Avondale Park Advisory Council

11/09/2015

Have you ever had an idea to improve the park? Ever been curious about helping out with an activity? Do you have kids that take classes or visit our playground? Love your community but would love to give back?

Join us this Thursday, November 12th @ 7:00 p.m. for our Advisory Council meeting! The Avondale Park Advisory Council is made up of neighbors just like you, who enjoy the park and want to make sure it remains a warm, welcoming resource to our community and our kids. Stop by to share your ideas, your thoughts, or your questions. Everyone is welcome!

This month, we will be holding our yearly board elections. Anyone can run. We are seeking people to run for all offices: Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President, & President. Being a board member is perfect for anyone who has lots of ideas and wants to make a difference! We will also be brainstorming to organize future activities at the park - come share your ideas!!

APAC Monthly Meeting
this Thursday, November 12th, 2015
7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Wagner Room

Feeling shy? Bring a friend!
Help us reach more of our community - share our post and tell your neighbors to join us - we'd really appreciate it!
See you there :)

11/20/2014

Thanks to Mrs. Stone from Friends of the Park & Paul from Avondale Park for helping our community receive new playground equipment at Parkview Playlot! Can't wait until next spring when the weather starts warming up and we can play in our brand new park!

10/08/2014

This Thursday, the 9th of October, Friends of the Park will be organizing a Fibar spreading day at Parkview play lot from 10:00am-12:00pm @ 3823 W. School street. This is a chance for members of the community to volunteer just a little of their time to help in the improvement of our awesome neighborhood - Avondale! Hope you can make it! Please let friends, family and neighbors know about the event.

Please bring clothing to keep you dry and warm, Friends of the Park will be providing gloves, drinks and snacks.

Also be very conscious of the speed limit if driving, there are several speed cameras near Parkview on Belmont and Milwaukee. There is free parking on Avers.

09/18/2014

Spread the word! This should be a fantastic event to celebrate our amazing community!

Check out our poster! A big thanks to our major sponsors- Brinshore, Logan Theater, Puerto Rican Arts Alliance
and Chicago Artists Month!!

09/10/2014

Murphy School is having their second bi-annual Murphy Mart on September 20th! Contact the school if you would like to be a vendor or come out and shop for some great deals!!!

07/02/2014

Drumming fun at Avondale this weekend!

05/02/2014

Kuma's

I wanted to send a HUGE thank you to KUMA'S CORNER (www.kumascorner.com) for helping to fund our Avondale Park School Street mural project! For the month of May, they will be accepting donations to raise money for the cause. This would be a wonderful opportunity for neighbors to check out their restaurant, if you haven't already, or to stop back for a bite!

CLOSED SUNDAY (as you probably assumed) + GHOST Burger for Record Store DayPublishedApril 18, 2014So, as mentioned, BOTH Kuma’s locations are closed Sunday to celebrate the 4/20 holiday. There is another holiday scheduled for that day as well but we aren’t completely familiar with how it all works.…

03/04/2014

Check out the prelim photos of the School St. mural, tentatively scheduled for completion summer '14. We met with the artist last week and shared our thoughts about adding elements of the course offerings from the park as well as adding the name 'Avondale Park' to the mural to bring attention to our wonderful park! He will meet with us at our monthly APAC meeting on March 20th @ 6:30 p.m.

Please share your thoughts below, so we can give him as much feedback asap, so he can incorporate those ideas into the final designs. Then, try to make it to our next meeting to meet the artist in person!

02/21/2014

APAC MEETING MINUTES - FEB 20, 2014

02/20/2014

Please join us tonight from 6:30-7:30 for our monthly APAC meeting at Avondale Park! We will hold our board elections and discuss ideas for our spring playground re-opening as well as our clean & green planting project.

10/31/2013

Getting closer...

10/29/2013

They began working about 10 days ago, then nothing, but they're back! Today they were breaking up the old foundation. Our supervisor, Paul, said they told him they'd be finished by Halloween! Really? 4 days? I'm skeptical, but miracles do happen!

10/17/2013

Construction has begun - finally! Projected date of completion is Nov. 6. Cross your fingers!

10/17/2013

Timeline Photos

09/29/2013

Help support our park neighbor, Athletic Field Park!

Excitement is in the air as we transition into fall and are just a few weeks away from Fall Fest. Ponies, petting zoo, pumpkins and more right here in the city (and at a reasonable price too!) Mark your calendars now for October 12th and 13th. from 10:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Athletic Field Park, 3546 W. Addison.

Special thanks to Jessica for designing and hand painting our amazing signs!

09/19/2013

Just a friendly reminder that our APAC meeting will be held tonight, Sep. 19th @ 7:00 p.m. Members of AFH will be there to unveil their plans for our park improvement proposal. We will also discuss plans for our playground's grand opening / ribbon cutting, happening in early-mid Nov.

