Our neighborhood gardens are absolutely bursting with life and we can’t wait for one of our favorite neighborhood traditions: the 44th Annual Graceland West Community Association Garden Walk!
This year’s walk takes place on Sunday, July 12, 2026, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. If you’ve been on the fence about showcasing your yard, patio, or hidden oasis, this is your official final sign-up call!
Whether you have a meticulously landscaped backyard, a front-porch pollinator paradise, or a charming side-yard veggie patch, we’d love for you to share it. You don’t need a perfect, professional garden to participate—this event is all about celebrating community, sharing inspiration, and enjoying the unique green spaces within our boundaries (Montrose to Irving Park, and Clark to Ashland).
How It Works
Self-Directed Tour: Neighbors and visitors will explore the neighborhood at their own pace.
If you sign up, you’ll receive a Garden Walk marker to display proudly in your front, side, and/or backyard so attendees know your garden is open for viewing.
The walk kicks off at Warner Park (1446 West Warner Ave), where attendees can pick up maps, read garden descriptions, and chat with a Master Gardener and local presenters.
Ready to Share Your Garden?
Don’t wait until it’s too late! We are finalizing our event maps and descriptions very soon. Fill out this form right now to register your garden as an official stop on the tour:
We have a lot of exciting Graceland West updates, events, and community news to share with you this weekend. Take a look below at what’s happening in and around the neighborhood!
SATURDAY JUNE 13: SNA Native Plant Sale If you are reading this on Friday or Saturday morning, don’t miss out! The Southport Neighbors Association (SNA) Native Plant Sale is happening Saturday June 13, from 9:00 AM until sold out. Come down Southport, right under the Southport Brown Line station, to grab some beautiful new additions for your garden.
Storm Cleanup & Tree Debris Following the major storms our area experienced this week, many blocks are dealing with fallen branches. If you need to request the removal of tree debris on public property, please remember to file a request through the CHI 311 app (or via 311chicago.org) so the city can address it efficiently.
Kid’s Pollinator Planting: A Huge Success! Our recent Kid’s Pollinator Planting event was an absolute blast. The kids did a fabulous job getting their hands dirty for a great cause. Next time you pass by Warner Park, be sure to stop by and see just how well their new plantings are doing!
New Art Installation at Warner Park The Warner Park and Gardens board is thrilled to announce the permanent installation of Sentimental Sentry by Charles Yost. This beautiful sculpture is dedicated in loving remembrance of Lois Buenger (Park Founder) and Georgie Yost (Park President). Please go check it out next time you visit the park, and keep an eye out for news regarding an upcoming official dedication ceremony.
44th Annual Garden Walk (Sunday, July 12, 1–4 PM) The countdown is on! Our neighborhood’s signature summer event is less than a month away. If you’d like to showcase your hard work this year, please use this link to register your garden if you haven’t already. It is always a wonderful day for the community!
Volunteer Opportunity: The garden walk planners are still looking for an enthusiastic neighbor to lead the post-walk potluck for our displaying gardeners. If you’re interested in helping out, please reach out to Pat (pat.spaulding@comcast.net) or Linda (lmbw5@comcast.net).
POSTPONED: Fitness in the Park Fitness in the Park, led by our wonderful neighbor Kelly, is being temporarily rescheduled. We want to give Warner Park’s new grass plenty of time to become strongly rooted before we start working out on it! This is a free event you won’t want to miss, so watch your inbox for future scheduling announcements.
POSTPONED: June Environmental Meeting Please note that the June Environmental Meeting has also been postponed due to the new grass in the park. We will share the rescheduled date and meeting topics in an upcoming e-blast and in the physical newsletter delivered to your door.
Zoning Update: 1410-12 Warner Ave. Neighbors are currently gathering information regarding the rezoning changes requested by the property owner of this site. The community is reviewing the details, so please watch for future updates as we learn more.
Thank you for making our neighborhood such a vibrant place to live. Have a wonderful weekend, and we hope to see you at the plant sale tomorrow!
Spring is in full bloom, and our local butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds are looking for a place to call home. That’s where our amazing community kids come in!
Our annual Kids Pollinator Planting Garden Event returns this Sunday, May 31, from 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM at Warner Park and Gardens.
