Riversiders and members of nearby communities endured 10-degree wind chills Wednesday evening at Centennial Park to attend the village’s opening ceremony for its sesquicentennial year, celebrating Riverside’s official incorporation 150 years ago in 1875.
The crowd grew between 4:45 and 5:15 p.m. as attendees enjoyed free hot chocolate from Dulce Mami Cafe and held space for Riverside’s history on paths lit by paper candles. After village trustees Alex Gallegos and Aberdeen Marsh-Ozga and Village President Doug Pollock gave speeches to the community, members of the Riverside Brookfield High School jazz band led attendees to the Riverside Public Library for a reception with Riverside-themed poetry readings.
Ron and Deb Pike said they attended the opening ceremony because they wanted to celebrate the village’s anniversary as 40-year residents of Riverside.
“The history of the village is so important. All of it, 150 years, is amazing,” Ron Pike said. “It’s one in a million.”
“We need to retain a lot of the historical significance of this village,” Deb Pike said. “It’s an unbelievably unique, special village to live in.”
Jim Bell, who’s lived in town for 17 years, said he decided to attend the opening ceremony on a whim.
“I had just heard that it was going down, didn’t hear much about it, saw that it was right now and thought, ‘I have to come out and see what’s going on.’ Everybody I know is here, and the weather is a little intimidating, but I’m glad I braved it, and it’s great to see the crowd out,” he said. “You take for granted this wonderful neighborhood. You know vaguely that is has a history, but 150 years is really amazing.”
Andrea Torres, who owns Dulce Mami, said she skipped plans to attend the event to spread some warmth at the hot chocolate stand instead.
“We are very new in this town, and we’re trying to be very close to the events because we have a business here. Everybody told me about this sesquicentennial, and I feel it’s something very important to the town,” she said. “I was planning to come with my family, but now we’re volunteers to give away some free hot chocolate.”
After much of the crowd had gathered around 5:15 p.m., Gallegos and Marsh-Ozga introduced Riverside to the year of celebrations, which will include an incorporation weekend Aug. 8 and 9 chock full of events. The village will also auction off recently replaced street signs starting Jan. 20. Information about how to possibly win a sign is available on Riverside’s website.
In her speech, Marsh-Ozga gave a nod to the village’s past and future by explaining the ceremony’s candle decor.
“The luminaria that you see all around are a gift from the art students of Riverside School District 96,” she said. “Beyond representing Riverside’s 150 years as a village, each one of these 150 luminaria represent a young person’s positive wishes for Riverside and for the future of our community.”
In his speech, Pollock thanked village staff and more than 400 volunteers across Riverside for their work and encouraged residents to do the same.
“This year, this sesquicentennial, is about one thing, really one thing, and that’s the people who volunteer their time for this village, presently and in the past. In 1875, it was residents of the village who took this unincorporated property that was partially developed and said, ‘We need to form a government,’” he said. “We’re here giving credit to them and to everyone else who has served this village over 150 years. It’s great to honor those who came before us, but our real obligation is to honor those who presently serve and are keeping this village great, so I want to ask everybody throughout the year to thank the volunteers, not only in the village but in civic organizations. They’re just as important to what makes Riverside such a great community.”
While Katy Pizza is not a Riverside resident, she said her family ties — namely, being Marsh-Ozga’s sister — drew her to the opening ceremony and pushed her to donate patio heaters from her brewery, ERIS, in Chicago.
“I’ve always enjoyed coming to Riverside. It’s beautiful. Chicago doesn’t have a lot of green, and this is so easy to get to and delightful,” she said. “The amount of civic pride, for a small village to bring people out in this number, it’s touching. I’ve had my kids in the Fourth of July parade ever since they were tiny, or just coming to see it, people come from all over. I’ve got friends from Evanston who come down for the Fourth of July parade. Riverside means a lot to a lot of different people, and with a wider reach than you might think.”