Feel free to stop by for a bit or a bunch, in the Wagner Room, at the Avondale Park fieldhouse, 3516 W. School St. starting at 7:00 p.m. See you there!

09/12/2013

Was recently informed that our construction completion date has been delayed until early-mid November. Very disappointed that our kids won't get much of a chance to enjoy the new equipment this fall. I guess we'll have to go to Unity Park in the time being. No explanation was given as to the reason for the delay. Crossing my fingers it won't get pushed back any further :(

08/16/2013

Next meeting: Thursday, September 19th @ 7:00 p.m. at Avondale Park Fieldhouse, Wagner Room. We will continue with our park planning as well as do some major planning for a potential kids' haunted house for Oct.

Hope to see you there!

08/11/2013

A big thanks to everyone who showed up for our park planning meeting! Lots of great ideas and good points to think about were shared.

Our team decided to add a natural preschool play area with elements of music/sound behind the pool, perennial garden along the East wall of the building, butterfly garden in the grassy areas near the side entrance, flower landscaping along the front of the building, as well as along the highway ramp near the rear of the park, and a possibility of moving the water feature closer to the pool and extend the grassy area where the current water feature is located.

AFH will work on plans and come back with preliminary drawings at our next park planning meeting / APAC meeting, the third Thursday of September, 9/19 @ 7:00 p.m. at the Avondale Park Fieldhouse Wagner room. Hope you can make it!

08/05/2013

Please come to our first AFH meeting at the park field house, 3516 W. School St., on Saturday, August 10th @ 11:30 a.m., where we will brainstorm ideas for future plans for the park grounds. Plans include: additional play areas for preschoolers, picnic areas, garden additions, & improvement of our current spray feature. Architects for Humanity is a non-profit group, dedicated to improving green space in neglected urban areas.

Emily Taylor from ANA will also share updates on the Avondale Park mural that is planned to be installed along the School St. expressway ramp wall.

We hope you can make it!

07/25/2013

Mosquito spraying on Thurs, July 25, starting at dusk

Based on results of mosquito testing, the Chicago Department of Public Health has determined there is a need to spray in one section of the city. They will be spraying between Belmont and Lawrence, and between Kedzie and Kostner on Thurs, July 25, at dusk (around 9 p.m.) and continue through the night until approximately 1 a.m., with licensed mosquito abatement technicians in trucks dispensing an ultra-low-volume spray.

Residents of targeted neighborhoods may want to stay indoors and close their windows while spraying is underway.

For more info: www.cityofchicago.org/health

07/10/2013

Come out to Avondale on August 21st for a "Night Out at the Parks"! Some great entertainment, including Free Street Theater, some latin jazz, & feature film "Miracle". Hope to see you there!

Avondale Park
3516 W School St Chicago,IL 60618
(773) 478-1410

Night Out: Latin Jazz at Avondale
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Fee: Free
Age Range: Any

Live, Latin bands with dance instruction. Rhythms will include salsa, rumbero, merengue and cha cha.

Night Out: Free Street Theater at Avondale
6:30 PM - 7:00 PM

Fee: Free
Age Range: Any

Free Street Theater will create and perform multiple small-scale spectacles during intermissions of other performances. Current program involves the Mexican paleta cart (ice cream cart) from which customers request performances instead of to paletas. Artist in Residence, Ricardo Gamboa, will work with FS youth ensemble to create a menu of options for public performance.

Night Out: Family Fun Fest and Film at Avondale
5:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Fee: Free
Age Range: Any

Back by popular demand our Family Fun Fest and Films will provide an evening of family-friendly free entertainment to community members. Activities range from art projects, lawn/table games, an entertaining live performance, and an outdoor movie. Don't forget to bring your picnic basket and blanket!

Enjoy a showing of the movie "Miracle" at approx. 8:30pm

07/04/2013

We have received an overwhelming vote in favor of the blue/red playground! Feedback points included: design allows more room for kids of different ages to play; more options/variety of climbing structures; more slides; fills the existing space better than the green one; fewer tall points for little kids to fall from; & appealing colors.

We did discuss the idea of possibly keeping one or two of the bouncy riders (the bouncy saucer still seems like it's in decent condition & in working order; and maybe even the motorcycle if we can figure out how to get it to move again and give it a nice paint job), if they fit into the master design.

We have contacted Friends of the Parks with our final decision, so hopefully they were able to put us high up on the work schedule. If we're lucky, maybe we'll have a new playground by the end of September!

Our next step is to put together a crew of volunteers in an effort to promote ownership of the playground within the community. We'll shoot to gather 35+ volunteers to help lay out the surfacing. If you are interested in volunteering for that day, please let us know!

