Christmas Tree Recycling & 2012

Happy New Year everyone from the HPAC!

Hope you've all had a great holiday season and wish you all the best in the year to come.

Now that Christmas is over I want to remind you all that you can recycle your real Christmas tree by dropping it off in the parking lot of the Humboldt Park Boathouse on Humboldt Boulevard between Division and North Avenues. There's a designated area in the lot, marked by signs. The trees end up as mulch that the Park District uses in planting beds, etc.

Also...an early reminder that our next meeting is Thursday, January 19th at 6:30 p.m. in the field house. We're having a potluck to celebrate the new year, so feel free to drop by a little early to grab some food and chat. Of course, bringing a dish/beverage is not required but please do if you're able to. As a reminder, no alcohol is allowed on Park District property.

Bloomingdale Trail Community Meeting Tonight

There will be a community meeting for the Bloomingdale Trail tonight from 6-8 pm at the Saint Mary of the Angels School Auditorium - 1810 N. Hermitage Ave. If you're not familiar with the Bloomingdale Trail yet, it's an exciting new project to convert the elevated Bloomingdale rail line into a linear park that runs from Humboldt Park to Wicker Park/Bucktown. The Trail is expected to be a creative new recreation spot and it's attracted a lot of attention and support so far, which is why it's important that the members of the communities it will serve get out in the early stages to learn about the project and have our ideas and concerns heard.

Hope to see you there!

The Bloomingdale line as it looks today - from bloomingdaletrail.org

Announcements from November's Meeting

Besides getting the latest on what's going in the Park, itself, HPAC meetings are a great place to hear about other events going on in the community, as a whole. Many of our members commit their time to non-profits or volunteer efforts in Humboldt Park and share news from these endeavors at our meetings, so I'd like to share some events going on outside the Park along with these announcements from last week's meeting.

• Online registration for Chicago Park District winter programming begins November 28th at 9 a.m. and walk-in registration begins at most parks on Saturday, December 3rd. 
• There will be no HPAC meeting in December due to the holiday season, but elections will be held at the January meeting. Advisory Council members can vote if they have attended six meetings in the last year. Eligible voters will be announced at the meeting in case you are not sure how many you have attended in the last year.
• In case you haven't heard the news...the Bloomingdale Trail is a project in the works to convert the Bloomingdale Avenue rail line into a three mile long, elevated park running from the Wicker Park neighborhood to Humboldt Park and Logan Square. Community meetings are being held this fall and winter, to get involved sign up for their email list.
• On Thanksgiving day, La Casa Puertorriquena will be serving free meals and holding a clothing drive from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 1237 N. California Avenue. If you would like to drop off clothing for the drive, call (773)885-9302 for hours.
• On Thursday, December 1st, at 6 p.m. the 14th District Police station at 2150 N. California will host "Tree of Hope," a lighting ceremony and vigil for victims of violence.

The weather may be getting cold, but there are still a lot of opportunities to get out and stay involved in community matters in Humboldt Park. And lastly, the HPAC wishes everyone a happy Thanksgiving!

November HPAC Meeting: Thursday the 17th

Please come join us tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. in the field house for our November meeting. Also, a heads up that elections for Council members will be held in January and you must have attended six meetings in the last year to either vote or seek election.

Hope to see you there!