like last year, we have photographic evidence of the festival for posterity.  A small sample can be found in the slideshow below.

The full set of photos can be found by clicking here.

Thanks to all for coming out!

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2nd Annual GWNA Kid’s Halloween Party at the Mall

We had a blast last year.  Unmitigated.  Success.

Check out the photos here.

See, lots of fun.

Please join us again this year for “Part II, The Revenge” this Saturday at 10:30.  Bring your kids and/or animals in costume, meet some new neighbors, and enjoy the fall weather (we hope).

Here are the details:

GWNA Halloween Celebration
Saturday, October 29, 2011
10:30 AM – 11:30AM
Scaryside Maul (Sunnyside Mall, circa Malden)

Also, we’d appreciate any donations of candy or funds to cover pumpkins.  If you’re interested, please send an email to gracelandwilson [at] gmail [dot] com. Thanks!

See you there!

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Halloween Fiesta 2010: Unmitigated Success

Despite this past weekend’s dire events  in our ‘hood, we are happy to report some positive, fun news.  GWNA held its first ever Kids Halloween Fiesta this past Saturday morning.  It was a tremendous success.

I estimate that at least 60-70 people stopped by, with a third to half of them being cute kids in costume.  Somehow, we also plowed through a bushel of 55 mini-pumpkins.

Overall, much mirth ensued, including fabulous works of pumpkin art, mass consumption of sweets and plenty of neighborly conversation with new acquaintances.

Huge props to Kami McLochlin for organizing the event and special thanks to Irma Perres and the CPD for keeping a watchful eye on things.  Also, thanks a million to everyone who donated time, candy, and decoration collateral—the kids loved it.

We have plenty of pics too:

1) For a quick summary of shots, see the slideshow below.

2) For a longer slideshow at full screen resolution, please click here.

[PLEASE NOTE: If you are a parent who wants to download a photo of your kid and can’t figure out the Flickr interface (it’s less intuitive than it should be), just post a comment below to that effect and I can walk you through it.]

Thanks again to everyone for making this happen!

P.S.  If you haven’t already, please consider entering your email address and hitting that “Subscribe” button the right side of this page.  It’s by far the best way to keep up with the latest GWNA news and upcoming events.  Thanks!

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Kids Halloween Party this Saturday: Donations Requested

Hello all,

This Saturday at 10:30 AM at Sunnyside Mall, between Malden and Magnolia, GWNA will be sponsoring a li’l Halloween festival for the kids of the neighborhood.

Your neighbor Kami Mclochlin is heading up the festivities and is wondering if anyone would be interested in donating some items (or a offering a few bucks to help us to buy them) or volunteering at an activity table.

If you are interested, please contact Kami by clicking on this link and then clicking on the “Send Kami a Message” under her profile photo.

Below is a list of some of the things we’d hoping to have donated, purchase or borrow.

Thanks everyone, hope to see a big crowd out on Saturday morning!

Pumpkin decorating stations
— Painting/marker station
— Non toxic paint
— Non toxic markers
— Smocks (probably button down shirts turned backwards)

Glue station
— Glue sticks
— Glitter
— Googly eyes
— Pom poms
— Fake hair

Sticker station
— Halloween stickers

Activities for kids to enjoy while waiting to decorate pumpkins

Halloween themed coloring pages
— Print pages from free online source
— Crayons

Spooky Story Teller
— Age appropriate Halloween themed books (ie Curious George)

Ring toss game
— 3 water bottles
— Food coloring
— Rings
— Prizes (noise makers, stickers, spider rings, silly bands, tattoos)

2nd game (bean bag toss, pin the tooth on the jack, still figuring this out)

Spooky music
— Halloween CD or itunes purchase
— Ipod & docking station

Miscellaneous items also needed for event
— Tables
— Table cloths
— Tarps
— Wipes
— Pumpkins
— Treats (bags of candy, etc.)
— Sign up sheet for GWNA/neighborhood parents e-mail distribution list
— 3-4 volunteers to help with craft stations/story telling

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Renewing Sunnyside Mall: Autumn 2010 Edition

One small step for the Mall; one giant leap for the community.

As you probably know, most of Sunnyside Mall is encompassed within the Graceland-Wilson Neighbors boundaries.  One of the things we’d like to do as we rouse this block club from its slumber is to reinvigorate Sunnyside Mall.  We plan to make it the centerpiece of the neighborhood rather than just the pass-through that it has become for many.

Once upon a time, the Mall had better groomed gardens and ample people to care for it.  But, over time, these guardians dwindled and the maintenance became difficult to manage.  One of the first steps we wanted to take as a block club was to give some of those planters a spit shine.

We were delighted to receive a very generous donation of plants and shrubberies from Christy Webber of Christy Webber Landscapes.  I wasn’t involved in the transaction myself, but I hear it went down something like this:

With Christy’s gift in hand, a small group of us spent a bit of time last Saturday planting and mulching.  It’s like night and day right now… but it should really pop next Spring.

Thanks again to Christy for the gift and to Katherine, Ron, Lyn Sue, Ken and Tom for getting their hands dirty.  Also, special thanks to Tom for being the sole waterer at the Mall for many years previous to this.  We hope this is just the beginning of many great things to come.

And now, pics to prove it happened:

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