The entire community is invited to Oak Park’s third annual celebration of Holi: A Festival of Colors, which is set to take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. rain or shine this Saturday, April 11 on the south lawn at Village Hall, 123 Madison St. The event will feature music, dancing, food for purchase and traditional color throwing. Attendees are encouraged to come dressed in clothes that can withstand being covered in colored powder. Visit www.oak-park.us/holi26 for more information.

Join the Hemingway District for a community block party celebrating the kickoff of a renewed Oak Park Avenue! The construction-themed bash is happening from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Saturday, April 11. Oak Park Avenue will come alive from Lake Street to Pleasant Street with family-friendly activities, local business specials, surprises and plenty of reasons to explore. The free event offers a great way to support local businesses impacted by the ongoing Renew the Avenue construction project. Find complete details about the block party, including an event map and schedule, on the Hemingway District website. The Village is helping to sponsor the event as part of its efforts to support businesses during the Renew the Avenue construction project.

The Village is launching a new community engagement series, E.C.H.O. Exchange, designed to strengthen connections between residents and public safety teams. Throughout the remainder of the year, community members are invited to join the E.C.H.O. team alongside the Oak Park Police and Fire Departments at local coffee shops for informal conversations. These events provide an opportunity for residents to ask questions, access resources and learn more about how E.C.H.O., Police and Fire work together to support community safety and well-being. The series will kick off from 9 to 11 a.m. on Friday, April 24 at George’s, located at 145 S. Oak Park Ave. Residents are encouraged to attend, connect, and engage with the teams in a welcoming and accessible setting.

The Village joined NAMI Metro Suburban on Tuesday in celebrating the grand opening and ribbon cutting of the NAMI Metro Suburban Living Room, a new community-based mental health support space. The Living Room officially opened at noon on Wednesday, offering a safe, welcoming environment for individuals experiencing mental health challenges to receive peer support and connect to resources as an alternative to emergency services. The Village is proud to support and help fund this important initiative, which expands access to compassionate, community-centered care and strengthens the local mental health response system. More information about the Living Room and available services can be found on NAMI Metro Suburban’s website.

Fleet Superintendent Ken Crowley was recently elected to the Illinois Alliance for Clean Transportation (IACT) Executive Board. Ken has more than 30 years of experience with the Village in fleet services and has long been involved with IACT’s work encouraging zero-emission and low-emission vehicles across the state. Ken joins an IACT Executive Board that includes team members from corporations, small businesses, government agencies and commercial and municipal fleets. Click here for more information about the IACT team.

The Human Resources Department is celebrating the promotion of Brittany LasCola to the position of HR Generalist. Brittany spent the past two years as an HR Coordinator after arriving at the Village in 2024. Her prior experience included working as an onboarding specialist at Brookfield Zoo Chicago. Elsewhere, Shandira Clark arrived this week as a new Parking Restrictions Coordinator within the Development Services Department. Her background includes hands-on experience in the vehicle services industry, where she worked closely with parking enforcement situations through a tow company. The Public Works Department also welcomed a newcomer as Charles Lopez III arrived to fill the role of Building Maintenance Supervisor.

The Bridging the Ike project team engaged close to 100 community members during a public information kickoff meeting for the initiative on Tuesday at the Oak Park Conservatory. The Village and the Illinois Department of Transportation are partnering on the Bridging the Ike project, which involves a renewed study funded by federal earmarks to examine existing conditions and future possibilities for the I-290 bridge crossings within the Village limits. The initial meeting served as an opportunity to introduce the project and solicit resident feedback. Anyone who did not attend can provide feedback via a survey posted at www.engageoakpark.com/ike.

Each year, the Village utilizes a competitive application process to allocate a portion of its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to nonprofit organizations in the form of public service grants. CDBG regulations allow these funds to support a wide range of public service activities, including, but not limited to: employment and job readiness services, services for at-risk children and families, substance use disorder services, support for teen and young adult parents, services for senior citizens, services for individuals experiencing homelessness, assistance for victims of domestic violence; and services for persons with disabilities. The Program Year 2026 (PY26) CDBG Public Service Grant application period opens today (April 10) and will remain open through May 7. Eligible nonprofit organizations are encouraged to apply during this period through the Eunaverse Grant Application Platform. For questions about the CDBG program, please email grants@oak-park.us.

As part of National Community Development Week, the Village is highlighting how Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) projects and partnerships strengthen our community — from housing and infrastructure to social services and code enforcement. Be on the lookout for yard signs and banners around town highlighting how these federal dollars are invested locally to improve quality of life for Oak Park residents. The Village also shared an infographic highlighting the CDBG program’s impact in the community on its social media channels and in the Wednesday Journal. For more information about National Community Development Week, visit www.oak-park.us/ncdw26.

The Village is joining municipalities across the country in celebrating National Public Health Week. Check out the latest episode of the Inside Oak Park podcast for an in-depth discussion about the work of the Oak Park Public Health Department – click here to listen on Spotify. Founded in 1905 and certified by the state in 1949, the Oak Park Public Health Department delivers a variety of services to the community, including restaurant and grocery store inspections to ensure a safe and healthy food supply, monitoring the spread of communicable disease and offering guidance to stop the spread when possible, emergency preparedness action plans and programs, and injury prevention initiatives.

