In Riverside, this weekend will mark the village’s 150th anniversary of incorporation in 1875, bringing with it festivities that every Riversider past or present can enjoy.
The fun of so-called Homecoming Weekend will kick off with a concert in Big Ball Park on Friday, Aug. 8, where the Nashville Electric Company will play from 7-9 p.m.
Then, on Saturday, Aug. 9, Guthrie Park will host an old-timey, family-friendly festival from 1-4 p.m. before an elegant soiree at the Riverside Train Station at 6:30 p.m., Tickets, $75 each, are required to attend the soiree.
The festival will feature many Riverside organizations, from the Chamber of Commerce and Lions Club to Riverside Arts Weekend and the Riverside Junior Women’s Charity, each bringing a different activity to celebrate, like a giant Jenga tower.
Trustee Alex Gallegos, one of the village board’s liaisons to the village’s sesquicentennial committee, said the Riverside Swim Club is set to sponsor a dunk tank featuring village trustees and other community members.
Trustee Aberdeen Marsh-Ozga, the village’s other liaison to the planning committee, said there will also be period-accurate entertainment, like a costumed storyteller courtesy of the historical commission, tree-sliver crafting for kids from the landscape advisory commission, parlor games from the Olmsted Society and croquet from the United Methodist Church.
“The goal is that it would be a good, old-fashioned festival with fun for everyone,” she said. “It’s entirely free and fun. The idea was to have things that have been around for a long time but that are also timeless.”
In keeping with more modern traditions, both trustees will be in the rotation for a seat in the dunk tank, they said.
In the evening, the soiree, sponsored in part by Riverside Foods and RMarts, will feature hors d’oeuvres from La Barra, a complimentary champaign toast and live music from the Brian Patti Orchestra alongside a vintage photobooth, Marsh-Ozga said. There will also be a cash bar and samples of beer and cider, courtesy of ERIS Brewery.
“There will be a fabulous silent auction with entirely Riverside-themed items,” Marsh-Ozga added. “We actually have an online component to that, so even if people are unable to attend the soiree, they can participate. The auction is neat because every item tells part of Riverside’s story from 1875 to present day, whether it speaks to the landscape, the architecture or the creative input of our authors and artists.”
The trustees said planning for the events has been underway since late last year when the temporary sesquicentennial committee was formed.
“There is a definite snowball effect,” Marsh-Ozga said of asking so many outside organizations to join in the festivities. “Once you get a critical mass of people onboard and interested, then everything comes together, and that’s what happened here.”
They said previous members of village government and past residents alike have said they plan to return to Riverside to experience the festival and soiree.
“The soiree really is a celebration of all of our volunteers over the years, so it will be nice to have everyone gather and celebrate together in one place,” Marsh-Ozga said.
“When you look back at the 150-year history of our village, it’s really comprised of volunteerism, and that speaks volumes to the churches and community organizations, all made of volunteers, [that are] part of the Riverside universe coming together and making everything possible,” Gallegos added.
They said the effort of bringing the entire community together is its own reward.
“The festival is going to be a really high-energy, fun event for families and for the community groups to engage with one another. Hopefully, we’ll have weather that’s as nice as this past weekend to enjoy a nice summer afternoon,” Marsh-Ozga said. “The soiree is going to be absolutely magical. I’m really looking forward to it.”
“We won’t have a celebration like this until the bicentennial,” Gallegos said.
If you can’t make it this weekend, Riverside will continue to host sesquicentennial-related events through the end of the year, including a now-and-then art contest for inclusion in a time capsule that is set to be opened by village residents in the year 2100 and an All Saints’ Day architectural open house of the churches in town on Nov. 1. The Riverside 150 group will also be at the Holiday Stroll, and the time capsule will be sealed at the closing ceremony in late January or early February.
