Evanston merchants will put out the welcome mat for its Northwestern neighbors this weekend.
Local businesses are offering discounts, music and free food in an effort to attract new and old members of the NU community to downtown stores.
As part of the “Wild About Evanston” weekend, NU students, faculty and staff members who present a WildCARD will have access to special events and discounts.
The weekend will culminate with the Big Bite Night on Sunday that will offer samples from more than 40 restaurants starting at 5 p.m. In addition, Prairie Moon, 1502 Sherman Ave., will be hosting a disc jockey tonight and live bands Saturday. Both events begin at 6 p.m. and are open to residents over 18 years old.
“We got a good response from students when we opened last year,” said Mike Hoyland, Prairie Moon’s manager. “We decided to participate so we could get our name out there and show our appreciation to the students.”
A pool table, beer trucks and food will accompany the music, he said.
The weekend activities grew out of a meeting between community leaders, business owners, and NU students and administrators Spring Quarter, according to Courtney Brunsfeld, Associated Student Government’s City Council liaison. The participants brainstormed ideas to improve the relationship between the city and university.
The “Wild About Evanston” weekend was “one of the best ideas to come out of (the meeting),” she said. “It allows Evanston businesses to show that they appreciate Northwestern students.”
While student and administrator input was sought throughout the planning stages, the event “was largely an Evanston business production,” Brunsfeld said. “They were willing to hold their hands out to the students.”
Lucile Krasnow, the university’s special assistant for community relations, served as the liaison between NU and Evanston in planning the event. She said business owners wanted a large event “that will continue to grow and grow and grow in the future. We’re trying to merge together the business community and Northwestern.”
The weekend will be a success if “a lot of the Northwestern community is out in the streets,” said Troy Thiel, president of the Evanston Small Business Association. His organization is one of the event sponsors, along with the Evanston Chamber of Commerce and EvMark.
“It just makes sense for this kind of weekend,” he said. “New Student Week was shortened and the first weekend after classes start is a natural weekend for students to get out downtown. And the businesses will be out there to meet them with the sidewalk sales.”
Many of the businesses offering discounts this weekend are participants in the year-round WildCARD Advantage program that offers discounts. Thiel said he hopes the weekend will encourage more businesses to join the venture.
