Bowmanville Community Organization

 February 22, 2011

Last Chance to Make a Tile for the Berwyn Mural – Thursday, Feb 24^th from 4-6pm @ LTEC

Join us at Let Them Eat Chocolate (5306 N. Damen Ave) this Thursday to make tiles that will be used to complete the East Entryway of the Berwyn Mural.  Tiles cost $10/ea.  Please come to CREATE YOUR PIECE of this incredible public art project.  Read more about it at www.bcochicago.org/public-art

Local musician Brad Smith will be providing live music during the workshop. 

 Garden Plot Application deadline THIS WEEK

Last day to get applications in for garden plots is Sunday February 27^th.  Don’t miss out on a chance to grow your own fruits, veggies, and herbs in one of Bowmanville’s community gardens.  A limited number of plots will be available in the garden on Bowmanville Ave. this year in addition to the plots on Ravenswood.  The application is online at: http://bcochicago.org/gardening/gateway-garden 

Community Movie Night at ScooterWorks:  Weds, Feb 23^rd –“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”

This new outreach launched by Scooterworks (5410 N Damen Ave) turns their showroom into a gathering spot for monthly movies.  Join them this Wednesday February 23^rd for a FREE showing of the classic film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”.  Doors open at 5pm, show starts at 7 pm.  Popcorn and cokes provided.  Bring a chair or blanket to get comfy, and a potluck dish if you’d like to nosh.

Feeling Lucky? Win a new Scooter or $1000 cash!  Buy a GreenSpace Raffle ticket to win.

One month to go until the big GreenSpace Scooter Raffle! Contact greenspace@bcochicago.org to buy tickets for $10 each or 3 for $25. Drawing is March 24^th at the BCO Open Meeting. 

And the FREE tickets go to……

We had two winners of the ‘Count the Scooters’ contest in the Winter Issue of the Bowmanville Bee.  Matt Bozeday and Ivy Stines will each receive a free Scooter Raffle ticket.  Thanks to all who played – we had a great response to the contest!

See below for a new way to win tickets.

Help us staff a booth to sell Raffle Tickets at Dominicks – March 5^th & 6^th.

We will have a scooter in the entryway and will be selling raffle tickets at the Dominick’s on Lincoln Ave on March 5^th and 6^th.   If you could take a shift, please click to sign up at:Scooter Raffle Sales for BCO GreenSpace at Dominick’s

Supporting the BCO just got easier.  Online payment has arrived!

Secure BCO payments can now be made via our website.  You can join, renew, pay advertiser invoices, pay for garden plots and donate to BCO GreenSpace Chicago.  Coming next – online BCO event registrations!  

Win a Free Scooter raffle ticket if you are one of the first two online transactions:

• one for a membership transaction http://bcochicago.org/about-the-bco/join-the-bco and
• one for a GreenSpace donation http://bcochicago.org/bco_greenspace_chicago/gifts

The BCO is using a secure payment system from North Community Bank and an eCommerce ‘front end’ developed by Mobile Perspectives (www.mobile-perspectives.com). 

Seeking volunteers to fill roles for the BCO:

• Online news editor:  we are looking for a volunteer interested to act as ‘editor’ of our online eBee and eBlast news emails.  This is a fun way to do a little writing and stay plugged in to what is going on in the neighborhood. 
• Layout Designer for the Bowmanville Bee:  we are looking for someone with skills in desktop publishing to work with our editor and help lay out the quarterly newsletters.
• Bee Delivery volunteers:  we have 3 routes open.  Who can help?Contact news@bcochicago.org to volunteer for any of these roles.  We need your help!

Join the BCO on Facebook for up to the minute information & a dialogue with 170 of your neighbors:  www.facebook.com/bcochicago.  And check out our website www.bcochicago.org.

November 20, 2010

Join Your Neighbors to help fight graffiti in Bowmanville!

THIS SUNDAY, November 21st

Meet at 2:30pm outside of Leadway Café, 5233 N. Damen Avenue

Dress warm, bring yourself, a friend, a pen, a clipboard, and your cell phone if you have one.

We are organizing an event with neighbors to walk around Bowmanville and document all current instances of graffiti in our neighborhood. We will meet outside of Leadway Café to start the ‘sweep’ at 2:30pm on Sunday November 21. We will divide into groups of 3 or more people each, to canvass the neighborhood and collect information on all graffiti across Bowmanville. We will then meet back at Leadway Café at 4pm for drinks and a ‘call 311 party’ where we will make city service requests for removal of graffiti at each location we have identified. A consolidated list will also be created that will be passed on to the Alderman’s office and 20th District Police liaisons to ask for their help in ensuring a swift response and follow up to the service requests.

