Q2 Community Meeting – Summer Solstice and Environmental Meeting

June 20, 2024 @ 6:30 pm 8:00 pm

SUMMER SOLSTICE ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY MEETING
Thursday, June 20, 6:30 – 8 pm
Warner Park & Gardens, 1444 W Warner

Judy Pollock, President of Chicago Birding Alliance (former Chicago Audubon) will return by neighborhood request and share information on local and migrating birds and their needs.

Neighbors Ben and Sarah Conley are certified TreeKeepers, who will provide support information on habitat for birds and tree care.

Neighborhood updates, Garden Walk sign-up, semi-annual Council election.

Summer Solstice Potluck, bring a finger food app, main or dessert to share. BYO beverages, compostable plates and reusable utensils.

Janice Horwich

Warner Park and Gardens

1444 Warner Avenue
Chicago, IL 60613 United States
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It’s still summer in Graceland West

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.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail spotted during the 41st Annual GWCA Garden 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.

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Quarterly GWCA Community Meeting 6/20, 6:30 @ Warner Park and Gardens

Our next GWCA Community Meeting is Tuesday, June 20 from 6:30 – 8 pm at Warner Park & Gardens, 1446 West Warner. We’ll move indoors if weather is more than sprinkles of rain.

Agenda includes a brief business meeting & semi-annual GWCA council election. Then the Garden Walk Committee will kick off registration for the 41st Annual Garden Walk on Sunday, July 16. This will be followed by a distinguished panel that will discuss “What one person, household, school or business can do outdoors (balcony, patio, roof, yard) to help the environment”.

Rachel Kuipers, Landscape Architecture, Environmental Design Professional, LiveRoof/Hortech.  LR/H specializes in blue green roof systems, offering stormwater management solutions; native, pollinating, habitat-creating and biodiverse plant mixes, LiveRoof’s network of licensed growers provides locally grown modular green roof systems focused on overall plant and system health.

Jack Pizzo, Horticulturist, Ecologist, Landscape Architect, and the founder and principal of The Pizzo Group. With a talented team of professionals, he creates and manages sustainable gardens and landscapes, restores ecosystems, and serves on conservation boards. Pizzo Nursery native plant plugs are available through their retail partners. The Pizzo Group has received 170+ industry awards.

We look forward to seeing you on the 20th! If you have any questions about the meeting, please reach out to info@gracelandwest.org.

Quarterly GWCA Meeting – 2nd Quarter 2023

June 20, 2023 @ 6:30 pm 8:00 pm

Details to follow

Warner Park and Gardens

1444 Warner Avenue
Chicago, IL 60613 United States
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Events & Announcements

Happy New Year! Graceland West 2022 in Review

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!

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Halloween Party – Saturday October 29th

The goblins are haunting, the monsters will mash, it’s time to get ready for a Halloween bash!

The Graceland West Halloween party returns to Warner Park after a two year hiatus; Saturday October 29th at 10:30 AM. Come in costume and be ready for spook-tacular games, pumpkin decorating, candy apple creation and more.

We are still looking for volunteers to help with the event. Please email info@gracelandwest.org if you’re willing to lend a hand.

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Events & Announcements

Quarterly GWCA Meeting 6/23, 7:00 @ Warner Park and Gardens

Warmer Park and Gardens

Join GWCA this Thursday 6/23 at 7:00 at Warner Park and Gardens (1444 W Warner) for a great meeting which will include:

  • TreeKeepers – coming to talk about tree care and native trees.
  • Representatives from the 47th Ward and CDOT – coming to share a proposal for protected bike lanes from Irving Park to Montrose and to discuss other safe streets possibilities in our neighborhood.
  • The launch of registration for the 40th Annual Garden Walk.

The council is looking forward to seeing everyone on Thursday. Don’t hesitate to reach out to info@gracelandwest.org if you have any questions.

GWCA Halloween Party

October 29, 2022 @ 11:00 am 1:00 pm

The 2022 Graceland West Halloween party will take place on Saturday October 29th from 11:00 to 1:00. Bring your costumed little ones and be ready for pumpkin decorating, make your own candy apples, mummy and ghost races, pin the stem on the pumpkin and other games…oh yea, and lots of candy and other treats!