Hope you and your families have a great Independence Day!

07/02/2013

Avondale Park Advisory Council's cover photo

07/02/2013

At our meeting, we discussed features of each design: whether it suited younger kids as well as older kids, durability, whether it allowed for kids to have ample room to play, offered a variety of features, curb appeal, & size, among others.

We also tossed around the idea of asking to keep certain pieces that were in working order, namely the saucer rocker.

We will continue to accept feedback until Tuesday, 4:00 p.m., so that we can contact Friends of the Park as soon as possible with our decision. We were told, that the sooner we let them know, the higher up on the work schedule we'll get, which means we may have a new playground by late Sep/early Oct!

Please scroll down to see both designs (green/beige & blue/red/green), and either "like" your favorite, post a comment, or send a message to our board! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts :)

07/01/2013

We will have an open meeting tonight (Monday, July 1st), at 6:00 p.m., at the Avondale Park Fieldhouse (Wagner Room) for anyone interested in participating in a general discussion about the pros & cons of each design.

With your feedback, we can make an informed decision in selecting the best playground design for our community!

If you cannot make it to the meeting tonight, feel free to give feedback here, either in the comments below or by sending a message. Thanks for your input!

07/01/2013

By clicking below, you'll find the two designs given to us to select from, for our playground renovation. Which do you like the best?

07/01/2013

Proposed Playground Designs

05/30/2013

AVONDALE PARK HAS RECEIVED THE CHICAGO PLAYS PLAYGROUND REPLACEMENT AWARD!!! Thanks to all those who supported the park and helped to make our application a success! Here is the letter below:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friends of the Parks and the Chicago Park District have received and reviewed your community’s nomination for Avondale Park for the Chicago Plays! Playground Renovation Program. We are pleased to announce that Avondale Park has been selected as the one of the first playgrounds to be built in the first year of the Chicago Plays! program.

The Chicago Plays! Program has created much excitement and has gotten Chicagoans thinking about community and its importance to their parks. There were numerous outstanding nominations from community organizations across the city of Chicago so the decision making process was a difficult one. The commitment and enthusiasm that your community has displayed in your application was evident and both the Chicago Park District and Friends of the Parks are excited to work with your community to make this new playground a reality.

Over the next few months we will work with you regarding the anticipated construction date and playground designs. Your community will have the opportunity to select playground equipment based on the provided designs.

Congratulations on your new playground!

Maria Dmyterko Stone
Director of Neighborhood Parks and Community Relations
Friends of the Parks

05/24/2013

Avondale Neighborhood Association is holding a positive loitering night at Belmont and Central Park. Thursday May 30th at 6:30. Bring snacks, games and meet your neighbors!!!!!! This is such a great way to start the summer right.

05/02/2013

Hello APAC friends,
Just a reminder that this Saturday, we will be having our first fundraiser of 2013, the Avondale Park Community Carnival! The event will be held indoors in the park's gymnasium, with concessions & prizes located in the Wagner room. Game & food tickets will be only 50¢ each (discounts offered for tickets purchased 10 or 20 at a time). Kids (recommended for ages 3-11) can play a variety of carnival games and win tickets to buy prizes at the carnival shop. Toddler siblings can play in the toddler corner while the "big" kids play carnival games. The carnival will be open Saturday, May 4th from 12:00 noon - 3:00 p.m. Please invite all your friends!

Avondale Park Community Carnival
@ Avondale Park Gymnasium
3516 W. School St.
Saturday, May 4th
12:00-3:00 p.m.
773-478-1410

04/16/2013

Timeline Photos

04/12/2013

We have completed our application for the Chicago Plays! Playground Replacement Program. Wish us luck in getting a new playground!

04/12/2013

Avondale Park Makeover--Flip It!

Avondale Park needs a serious makeover. Our kids deserve better. This is our community plea for funding to renovate this resource. Flip it!

03/22/2013

FOTP and Chicago Park District Partner on Playground Renovation Program | Friends of the Parks

"Mayor Rahm Emanuel along with the Chicago Park District in partnership with Friends of the Parks launched Chicago Plays! Playground Renovation Program...to replace 50 playgrounds a year over the next 5 years..." http://fotp.org/news/chicago-plays-web-announc#more-5365

Please come support Avondale Park in getting a new playground! Stop by the park to sign a petition for Avondale to get a new playground through the new "Chicago Plays!" Playground Renovation Program. We need to get our application in no later than April 15th - but the sooner we can get 50 resident signatures on our petition, the better! Please help by spreading the word!

Mayor Rahm Emanuel along with the Chicago Park District in partnership with Friends of the Parks launched Chicago Plays! Playground Renovation Program. To a