Frigid temperatures didn’t prevent Wilmette residents from getting outside Saturday to take part in a 150th birthday celebration honoring the village.
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The “Sesquicentennial Winterfest” offered a daylong lineup of family-friendly, cold weather festivities at various locations around town.
“This is a big birthday for us, one with many events geared to families that will be held throughout the year, all fun and free, and Winterfest is the kick-off to that,” said Alan Swanson, Sesquicentennial Planning Committee lead.
Winterfest featured a DJ performance with live ice sculpting at four locations: on the village green, at 4th Street and and Linden Avenue, on Ridge Road and at the Chalet.
The Wilmette library also held several drop-in activities and offered a Friends of the Wilmette Library pop-up book sale.
The Wilmette Theater hosted a free showing of the Disney movie “Frozen.”
Lisa Roberts, assistant director of community development, said Winterfest was the first big public event of the sesquicentennial year.
“The idea was to get the word out, to get people making plans for a yearlong anniversary celebration with exciting activities that will bring residents and visitors into our business districts,” Roberts said. “This will be a year to honor Wilmette history, welcome residents, new and old, and a time to come together after the long isolating period during the pandemic.”
Ashley Harrington attended Saturday with family.
“We just love living in Wilmette. The village cares about community here and we are excited to take advantage of the opportunity to celebrate our town,” Harrington said.
EvaAnne Johnson, genealogy and local history librarian at the Wilmette library, said the library offered drop-in activities for all ages during Winterfest. This included an afternoon of sesquicentennial trivia games on Wilmette history, an interactive story walk where visitors followed the signs to read “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats, winter-inspired crafts like making a frozen ice lantern, and photos with the character Elsa from “Frozen.”
Johnson said it’s important to commemorate these big anniversaries and to remember how far the village has come. In Wilmette, in particular, the sense of community has always been strong, she said.
Jennifer Whitfield attended Winterfest with family.
“This has been a great way to get out of the house on a cold weekend, to visit
different parts of town and to meet up with friends,” Whitfield said.
Swanson said, “it’s important for all of us to celebrate Wilmette for the rich community we’ve become.”
Gina Grillo is a freelancer.