Warner Park and Gardens

1444 Warner Avenue
Chicago, IL 60613 United States
+ Google Map
Categories
Events & Announcements

Warner Park and Gardens Gazebo

Warner Park and Gardens let GWCA know that they needed to remove the gazebo.  It was getting rickety and needed extensive repairscialis generic usa It is not necessary to consume Sildenafil Soft Gel Capsule everyday. You can log onto a viagra online for sale cute-n-tiny.com popular online shop and buy this product to stimulate your sensual organs and enjoy a happy sexual life. buy cheap levitra Most importantly, it helps treat any kinds of sexual dysfunction. It comes in doses of 5 mg, 10 mg and the medication should be taken at least generic viagra wholesale 2 to 3 times daily. to continue to be safe.  They love that all are enjoying the park and gardens and making cherished memories.

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CAPS MEETING REPORT – GRACELAND WEST AND OTHER CRIME TIPS

At the November 19th CAPS meeting, police discussed followup to a gang related shots fired incident on the 1400 block of Warner and subsequent arrests saying it is gang related. Police emphasized that neighbors need to call 911 on anyone who doesn’t seem like they belong in the neighborhood, and just seems to be waiting around (anywhere within the neighborhood). As extreme as it sounds, the officers encouraged us to call even if the guys don’t seem to be doing anything wrong.

When a neighbor calls 911, they are supposed to tell the operator that they are calling from a known gang assembly place, and then report what they’ve seen.

This time of year, it’s likely the guys will just be sitting in cars. The officers said they really need to collect license plate numbers so they can track the gang. The officers asked that if at all possible, a license plate number be given to the 911 operator.

ADDITIONAL CRIME TIPS:

EYES ON THE STREET: Call 911 immediately to report CRIME or SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY HAPPENING NOW. Report descriptions of people, vehicles and tag number if possible and direction of escape. Alert your phone tree after calling 911.

  • Crime in progress
  • Someone looking into windows, yards or cars
  • Someone with a sob story at your door requesting money
  • Someone ringing your bell with brochures from Lambs Farm (they don’t fund raise door to door) or something similar
  • Someone being followed or someone following you
  • A group gathering to drag race, smoke dope, deal dope
  • Someone you think might be applying graffiti
  • An occupied parked car that seems suspicious
  • A moving van at a neighbor’s house and you know they aren’t moving

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GRAFFITI: If you have an iPhone or droid, download the Chicago Works app from iTunes or Google Play. Photo the graffiti and email it to 311 along with the address. A copy will go to the alderman’s office too.

Call 311 to report that someone broke into your garage or your bike or lawnmower was stolen. It’s important to REPORT ALL CRIME because police get better information re patterns AND REPORTED CRIME INCIDENTS determine how police coverage is allocated.

LIGHTS ON. A well-lit neighborhood deters crime and makes the neighborhood welcoming to neighbors. Please light your front and rear entries from DUSK TO DAWN all year and report street lights out to 311.

LINE OF SIGHT. If your home is hidden behind a privacy fence, overgrown shrubs, untrimmed trees and your neighbors or police can’t see you coming or going from the street or alley, it’s time to LIGHTEN UP and eliminate hiding spots. Walk across the street. Can you and your neighbor easily see your front entrance, basement and first floor windows and rear entry at all hours? Can police drive by and see that all is OK? Look at your neighbor’s houses. Can you see their entry points easily?

PHONE TREE. Keep contact info for neighbors on either side, across the street and across the alley behind you. Call them after calling 911 or 311. Register on and Post to EveryBlock and Nextdoor.

LOCK DOORS AND WINDOWS. If you’re gardening, raking leaves or shoveling, LOCK YOUR DOORS AND KEEP THE KEY IN YOUR POCKET. Also use ventilation locks on your basement, first and second floor windows. (They’re the locks that let a window open for ventilation, but not enough to climb in).

PHOTOGRAPH OR VIDEO AND INVENTORY your valuable items and keep a copy off site. You can inscribe your driver’s license number on electronics.

ENJOY YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD. WALK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. Active, happy neighborhoods deter crime. Vary your routine a little too. Use both your front and back door, not just one. GET TO KNOW three new neighbors well this winter and PLEASE JOIN GWCA: www.gracelandwest.org

 

 

 

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