Tag: garden walk
Although the kids are heading back to school, we still have a month left of our 2023 summer.
Looking back, we kicked off the summer with a very successful and engaging meeting. Special thanks to Rachel Kuipers and Jack Pizzo for sharing their knowledge with the group. Also a warm welcome to Chad Rathmann and Linda Welsh who were welcomed to the GWCA council. All meeting minutes are uploaded to our Archives page.
In July we had an amazing 41st annual GWCA Garden Walk. A very special thanks to all of the gardeners who welcomed the community into their enchanted spaces and to Ben Conley, Chad Rathmann and Linda Welsh for leading the organization of the walk.
Looking ahead…
On September 10 we will have our annual neighborhood festival on Greenview between Belle Plaine and Warner. Hopefully this year mother nature will spare us the gale-force winds.
On September 23rd we’ll reconvene in the beautiful Warner Park and Gardens for our Q3 meeting and to vote on important matters related to a business on Irving Park.
Be on the lookout for detailed information about these upcoming events and subscribe to our calendar at the bottom of https://gracelandwest.org/calendar/. As always, feel free to drop a note to info@gracelandwest.org about any neighborhood-related curiosities.
July 16, 2023 @ 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Mark your calendars for the 41st annual Graceland West Garden Walk on Sunday, July 16, 1-5 pm. The first Garden Walk was held 41 years ago in 1982. The purpose has been for neighborhood gardeners to share their love of gardening, encourage gardening and beautification of the neighborhood, build community, meet each other and share a wide variety of gardening ideas, and for neighbors to meet neighbors, make friends and have fun.
You can find a digital map here. A printed map and guide will be available at Warner Park (1446 West Warner Ave), where you’ll also have the opportunity to talk with a Master Gardener and neighborhood presenters on prairie restoration, Graceland West’s tree canopy, and urban gardening.
The tour is self-directed; exhibiting gardens will display a Garden Walk marker in the front, side, and/or backyard.
Please contact the following GWCA members for additional questions on the Graceland West Garden Walk:
- Ben Conley (4145 Greenview) ben@benconley.com
- Chad Rathmann (1446 Belle Plaine) chad.rathmann@gmail.com
- Linda Brummer Welsh (1437 Warner) LMBW5@comcast.net
2022 was a great year of re-emergence (of sorts) after a couple of years of flattening the COVID-19 curve and building immunity.
- We kicked the year off after hibernating for the winter at our March meeting where we had a great time with Alderman Matt Martin and continued to build our relationship with Lake View High School, specifically their STEM program representatives and our very own Council member and teacher Joanne Yonan.
- On Earth Day we cleaned up the streets around the high school with our Congressman Mike Quigely.
- Our Q2 meeting took place in beautiful Warner Park and focused on the efforts of the GWCA Eco Committee, led by Council member Joel McFarland who is an Openlands certified TreeKeeper. We also heard from the Alderman’s office and CDOT about safe streets improvements. More on this topic in 2023.
- The annual yard sale was moved up to June. Many thanks to Mark Nehring for his leadership.
- The annual Garden Walk celebrated 40 years in 2022. 40 years! Fearlessly led by Donna Forsberg for one last time as she called this year her last as the chairperson. Mother Nature decided to keep us guessing throughout the day but allowed for plenty of time for all of our amazing neighborhood gardeners to share their efforts with guests.
- The newly branded Graceland West Neighborhood Fest (formerly GWCAFest) was visited by Gale and Squall who dumped about 2 ft of flooding into the neighborhood, but that didn’t stop Sarah Maxwell, Barb Sullivan, Brad Pierce and their volunteers (including LVHS students) from toughing it out and waiting for the weather to clear for the neighborhood to emerge to enjoy Peg’s famous bake table, Randy’s age-less magic, Lisa B’s smooth vocals, Tacos, Tacos, Tacos (and Margaritas), and flame throwing (aka juggling)!
- Our Q3 meeting finally brought us back into LVHS where we were introduced to the LVHS Robotics program (which is incredible)!