The Bowmanville Community Organization (BCO) is initiating this ‘Graffiti Sweep’ in an effort to get all instances of graffiti in our neighborhood identified, logged with the city, and cleaned up. The intent of this effort is to do a big push to get graffiti cleaned up in Bowmanville and then encourage a ‘zero tolerance’ mindset among residents regarding graffiti, where ALL instances of it are reported by neighbors for cleanup as quickly as possible. Each of us has to do our part to make this work. Others will not do it for us.

This event is in response to what seems to many residents to be an increase in graffiti within our community in recent months and in particular in recent weeks. It is not totally clear if there is actually an increase in graffiti or simply a slower response time within city services to remove it. Regardless, the sense amongst many residents is that there is a large amount of visible graffiti in Bowmanville and the problem is a recurring one that seems to be getting worse rather than better. This problem has also escalated recently to include targeted graffiti and vandalism of particular residences within our community that seem to be directed at intimidating individuals or families.

This kind of intimidation is very upsetting, and totally unacceptable. We need to demonstrate as a community that we will not tolerate it. The best way we can do that is by being out on the streets ourselves looking out for each other and calling the police and alderman’s office whenever something is amiss. The more vocal we are, the more attention will be paid to these issues. We hope that an active community organization, strong block clubs, and engaged neighbors who are focused on supporting one another will lead to increased security of individuals and property in Bowmanville. Immediate reporting and cleanup of graffiti is one way to help reduce the proliferation of this type of activity and encourage those doing it to move their activities elsewhere.

Even if you can’t join us on Sunday, you can do your part to report graffiti as you observe it.

You can report it online at: https://servicerequest.cityofchicago.org/web_intake_chic/Controller?op=reset

Or by calling 311 anytime.

To report graffiti, you need to know:

• The closest physical street address for the location
• a description of where at that address (dumpster, phone poll, tree, sidewalk, etc.)
• an indication of if the graffiti is higher than 6ft off the ground
• what type of surface the graffiti is on (metal, unpainted brick, etc)
• You will also be asked to provide your name and contact information

If you have any questions about Sunday’s event or how to get a block club going on your street, please contact membership@bcochicago.org or call the BCO Hotline at 1-866-837-1006.

We hope to see a good number of our neighbors out Sunday for this walk around the neighborhood.

Please also don’t forget to mark your calendars for the next CAPS meeting for our area – Wednesday, December 8^th, 7pm @ St. Gregory Bingo Hall, 1609 W. Gregory.

Thanks in advance for your support.

Join us on Facebook:

1-866-837-1006

Get out in our neighborhood this Saturday.  
For the second year the BCO is teaming up with Rogers Park Montessori to bring you a great fall event.  
 

Fall Festival and Pumpkin Patch sponsored by the BCO and RPMS

Saturday October 16th
1-4pm

Ravenswood Avenue at Balmoral Avenue (west side of the tracks).

Join us for 3 live performances on our stage:
·       1:30       io Theater’s Storytown

·       2pm       A Drum Spectacle with Quest Ensemble Theatre

·       3pm       Pete Special playing Funky Blues with Bowmanville resident John Maloney on percussion

More volunteers & supplies are needed to make this event a success!
Please help us out – (click to see what is needed):
www.mysignup.com/bcofallfestival  http://www.mysignup.com/bcofallfestival (volunteer shifts)
www.mysignup.com/bcofallfestivaldonation http://www.mysignup.com/bcofallfestivaldonation (lend or donate supplies)
 
Don’t miss the costume parade, food, games and more.
Create YOUR piece of the Berwyn Foot Tunnel mural which is underway.
Learn more about Bowmanville’s newest Green Space.  Take a chance to win a scooter!
Food Drive for the Common Pantry – bring a bag of non-perishables to donate.
 
Also, mark your calendars for the BCO Open Meeting and Election:

BCO Open Meeting & Board Election
Thursday October 21st
7pm
Rogers Park Montessori School – 1800 W. Balmoral Avenue
Guest Speaker from the Griffin Theatre & updates on the Berwyn Mural, BCO GreenSpace and more.
Dessert Potluck (bring something to share – no nuts please)

Check out the BCO website or Facebook page for the latest and greatest info.
www.bcochicago.org http://www.bcochicago.org
www.facebook.com/bcochicago http://www.facebook.com/bcochicago

August 18,2010

Veggie Bingo tonight!

Come out to the Hideout to support our community gardens.  Funds raised from Neighborspace Veggie Bingo on August 18^th will go to support the Bowmanville gardens.   Bring a few friends for a night of fun and prizes!

