The City of Evanston will now be taking your suggestions – 2,013 of them, to be exact.
Evanston will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2013, and the Evanston150 Steering Committee is in charge of organizing the city’s anniversary celebrations. As The Evanston150 Steering Committee prepares for its first community event next month, its members are stressing a driving concept behind their effort to celebrate the city’s 150th anniversary: ideas, ideas and more ideas. Their ultimate goal is to amass more than 2,000 submissions and narrow them down to 10 “ideas for the future,” according to a Tuesday press release.”
Committee member Sara Schastok said the grassroots initiative transcends typical community input endeavors and provides residents with the “opportunity to dream big.” That chance, she added, commences March 26, when Evanston150 will host a community rally at the Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave., to formally introduce the project.
“This is about ‘Where do people want Evanston to go?'” Schastok said. “‘What do they want Evanston to be?'”
The answers to those questions will come after a two-year process concluding in Evanston’s sesquicentennial in 2013, University spokesman Al Cubbage said. Cubbage represents Northwestern on the steering committee, which approached the NU administration for financial support in the fall.
“We really want to engage the entire community,” he said. “I’m hopeful. We want big ideas. We want good ideas.”
Idea proposals can drastically range in ambition and scope, Schastok said. Anything from the construction of a performing arts center to a North Shore trails network will be considered.
From a University perspective, Dean of Students Burgwell Howard said he would opt for “things to enhance the off-campus living experience.” This includes, but is not limited to, safer lighting routes on the west boundaries of campus and an improved city shuttle system to relieve booked SafeRide drivers during the winter months, he said.
“Broadly, I always love it when the contributions Northwestern makes to the community are recognized,” Howard said. “A lot of work goes under the radar. We wouldn’t have one without the other.”
The reciprocal relationship between the city and University allows students to suggest “things that were wonderful in places they’ve grown up that can be wonderful in Evanston, too,” Schastok said.
Despite the committee’s forward momentum, the Evanston150 campaign has not proceeded without organizational hitches. The date of the community rally is in midst of NU’s spring break, which concludes the following Monday.
Cubbage said the scheduled day was “just a matter of timing for everybody else,” and the NU student body will have plenty of additional occasions to offer their insight.
The steering committee has hired an Evanston-based PR firm, Kick-Start Marketing Chicago, to manage what Schastok described as a “media blitz.” Part of this outreach mission is selecting 30 community partners, including NU’s Dance Marathon, to extend Evanston150’s message to diverse population segments, she said.
The March 26 rally, which will run from noon until 2 p.m., will showcase Evanston restaurants with free samples and feature live performances from local musical acts
