2008 marks the 150 years since S

2008 marks the 150 years since Sycamore was incorporated as a Village in on May 9th, 1858. To commemorate the sesquicentennial, a volunteer committee has been established to celebrate our past, present and future. There are five sub-committees, events, history, fundraising, marketing and opening/closing that are all planning the community celebration beginning Friday May 9th.

EVENTS:

Cake & Custard on the Courthouse Lawn

Friday, May 9, 2008

6:00-8:30pm

Hear the proclamation

that incorporated Sycamore as a village on May 9, 1858 courtesy of the Joiner History Room

Honor the Flag

with a presentation & display by the Elk’s Club and VietNow

Sing

The National Anthem and Happy Birthday, Sycamore

Taste a piece of giant cake

provided by Brown’s County Market

Munch on cupcakes

courtesy of Sweet Dream’s Desserts & Elleson’s Bakery

Delight in smooth custard

provided by Culver’s of Sycamore

Enjoy musical performances by:

Elementary School Choirs

SHS Marching Band

Jazz String Orchestra

Prairie Echoes

Kishwaukeys Harmony Barbershop

Witness the Courthouse Light display courtesy of Upstaging, Inc

Picnic & Fireworks Display

Sycamore Park, Airport Road

Saturday, May 10, 2008

3:00pm-9:00pm

Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy the day!

Play in the Park

with fun activities for all ages (3-6pm)

FFA Barnyard Zoo , VFW Bingo

Kids Fun Fair Games and Prizes

Enjoy a Taste of Sycamore –15 food vendors!

Tails, Nat’s on Maple, McDonalds, DeKalb Co. Animal Shelter,

DeKalb County Shrine Club, Culver’s of Sycamore, Sycamore Moose Lodge 1506,

Ski’s , Sycamore Winery, Sycamore Mason’s, Captain Vic’s, Cabana Charley’s, Sweet Dreams,

Taqueria Cabana, Taxco

Live Soundstage begins at 3 pm

Black Tie Jazz Trio

The Menagerie

The Silver Creek Band

Spectacular Fireworks Display at 8:30pm

(In the event of rain the fireworks will be moved to Sunday night May 11th at 8:30 PM)

The Sesquicentennial theme will be incorporated into the many successful Sycamore events throughout the year. These include Cinco de Mayo, Summer on State, Fizz Ehrler Car Show, Discover Sycamore Block Party and Pumpkin Festival.

Closing Event

Sesquicentennial Ball

November 22, 2008

St. Mary's Memorial Hall

SPONSORS:

All of the events and activities will be funded through donations. An account has been established at the DeKalb County Community Foundation for anyone that wishes to contribute.

The Sycamore Sesquicentennial Committee wishes to thank the major contributors

whose support made this celebration possible:

Additional support provided by:

American National Bank of DeKalb County

Castle Bank

Driv-Lok

Bethany Animal Hospital

Doty & Sons

Illinois Community Credit Union

Kar-Fre Flowers

Quiram Funeral Directors, Ltd

Yvonne Johnson

Bill and Joyce Nicklas

Northern Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine

Rotary Club of Sycamore

Smith, Wykes & Associates

Soft Water City, Inc

Sycamore RV Resort

COMMEMORATIVE ITEMS:

The Sycamore Sesquicentennial Committee is seeking vendors, marketers and freebee distributors!

The following items available to purchase (click on the image to see a larger picture):

Embroidered and Screen Printed Sesquicentennial Shirts, T-Shirts, Windbreakers, Hats and more available at Priority Promotions, 337 E. State Street in Sycamore. Phone: 815-899-6609.

Engraved Sesquicentennial items, including charms and other jewelry available at Ben Franklin of Sycamore, 341 W. State Street. Phone: 815-895-3011.

If you are a not-for profit, a business or just someone that would like to be associated with Sycamore's year long 150th birthday celebration, we have an opportunity for you. Imagine 50 or 100 years from now and the community is celebrating its bicentennial or its bicentennial plus 50 (250th) birthday and there were no mementos of the 150th birthday around. No flags, mugs, coozies, coins, wooden nickels, t-shirts, golf shirts, commemorative plates, hats, postcards, nothing to remember what we were about in 2008.

We would like businesses to produce items they could sell or giveaway. If the items are for sale we would only ask that you pay the committee a $50 fee to be recognized as the "official" vendor for that item. This way there would not be a lot of competing items in the same category. If this is an item you would give away, we would allow you to use the copyrighted Sesquicentennial logo for free if we are able to put our OK on the item. We certainly wouldn't like to see items in bad taste circulated.

We can imagine that a group might want to produce a commemorative flag and sell it at various community events throughout the year. We would authorize one flag vendor. Maybe it is a commemorative plate you would like to design and sell.

Maybe your business would just like to produce a "wooden nickel" with the Sesquicentennial logo and give it away as advertising.

The Sesquicentennial kickoff weekend is May 9 & 10. It would be great to have items by that weekend.

Authorized Sycamore Sesquicentennial Items Available:

DOWNTOWN BANNERS:

The Sycamore Sesquicentennial Committee is offering business and individuals an opportunity to purchase one of 60 banners that have been designed especially for the celebration of our 150th birthday. The banners are 37 1/2 inches tall and 23 inches wide. They are in four colors. Below each banner there will be a 5 inch space for the name of the sponsor. The banners will be hung in the downtown area from the time they are produced until Pumpkin Festival. After they are removed, they will be given to the business/individual. It would make a great item to display at your place of business or front porch. As soon as the banner is produced you will be given a paper replica that you can display during that time the banner is being displayed downtown.

The cost of the banner is $150. Banners will be sold on a first-come-first-served basis. If there are more requests than banners we will have a lottery for the last requests that are received. Orders with payments will be accepted at Banner Up Signs, 1170 E. State Street, 815-899-9211.