Pollinators do a massive job for our planet, helping grow the fruits, veggies, and flowers we love. They need our help to find safe, healthy places to feed and rest. Our kids will create a pollinator sanctuary that will support local wildlife all summer long.
Please dress your kiddos in clothes that are okay to get a little dirty. If you have kid-sized gardening gloves and a hand shovel, feel free to bring them along—otherwise, bare hands work beautifully, too!
One quick favor to help our park: You might notice some roped-off sections at Warner Park and Garden. The grass has been freshly reseeded. Please help us keep the kiddos (and grown-ups!) off those spots so the new grass can thrive. Because we’re giving the lawn some time to mature, we are postponing our upcoming events like Yoga and Fitness in the Park. Our pollinator planting is happening in a separate area, completely clear of the baby grass.
What an incredible Earth Week and first half of Spring it has been for our neighborhood! Thanks to the hard work of our amazing volunteers, donors, and partners, we have some massive achievements to celebrate. We are officially seeing the beautiful, compounding results of a journey that began over a decade ago.
A Milestone 11 Years in the Making
We are thrilled to announce that on Saturday, April 25th, GWCA officially hit its 2026 Pollinator/Stormwater Absorption goal for the entire year with the installation of our 18th site at Greenview and Warner!
This milestone is the culmination of a vision that started back in 2015 to expand the GWCA Pollinator Pathway.
A Massive Thank You To:
Our Donors & Members: Your donations and membership funds made this expansion possible.
Congressman Quigley & Landlord Marty Signa: Thank you for your incredible support of our green initiatives.
Our Hardworking Crews: A huge shoutout to the GWCA members, the 2025 LVHS JROTC, and the 2026 LVHS Garden Club (who also added gorgeous new native plants to the LVHS campus on Earth Day, April 22nd!).
Our Newest Team Members: A warm welcome to TJ and Karolina, who helped us cross the finish line on our 18th site!
Small Spaces, Massive Impact: The Science of Our Gardens
These aren’t just pretty flower beds—they are hard-working environmental assets. Each of our 18 sites is about 100 square feet, but look at what they do:
Incredible Water Absorption: Each 100 sq. ft. site absorbs more than 2,000 gallons of stormwater per year, keeping it out of our city sewer system.
Supercharged Soil: We amended the soil 6 inches deep for maximum absorbency using coconut coir and compost.
Symbiotic Roots: Plant roots were dusted with mycorrhizal inoculate fungi to help them grow strong and resilient.
Wildlife Habitats: We planted deep-rooted native species specifically chosen to provide essential habitats for birds, butterflies, bees, and beneficial insects.
Bring the Pathway to Your Yard!
We encourage all neighbors to adopt this model! The magic ratio is 100 square feet of native planting for every 3,000 square feet of lot.
You can make a huge difference right at home by swapping out non-permeable hardscapes (like concrete or non-permeable pavers) and non-absorptive landscapes (like standard grass turf) for deep-rooted native plants. If you need recommendations for great local native plant nurseries, Janice is happy to help!
Need some cleanup inspiration? Just take a look at the fantastic progress made by the team over at Access Contemporary Music (ACM)!
How You Can Get Involved Right Now
1. Volunteers Needed: Help Us Maintain Our Beautiful Corners
To keep our gardens thriving, we are looking for everyone to help pick up any litter you see in the neighborhood, specifically at our parkways, corners and the bioswales.
We’re also looking for a few helping hands to do light weeding and trash pickup at:
Southport & Cuyler – SE and SW Corners (2–3 volunteers needed)
No expert experience is required—we will train you! If you or a neighbor love plants and beautification, please email Janice (jhorwich@sbcglobal.net) and Linda (lmbw5@comcast.net).
2. Share Plants & Grab Compost
Native Plants: Please let Linda and Janice know if you have native plants to share, or if your specific site needs a few more.
Mushroom Compost: We have extra bags of mushroom compost available to help your garden beds thrive. Reach out to Janice and Linda to claim what you need.
3. Coming Up Next: Fun for the Whole Family!
We have a wonderful event coming up perfect for our youngest gardeners…We are thrilled to invite you to our annual Kids Pollinator Planting Garden Event on Sunday, May 31, from 10:30 AM to 11:00 AMat Warner Park and Gardens.
Why Pollinators?