Join NeighborSpace and the Hideout in supporting Chicago community gardens. Veggie Bingo on August 18^thbenefits the Bowmanville gardens.  

Come and play for the chance to win amazing local prizes from Irv and Shelly’s Fresh Picks, Death’s Door Spirits, Revolution Brewery, Uncommon Ground, Publishers Group West and more!  

WHERE: The Hideout 1354 W. Wabansia.  

WHEN: August 18^th, Doors open @ 5:30, games begin @ 6 PM.  

WHO: The Hideout and NeighborSpace, Chicago’s land trust for community gardens.  

HOW MUCH: Cards are $1 a pop, or 6 for $5.  

Proceeds benefit a different Chicago community garden each week. Veggie Bingo is family friendly, but anyone under 21 must be accompanied by an adult.  Check out last week’s prizes and more at:   http://veggiebingo.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/bingo-9-beef-bread-and-bingo/    

GreenSpace Charrette #2 (Community brainstorming!)

Help us design our new GreenSpace. We’ve bought a piece of land – now as a community we get to define how we develop and use the space. Join us to help! We will build on ideas collected at our first session held in March.

Email any ideas, concept photos of something you’ve seen, or expertise you can offer to greenspace@bcochicago.org . Take a look at the spot – 5384 N. Bowmanville Avenue.  Read about it in the Summer Bee.  And come to the planning meeting to help create our newest oasis in Bowmanville.  Please fill out the GreenSpace Info Sheet and get it back to us: 

Click here to see the GreenSpace Flyer

Hope to see you Saturday
WHERE:  Tempel Steel Training Room – 5448 N. Wolcott Avenue

WHEN:  Saturday, August 21st, 1pm-3pm         

 RSVP:  greenspace@bcochicago.org or via facebook:  www.facebook.com/bcochicago    

Tunnel Talk

Join us to get things moving with our plan to do something fabulous inside the foot tunnel that connects Bowmanville to West Andersonville.  Local artists Sarah Laing and Amy Zoeller have hatched a plan to beautify the foot tunnel with public art.  They would like to have feedback from the neighborhood on potential design themes for the tunnel.  They are currently looking at images of gardening, sustainability, and the use of recycled materials.   It would be helpful if neighborhood businesses and residents can share their support of the project. 

Meet them at the tunnel to talk ideas and get involved:

WHERE:  Meet at the Foot Tunnel on Berwyn Avenue at Ravenswood

WHEN:  Saturday, August 28th, 1pm

RSVP: publicart@bcochicago.org or via facebook: www.facebook.com/bcochicago

Don’t forget the Ice Cream Social this Sunday August 15th, 2-4 pm

Picture This!. . . BCO Garden Walk Needs your Photographs!

Snap a pic and submit your vision of beauty

The Bowmanville Garden Walk is less than 2 week away! We need your photo entries for our 4th amateur photo contest.  At the Garden Walk all the photographs go on display and the visitors vote for their favorite.  The entry with the most votes wins a $50 prize and is used in the publicity for the Garden Walk next year!  

Deadline for entries has been extended to July 4th! 

Photo Contest Rules:

Must be an original, (Limit 5 photo entries per photographer)

Must be of a garden/landscape subject found in our local Bowmanville area (Can be a gardening themed subject, plant study, gardeners in garden a landscape or a close up.)

Must be at least 5” by 7” (8” by 10” or larger is preferred)

Call Craig Hanenburg at 773-294-2979 for more information

Last minute Garden Walk garden entries please call Craig ASAP!

Click here to download the entry form:

 Here are examples of the past winning photographs

Tom Kennedy 2008 “Garden Bench

Victoria Sterling  2007  “Savanna Gateway

Attention Bowmanville Neighbors!

Its not too late to sign up for the June 5th BCO Street Sale. 

The deadline for your entry form is TODAY May 21st.

We will squeeze you in if you hurry and drop off your application form to Barb Wolke at 2311 W Farragut.  Please drop off ASAP as the maps and packages are being finalized for distribution.  We are advertising in the media to get buyers from all over Chicago-land for your used treasures. Don’t Miss out! Click here to download the application form or go the BCO Web Site at http://bcochicago.org/events/streetyard-sale

For questions email events@bcochicago.org or call 1 866-837-1006

Monday March 22, 2010

Support the BCO! – Membership is about more,  than paying your $12. 

We need neighbors to pitch in together so that we can continue to run the events & projects that benefit our community.  How are you helping out?  Meet some neighbors and give an hour or two to the BCO.  And while you’re at it, join the BCO and go ‘dark’ for an hour on March 27th to advocate against climate change. 