The Public Health Department has seen a steady stream of residents utilize its new sharps disposal program. In the month since the program started, an average of one resident per day has come to Village Hall to dop off sharps for safe disposal. The program aims to dispose of sharps such as needles, syringes, lancets, auto-injectors like Epi pens and infusion sets that should not be thrown in the regular garbage to protect the safety of sanitation workers and reduce the chances of injury or spread of disease. Community members can drop off sharps with a trained representative from the Public Health Department. between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in the lobby at Village Hall. More information is at www.oak-park.us/sharps.

Save the date for the Village’s second annual Arab American Heritage Month Celebration from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 18 in the Village Hall courtyard. Join us as we celebrate Arab American culture with food, music and stories that bring the community together in a fun, joyful vibe! Anyone planning to attend is encouraged to RSVP so event organizers can get an idea of the expected crowd and plan accordingly – click here to RSVP. More information is at www.oak-park.us/AAHM26.

With Earth Week on the horizon, mark your calendar for a series of special events and activities focused on sustainability. Don’t miss Oak Park Earth Fest from 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22 at the Oak Park Conservatory. The Village’s Office of Sustainability & Resilience is teaming up with the Park District of Oak Park to host this event featuring a resource fair, conservatory tours and an opportunity to share input about expanding biodiversity and green infrastructure in Oak Park. Chief Sustainability Officer Lindsey Nieratka is participating in a panel discussion titled “Green History: Retrofitting Historic Buildings for Energy Efficiency” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 23 at the Oak Park River Forest Museum. To cap off Earth Week, don’t miss the One Earth Film Festival screening of “How to Power a City” on Friday, April 24 at OPRF High School. Doors open at 5:45 p.m. and the film starts promptly at 6:30 p.m. For a complete list of upcoming sustainability events, visit www.oak-park.us/sustainabilityevents.  

The Village Clerk's Office is hosting Oak Park's second annual Civic Engagement Festival on Sunday, May 3 at Village Hall. This free, family-friendly event brings together residents, community partners and local leaders for an afternoon of learning, connection and fun. Community partners and organizations interested in participating are invited to fill out an interest form that is posted along with more details about the event at www.oak-park.us/CivicEngagementFestival.

Renew the Avenue update – The electrical contractor began work installing the underground electrical conduit and foundations this week for the new streetlights on Oak Park Avenue from Lake Street to Ontario Street as the Renew the Avenue project rolls along. The north crew continues to install the new sewer main between North Boulevard and Lake and should complete this task early next week. Sewer service installation will continue on this block through the end of next week. The south crew continues to install the new sewer main between Pleasant Street and South Boulevard. The contractor should complete the installation of the new sewer main early next week and move to sewer services on this block. Nicor’s contractor has completed its gas main work in the project limits. Nicor's service transfer crews remain onsite to connect existing clients to the new main. AT&T and ComEd are also on-site completing repairs and upgrades of their infrastructure. 

Traffic signal improvements – Eastbound traffic on Garfield Street can now turn left onto Oak Park Avenue under the protection of a new left-turn arrow after the contractor completed the re-optimization of the traffic signals at the intersection.

Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacon (RRFB) Installations – The contractor installed RRFB foundations at 16 locations this week. Crews will continue installing foundations next week before beginning installation of the underground conduit.

Alley improvement project – Sewer Improvements in the alley between the 900 blocks of Hayes Ave. and N. Taylor Ave. are expected to be completed by the end of this week. Sewer improvements are planned to begin in the north/south alley between the 300 blocks of S. Lombard Ave. and S. Taylor. Earth excavation and pavement removal are anticipated to begin on Tuesday in the L-shaped alley between Humphrey Avenue, Austin Boulevard, Erie Street and Superior Street.

Celebrate Week of the Young Child and Black Maternal Health Week from April 11-17 at more than 30 free, family-friendly events. Week of the Young Child is a dedicated time highlighting the importance of early childhood and the families, educators and advocates who support these important years in a child’s life. This year, Black Maternal Health Week falls at the same time, and the theme this year is “Rooted in Justice & Joy.” The Collaboration for Early Childhood is thrilled to be joined by a wide range of community partners in celebrating young children and Black mothers by hosting all kinds of events that connect with these important themes. To see the full schedule of events, visit the Collaboration for Early Childhood’s website.

Oak Park’s Schoolhouse Kitchen + Studio was featured in a recent Chicago Tribune article as offering one of the Top 7 cooking classes around Chicago and the suburbs for the spring season. Schoolhouse Kitchen + Studio regularly hosts cooking classes and camps for kids, teens and families, and is owned by Oak Park residents Sarah Edgar and Cheryl Knecht (who also co-founded Sugar Beet Food Co-Op). Schoolhouse Kitchen + Studio is located at 1011 Madison St. and offers a fun way for kids, teens and families to spend a spring day. Learn more at www.iloveschoolhouse.com.