By Rosemary Mackey
West Chicago, Illinois: February 1 , 2019 – Frigid
temperatures notwithstanding, West Chicago is embracing 2019 with sights set on
celebrating the beauty and wonder of a small winged creature which will shortly
be waking from its months-long hibernation in warmer climates and begin its
journey to the western suburbs.
The Monarch butterfly’s wondrous migration and subsequent
transformation has become something of a metaphor for the diverse community of
West Chicago itself, which will be celebrating The Year of the
Butterfly through an exciting calendar of programs and events.
Thanks to the support of the West Chicago Cultural Arts Commission, the West
Chicago America in Bloom committee, and the many community partners including
the West Chicago Garden Club, People Made Visible, the Green Disciples of the
First United Methodist Church of West Chicago, Community High School District
94, the DuPage Monarch Project, Community School District 33, residents and
Master Naturalists Michael and Judith Horsley, and many others, the City will
provide education, art, and greater awareness for Monarch conservation.
The cross-pollination of these group efforts will yield the
following for the enjoyment of everyone in the community and beyond:
- A
free public screening of The Guardians, a
Spanish-language documentary film with English subtitles, will be
available on Friday, May 17, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at Gallery 200, 103 West
Washington Street, as part of Artéculture. (See “Monarch documentary to be shown”
elsewhere in this issue for a description of the movie.) Additional
showings at Gallery 200 of The Guardians may be arranged
for interested groups over the course of the year. Also, the film will be
made available to students and faculty of Community High School District
94, as they explore the subject in related science classes, as well as at
an evening showing for the general public on a date and time to be
announced.
- Blooming
Fest, scheduled on Saturday, May 18, 2019 in downtown West
Chicago from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., will feature several opportunities
to learn more about the Monarch from various environmental groups which
will have booth spaces. Also, a special craft for children to
create their own paper butterfly will be available at the City table on
Main Street, and people of all ages will delight in becoming the center
of larger-than-life butterfly wings. The photo opportunities
of these interactive activities will provide great memories of The Year
of the Butterfly.
- The
opening of a citywide public art project that celebrates the Monarch
will also take place in May.
Its chosen title, The Butterfly Effect, is a
reference to chaos theory and the phenomenon that occurs when a minute
localized change in a complex system has large effects elsewhere. The
concept holds a special significance for the Cultural Arts Commission,
which sees a strong symbolic connection between Monarch migration and the
migration of diverse immigrant populations that traveled to West Chicago,
adding beauty, value, and history to the community. Through a
collaborative effort between the West Chicago Cultural Arts Commission,
the West Chicago Garden Club, People Made Visible, and the West Chicago
America in Bloom Committee, 29 artfully designed wooden butterflies will
be installed in public gardens throughout the City, with an additional
seven at the Kruse House Gardens. The butterflies, approximately
three-feet high by four-feet wide, will be designed by local artists and
members of the Garden Club. An interactive map will be designed for use in
locating each installation, making it easy for residents and visitors to
spend a delightful afternoon visiting each site from May through
September.
- Community
arts not-for-profit People Made Visible will be coordinating a residential
component of The Butterfly Effect for those wishing
to create their own artful butterfly for use in the home garden. Smaller
templates, priced at a reasonable amount, will be available for purchase
at Gallery 200, 103 West Washington Street, during normal
hours of operation, Thursdays from noon to 6:00 p.m.; Fridays from noon to
8:00 p.m.; Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; and Sundays from noon
to 4:00 p.m.
- A new exhibit
titled Home, which is scheduled to debut at
the City Museum, 132 Main Street, on Saturday, May 18, 2019 and
run through Saturday, April 18, 2020, will focus on an exploration of
community, specifically as told through histories of people who currently
call, or who have at one time called, West Chicago home. Additionally,
select artifacts from the Museum’s collections will be incorporated in the
exhibit. Chosen artists will work with Museum Director Sara Phalen and
exhibit co-curator Anni Holm to create compelling original artwork that
will be inspired by the stories of those journeys to and in the community.
Like the indelible imprint of the Monarch population on the West Chicago
environmental landscape, the unique stories of people who made a home in
West Chicago will illustrate the profound ways in which they have
contributed to the cultural landscape.
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