Here are some easy ways to get involved in your community: 

• Help plan the June 5th Street Sale!  We need people to work with chairperson Barbara Wolke to pull off this event. We typically have 100+ homes in the sale.   Join the planning meeting on March 30th at 7:00 pm at Barbara’s home (2311 W. Farragut Ave).  We need help putting together packets, delivering packets & flyers, day-of event support, planning the after party and more.   Even if you can’t make the meeting there are ways you can help.  RSVP to events@bcochicago.org or 1-866-837-1006 to help. The time is NOW for this event.  We need your help.

• Help plan the July 10th Garden Walk!  This is a great event in Bowmanville with typically 20+ gardens on display.  There are many easy ways to help out.  Work with chairperson Craig Hanenburg to recruit gardens, put together promotional materials, arrange for day-of support (like judging, awards, gifts), staff a welcome table, distribute signs or flyers, donate food or drinks, & plan the after party.  Contact gardening@bcochicago.org  or 1-866-837-1006  to get involved.

• Become a block captain!  This new program needs neighbors to step forward to increase communication and safety in our community one block at a time.  We have designed an easy way for you to do this.  Check out: http://bcochicago.org/membership to find out how.  Contact membership@bcochicago.org to become a block captain.

• Get out in the gardens!  We need your help to keep Bowmanville beautiful.  Group workdays kick off Saturday March 27th at 9:30 am until 1:30 PM, and continue on the 4th Saturday of each month, through October.  We also work in the evening on the 2nd Wednesday of each month from 6 PM until dusk .  Garden related education sessions are planned for the Saturday workdays at 11:30 AM, so you might learn something while helping out!  If you can’t make the workdays contact gardening@bcochicago.org for specific tasks you can help with on your own schedule.

• Be a Layout Designer for the Bowmanville Bee!  We have a new managing editor on board but still need more help with layout.  Do you know someone with graphic design skills willing to volunteer with us on our quarterly hardcopy publication?  Contact news@bcochicago.org 

• Go dark for an hour to take a stand against climate change! March 27th, 2010 at 8:30 pm local time is World EARTH HOUR!   One Hour. In the dark. Where will you be? Join the world and the BCO in shutting off your lights for just one hour. Earth Hour is a global call to action to every individual, business, school and community to take a stand against climate change.  Illinois is an official Earth Hour state with 29 schools, 10 universities, 13 cities (including Chicago), 35 organizations and 57 businesses signing the pledge to participate.  With landmarks like the Las Vegas Strip, the Pyramids of Giza, the Eiffel Tower and the Willis (Sears) Tower going dark, this event has quickly become the largest climate event in history.  Read more at www.earthhour.org.  Log on to the BCO Facebook page and see who else is going dark in Bowmanville.

Thank you! for all you do to make Bowmanville a great place to live!

Check us out on facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/bcochicago

Or on the web:  www.bcochicago.org

(this email is going to everyone on the current BCO email list)

Don’t forget this important Community meeting!

Bowmanville Green Space/Park Planning Meeting This Saturday March 6th

download the information flyer

 As part of the BCO’s quest to secure permanent green space within our community, the BCO GreenSpace Committee will host a charrette on

Saturday, March 6, 2010 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM at the

Tempel Steel Training Room

 5448 North Wolcott 

This charrette is a collaborative planning process harnessing the talents and energies of our community to create a plan for park development. This brainstorming session will help identify the community’s priorities, suggest potential uses for the open space on Bowmanville Avenue at Bell, and develop potential designs for this space at a conceptual level. The ideas generated at this meeting will help the BCO GreenSpace Committee develop a proposal that will be utilized to acquire support and funding for this project.

We are seeking input from all interested community members. Please join us in our efforts to maintain open space in Bowmanville by participating in this key meeting. If you plan to attend the meeting, please RSVP by email to Kris Neurauter at greenspace@bcochicago.org (this will help us set up chairs in the room and have enough materials for all)

For more information or to join the GreenSpace Committee, please email Greenspace@bcochicago.org or call the BCO Toll Free number at 866-837-1006.  We welcome your input. 

February Open Meeting

BCO Warm UP!

Thursday Feb 18, 2010

7:00 – 9:00 pm

North Community Bank – Bowmanville Branch located at 5241 North Western Ave

Join us for the first 2010 BCO General Membership Meeting! Open to all residents and friends of Bowmanville. Warm up with a hot drink and snacks and find out what is happening in Bowmanville.

Get updates on: Block Captain program, a Public Art project and our GreenSpace initiative.

Meet special guest Bridget Gainer, Cook Country Commissioner (10th District)

Meet some of our local business owners.
Win Raffle prizes! Visit with your neighbors! We hope to see you there. 

Hot Chocolate included!