Learn About Bolingbrook Commissions On 'Community Matters' Show

Bolingbrook IL

21 September, 2021

5:05 PM

Description

BOLINGBROOK, IL — Have you wanted to get involved with activities in Bolingbrook but didn't know what was offered or how to join? On Tuesday's episode of the Bolingbrook Community Television series "Community Matters," village officials discuss Bolingbrook commissions and how to participate. Bolingbrook has six commissions that work on various aspects around town. They include Arts Council, Beautification, Civic and Cultural Affairs, Historic Preservation, Information Technology and Bolingbrook Community Television. Joining host Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta at Village Hall Tuesday morning were commission chairs, including Mithra Zaucha from the arts council, Jerry Gynac from information technology, Bill Kohl from the historic preservation commission and Joe Gross from civics and cultural affairs. Jake McVey, who works with BCT, was also part of the panel. Phyllis Ann Ruggiero, who works with beautification, wasn't present. Following the session, Alexander-Basta said she'd like to see the various commissions working together to "enhance the commissions that we currently have by cross-utilizing each other." Here's a recap of their Q&A session. Q: Joe, many residents might not know what events we have to offer. What are they? A: The first one of the year is always the village picnic, which takes place on the last Sunday of June. The village picnic is there to give organizations, nonprofits and church groups a place to let the residents of Bolingbrook know what they offer them. The second event we put on is the three-day Jubilee, which generally happens on the third weekend of August. Our third event is the Pathways Parade and PathFest, which is to celebrate the village's birthday or incorporation. The final event of the year is coming up in December. It's going to be our Festival of Lights Winter Walk. We had it last year. It was so successful, we're going to bring it back this year. Q: Jerry, speaking of that parade, you were handing out something to do with the scavenger hunt that the IT commission is doing. Can you tell us about that and how people can get involved? A: What we're trying to do is encourage residents of the community to visit the village website to see what is available there — it's a great source of information. It's also to get some feedback from the residents as to what they think of the website and how we can improve it over time. To make that fun, we decided to hold a virtual scavenger hunt, and we used the Pathways Parade to kick it off. There are about five to six questions about Bolingbrook that you can find the answer to on the website. The contest will run through Sept. 30, and if you get all the answers right, you'll be entered in a drawing for a $200 Best Buy gift card. If you get at least one answer right, you'll be entered in a drawing for one of five $100 Best Buy gift cards. Q: Mithra, Bolingbrook is home to a lot of public artwork. How can residents and visitors find these locations and enjoy them? A: We also did a scavenger hunt back in June. It's a public art scavenger hunt. You may or may not know there are many pieces of public art within the community, so we went around and placed all of those pieces on a Google Map and you are still able to go through our website and find all these pieces of public art. The scavenger hunt, which took place in June, allowed you to answer questions in a form about the various pieces. In times of COVID-19, it's great to be outside, so we wanted to do an outdoor activity to venture into the community and see art. Q: You did something at The Promenade last year too. What was that? A: The painting of the hydrants. I came in in the middle of 2020 and COVID-19, so not knowing really what to do, everything had to be outside, so this was a way to turn negative into positive and launch viewing of public art. We partnered with The Promenade as well as the Illinois American Water and the fire department and were able to have 10 hydrants at The Promenade painted by local artists. That was a fun time. Q: Jake, does BCT currently have any shows or programming? A: Aside from what we cover, which would be all the board meetings, concerts, anything like that, we also have some of our own programmings, like "Bridging the Gap" and "For The Love of Animals." In the past, we worked with the Historic Preservation Commission as well, and we hope to get that running again soon to have a show about the history of Bolingbrook, called "Historically Speaking." One of the shows we're currently filming season two of is "Bolingbrook's Buzz," which is where we go into the community and highlight local business owners. This came around last year when everything was shut down to spread awareness and help these businesses out. It was a lot of fun and we want to keep it going. Q: Do you guys think it's important that we have these commissions within our village? Is it worth it, all the effort and time? Is it worth it to Bolingbrook? A: Two words come to mind: giving and taking. You're giving and taking, you're participating. It's wonderful. The commissions also act as a conduit between residents and the village government to help convey some of the likes, dislikes, concerns, interests that the rest of the residents have. All the commissions serve to enhance what the village presents to its citizens and gives them a chance to see the village in action. Q: Joe, how is the entertainment for these events selected, and how can interested bands be considered? A: Probably the number one question I'm asked. It's actually really easy. All you have to do is submit their information to me. Things that I'm looking for are live videos showing how they perform, what they sound like, websites, Facebook pages, links — anything that gives us an idea of what bands are good fits for any event where we're looking for musicians. You can send that information to [email protected]. Q: Bill, you have an event coming up for Halloween. What are they? A: One is on Saturday, Oct. 23 at the museum, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. If kids and families arrived costumed, we'll have wrapped treats for them, museum tours and any other fun activities that the commissioners can think of. At Halloween every year, we open up Boardman Cemetery — this year from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. There'll be treats, story-sharing, a Native American flute circle. Q: What will you be doing in the jailhouse, is that going to be decorated? I think it's enough just to be in that old jail. A: The jail in the basement of the museum won't be decorated. It has a cot, it's very spartan. Families love to take pictures of their members through the door of the cell. The story goes: there were two cells, one's first class and one's coach. That's what they called them back in the day; one was a little larger. They'd only keep the bad guy overnight because they didn't want to keep feeding them, and then they'd ship them over to the Will County jail. Q: Mithra, if I have a talent or desire to volunteer as an artist with the arts council, how can I do that and display some of my talents? A: The arts council can be a difficult commission because of the vast array of arts. Many people think of visual arts when you hear "art," but then there's also performance arts, literary arts and fine arts. There's such a wide variety, and it's hard to represent everything on our council. We have graphic artists, visual artists, art enthusiasts and an actor. But as we have seen, the arts are so important. I don't think anyone has gotten through these difficult times without turning to art. If you would like to be a part of it, you can join our council, and we also partner with working artists who'd like to volunteer or guide us in different areas. Visual artists can show some of their work at the "Art In The Window" exhibit at The Promenade. We're also creating an artist and creatives directory where people can go to if they're interested in some kind of art. Responses have been edited for length and clarity. Related Community Matters reading: Mayor, Experts Talk Cannabis At Bolingbrook MeetingBolingbrook Mayor, IDPH Director Have Phase 5 Q&A (For more news and information like this, subscribe to the Bolingbrook Patch for free. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. Don't forget to like us on Facebook!)