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VIDEO: Centennial cakes to fill Berwyn’s streets

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By Ron Koopmann
A group from Youth Crossroads help paint the banners made of wood to go on the cakes that will be put up around the city in celebration of its centennial celebration. Berwyn residents Melissa Armour (left) along with Ruben Gonzalez and Jay Redweik paint the banners to go on the cakes.
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By Cari Brokamp, cbrokamp@mysuburbanlife.com
Berwyn Life
Wed Mar 05, 2008, 04:16 PM CST
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Berwyn, IL -

Berwyn’s streets will get a blast of color and burst of dynamism, thanks to about 100 birthday cake figures, which are planned to go up on lightpoles around the city in the coming months in celebration of the city’s Centennial anniversary.

The cakes are being sponsored by local businesses, organizations and individuals, and painted by local artists, residents and youth. Inspired by Chicago’s Cows on Parade initiative, the cakes are hoped to serve as a reminder of the city’s 100-year history and a way to bring residents together for its benefit in the future.

“They reflect some of the diversity and artistry and creativity that’s here in Berwyn,” said Ivan Watkins, chairman of the committee planning the cakes. “I hope that people actually engage somehow in the celebration, and feel and internalize that — the way that a birthday cake functions at a birthday party to give a warm feeling inside, even if it’s not your birthday.”

Watkins, director of the North Berwyn Park District’s Cultural Center, is heading up the cake project, and lending his artistic expertise to the project. Watkins has completed dozens of murals and other works of public art in the Chicago area, including several in Berwyn.

Watkins and the centennial committee dedicated to developing the figures toyed with various different symbols for the celebration and the city. Initial ideas for the figures ranged from a car to represent Berwyn’s auto dealerships and Ogden Avenue, to a mushroom to represent the city’s Czech heritage and infamous Houby Fest celebration.

They finally settled on cakes as a cross-cultural symbol that would best represent the reason for the celebration — the city’s 100th birthday.

“There’s just this awesome healing power that art has to uplift people and make them feel a little bit better,” Watkins said. “If people don’t relate to the theme, or even to the centennial, they will still walk away from our centennial cakes feeling better.”

Watkins said, in addition to enhancing the city’s appearance for its residents, the cakes will draw tourists and greater foot traffic to the area, hopefully leading to them patronizing Berwyn businesses.

The cakes have been cut out of wood, primed with white paint and are available for sponsorship for $100.

Organizers have not yet determined where the cakes will be mounted.

Lifelong Berwyn resident Victor Herrera is helping the Park District paint some of the 10 cakes it’s sponsoring. While he isn’t sure what design he’ll settle on, he wants it to reflect his pride for his city.

“I’m part of the community and I wanted to do something for the neighborhood,” Herrera said. “It’s my hometown and I’m real proud of being a Berwyn resident. A hundred years is a long time, and it’s a good thing to celebrate.”

Watkins said artists and community members can decorate the cakes in any way they see fit, as long as it somehow relates back to the city and its centennial celebration.

“We’re trying to bring a little light and joy and have it be a positive thing,” Watkins said. “There’s been 100 years of progress here in the city and we’re looking to build on that with a bigger, better and brighter future for everyone.”

Want to sponsor a Berwyn birthday cake?
For more information, or to sponsor a birthday cake, call Ivan Watkins, chairman of the Berwyn Centennial Figures on Parade Committee, at (708) 749-6704, Ext. 104.

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