Pollinators do a massive job for our planet, helping grow the fruits, veggies, and flowers we love. But they need our help to find safe, healthy places to feed and rest. In just 30 minutes, our kids will create a vibrant sanctuary that will support local wildlife all summer long.
What to Expect:
Hands-on Fun: Kids will get to dig in the dirt and plant their very own pollinator-friendly flowers.
Mini-Lesson: A super quick, kid-friendly chat about how bees and butterflies help our gardens grow.
Community Connection: Connect with other local families and watch your hard work grow week after week!
We can’t wait to dig in with you and make our community a little greener, one flower at a time!
Don’t miss out on our conversation with Robert Loerzel about The Uptown Theatre, a topic that always sparks a lot of nostalgia and curiosity for Chicagoans.
This Tuesday, March 10th at 7:00 PM, join GWCA at Quantum LEEP Academy (1447 W. Montrose Ave). Robert will be sharing stories from his new book, The Uptown: Chicago’s Endangered Movie Palace, co-authored with James A. Pierce.
Looking Ahead: Celebrate Pi Day at Lake View High School
On Saturday, March 14 (Pi Day!) from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, Lake View High School opens its doors for STEM Day. It’s a wonderful opportunity to step inside our local high school and witness the incredible work being done by neighborhood students. From high-tech robotics to the mysteries of forensic science, come see the future of innovation right here in our backyard.
When: Tuesday, March 10th at 7:00 PM Where: Quantum LEEP Academy (1447 W. Montrose Ave)
We are thrilled to welcome Robert Loerzel, a renowned Chicago freelance journalist and photographer. Robert will be sharing stories from his new book, The Uptown: Chicago’s Endangered Movie Palace, co-authored with James A. Pierce.
He will take us through the history of the legendary Uptown Theatre—from its glory days to its decades of disrepair and its potential future. Robert will also present fascinating findings from his history project, The Coolest Spot in Chicago: A History of Green Mill Gardens and the Beginnings of Uptown.
Robert’s work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Crain’s, and WBEZ. This is a presentation you won’t want to miss!
While we’re excited to host an incredible guest speaker, these meetings are also a great way to meet the people living right next door. We’ll have time before and after the presentation to chat, catch up on neighborhood happenings, and meet your fellow Graceland Westers in person.
Can you believe it’s already Wednesday? That means we are just three days away from our Annual Neighborhood Bowling Event!
If you’ve been meaning to sign up but the week got away from you, this is your official Last Call. We have a few lanes left, and we’d love to see your family filling them.
When: This Saturday, January 24 Where: Timber Lanes, 1851 W Irving Park Time: 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Our much-loved annual Next Gen bowling party is just around the corner, and we’re especially excited to invite all Graceland West families!
All Ages Welcome: Bowling is a sport everyone can enjoy. We’ll have bumpers available for the younger ones (or anyone who needs a little help) and lighter balls to make sure every throw is a fun one.
A Chance to Connect: It’s a fantastic opportunity for kids to hang out with their neighbors from different schools, and for parents to socialize and meet other families in the area.
No Experience Necessary: Never bowled before? No problem! Our event is the perfect chance to try something new in a relaxed and supportive environment.
Boost Your Community Spirit: Events like these strengthen the bonds within our neighborhood. Let’s show our kids the value of community.
The event is Saturday, January 24 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm at Timber Lanes (1851 W Irving Park). To sign up, see our neighborhood fest page. The cost is $50 per family (up to 5 family members) and that covers the lane and shoe rental, plus snacks for the kids. Timber Lanes has a cash bar for the adults.
Get ready to experience some winter magic right here in the neighborhood!
We’re thrilled to announce a new neighborhood fixture: the Warner Park Winter Wonderland. Every evening from November 23rd until mid-January, the park will be lit up with beautiful displays from 4:30 PM to 10:00 PM.
To celebrate the launch, we are planning a neighborhood gathering this Sunday, November 23rd!
The lights will turn on at 4:30 PM, but we encourage neighbors to stop by a little early—say, 4:25 PM—to gather and share the excitement.
GWCA will provide hot chocolate to make the evening extra cozy. Mark your calendars, bundle up, and bring the family out to enjoy the lights. We can’t wait to see you there!
The GWCA Annual Street Leaf Cleanup is nearing the finish line this weekend, so get those final bags of street leaves collected by Sunday, November 23rd!
