Events Committee

Officially committed to creating FUN annual events, its purpose is to plan, promote, and produce the annual and special events of the BCO. Three main events are planned yearly:

• Street Sale in early June

• The Bowmanville Garden Walk in mid July

• Summer Social in mid August

We kick off the outdoor season with the Street Sale. This event is traditionally held the first weekend in June each year. This event enables residents to clean out their basements and sell their surplus to the shoppers who attend. Past years have seen 90+ families participating in the sale.

The Bowmanville Garden Walk shows off the amazing beauty hidden within our community. For 25 years this signature event has drawn thousands of people from across the city and beyond to see our neighborhood in full bloom. The Garden Walk welcomes guests into resident gardeners’ yards to view. Residents who participate can get advice from Illinois Master Gardener judges. Residents can also elect to participate in the BCO hosted Awards Party, which is judged by the Illinois Master Gardeners. This event is held at the close of the Walk.

The Summer Social provides an afternoon of fun, camaraderie, music, food, and free ice cream! This is a great time to mingle with neighbors, meet new people, and enjoy the last hurrahs of summer. This event is held mid-August before school starts.

Gardening Committee

The BCO Gardening Committee organizes and oversees our three community gardens: the Bowmanville Ave Community Garden at 5386-5410 N Bowmanville Ave, the Gateway Garden at 1801 W Balmoral Ave and the Westgate Garden at 2329-2339 W Berwyn Ave. They also organize volunteers to help to maintain these community gardens. Within two of the gardens, there are vegetable plots areas available to residents and non-residents. Those vegetable plots are located at the Bowmanville Community Garden and at Gateway Garden. Applications go online in early February. These Vegetable Plot renters are asked to help with maintaining a regular schedule of watering, weeding, mulching, pruning, and other special projects.

Communications Committee

The Communications Committee informs and updates the community of BCO events, meetings and local issues. They are responsible for the publication of the Bowmanville Bee and BCO website. The Bowmanville Bee began in December 1995 as a four-page newsletter trumpeting the renaissance of the BCO and voicing concerns of the neighborhood residents.  At the time, the Bee covered crime, traffic, community development, local history, committee news and a calendar of local events. The Bowmanville Bee is the printed publication for the BCO. We welcome residents who want to volunteer with putting the Bee together, arrange advertising, writing articles, and delivering the Bee.

The Communications Committee also sends out BCO “special issues” via e-mail blasts whenever an important community issue or event needs attention and could not be included in the Bowmanville Bee.

The BCO also has a presence on social media. We have a Facebook page and use Instagram. Both social media sites are used to inform members on events, news, and other interests within our community. The BCO website is another way we communicate to everyone. If you have content ideas for the site or stories for one of our publications, please contact comm@bcochicago.org

Being a part of the Communication Committee is a fun and creative opportunity, and a great way to contribute to the Bowmanville community.

Membership Committee

The BCO Membership Committee works hard to expand the reach of the BCO. The committee helps drive the value of being a member of the BCO. This committee is open to new and innovative ideas on how to get current members more involved and how to continue to expand our membership. Joining the effort is a great way to meet new people, test out new ideas, and get out there in the neighborhood.

Membership makes it happen!

GreenSpace Committee

The BCO GreenSpace Committee was formed in 2009. This committee was created to research permanent green space locations in the community and to facilitate the planning and establishment of parkland and open community spaces. The committee joined Friends of the Parks to form BCO GreenSpace Chicago. Since then, this Committee is responsible for the green space build out at Bell and Bowmanville Ave. See more information on the GreenSpace page.