- The Halloween party at Warner Park returned after a couple year hiatus and featured some amazing costumes, games and make your own candy apples. Special thanks to Andrea and Colin McLeod and their volunteers for hosting the event.
- And sure enough, Mother Nature wasn’t finished with us when she gave us rain and 50 mph winds the morning of our Street Leaf Cleanup and the Pumpkin Smash at LVHS. Didn’t stop new Council member Paul Monzella from raking Cullom/Greenview until it was pristine. Throughout the week we totaled 182 bags, picked up by the Ward Superintendent the next week.
- We finished off the year back at the Piggery, our gracious hosts for our March and December meetings, where we enjoyed pizza, pork and socializing.
The GWCA Council would like to recognize our Block Reps who helps to deliver flyers and spread important neighborhood news. Thank You!
Also, thanks to all who volunteered or attended any of the GWCA meetings and events and participated in the goal of the association to foster positive relationships between residents of the neighborhood, promote civic engagement and educate community members on issues of common interest such as crime prevention, neighborhood history and preservation, and community improvement. It takes a village!
The 40th Annual Graceland West Community Association Garden walk is TODAY, Sunday August 7th, from 2-6 PM. Please visit 4334 N Greenview to talk to our master gardeners and to grab a copy of this year’s map which you can also find below, along with this year’s flyer.
| Greenview | Pensacola | ||
| 4347 FB | 1448 FB | ||
| 4346 F | |||
| 4338 FB | Cullom | ||
| 4334 FB | 1506-10 F | ||
| 4330 FB | 1442 F | ||
| 4328 FB | 1431 F | ||
| 4322 FB | |||
| 4315 FB | Berteau | ||
| 4312F | 1419 F | ||
| 4204 FB | |||
| 4216 F | Warner | ||
| 4217 FB | Warner Park & Gardens | ||
| 4230 FB | 1430 FB | ||
| 4240 FB | 1437 F | ||
| 4248 FB | |||
| 4249 FB | Belle Plaine | ||
| 4255 FB | 1460 FB | ||
| 4158 FB | 1446 F | ||
| 4147 FB | 1419 FB | ||
| 4115 F | 1418 F | ||
| Irving Park 1332 Rizal Center | |||
Today is the last day to sign up to show your garden at this weekend’s garden walk. If you’d like to show your front or back yard or know a neighbor who should be on our 40th Annual Garden Walk, please give Donna a call at 773.742.3939 or send her an email at donnaforsberg@sbcglobal.net.
40th-Annual-GWCA-Garden-Walk-Flyer
Our GWCA 38th Annual Garden Walk will be Sunday, August 2nd from 4-7:30 pm. The registration deadline to be on the map is July 23rd. This year we will only show front yards to limit social gathering. Our theme is “MASKquerade” as visitors and gardeners need to wear masks AND social distance if near others.
June 6, 2020
For the Garden Walk, we’re adding photos and garden descriptions to a virtual map. Please submit your photos or videos using this form https://forms.gle/mcavNzCYFSBmoXNY6. They can even be of you demonstrating a gardening technique. If you don’t have a google account you can also send photos or videos via email to Donna Forsberg (donnaforsberg@sbcglobal.net) and Colin McLeod (cmm504@gmail.com).
Our GWCA 38th Annual Garden Walk will be Sunday, August 2nd from 4-7:30 pm. This year we will only show front yards to limit social gathering. Our theme is “MASKquerade” as visitors and gardeners need to wear masks AND social distance if near others.
Enjoy GWCA’s Gardens and Green Space on Greenview, Southport, Pensacola, Berteau, Warner, Belle Plaine, Cuyler and Irving Park. Enjoy the beauty created by over 40 neighborhood gardeners. Wear a mask and comfortable shoes and stroll this neighborhood event. Look for signs at each garden, open the map at www.gracelandwest.org or take a virtual tour on Google Earth here https://bit.ly/315jyIT
