Bulldog fans gearing up for season this weekend
This is a big weekend for Batavia.
Friday night is the beginning of the season for the Bulldogs with an away game against St. Charles East. I love the games that happen in the Tri-Cities. There is always so much spirit on both sides.
Speaking of spirit, even Wal-Mart is showing Bulldog pride. The large discounter is now selling Bulldog sportswear at really reasonable prices.
Smooth sailing: BHS students and faculty are to be commended for making the first day of high school go as smoothly as possible. No incidents, no major problems. That's great when everyone works together to make the most of a difficult situation.
Credit has to go to the leadership at the high school and at the district office. The addition of Dr. Jack Barshinger to our district has been a real asset to our community. The school board realizes that and recently voted to offer Barshinger an additional five-year contract.
Batavia's 175th: This is a great weekend to head downtown for the big 175th birthday celebration. The committee has been spending many months putting this celebration together and it promises to be a fun weekend for all. Chris Winter of the Batavia Depot Museum said that she and Carla Hill are busy getting ready.
"We're up to our eyeballs in the final preparations," said Winter. "We're moving exhibit materials to City Hall right now."
The council chamber will offer displays about the histories of clubs and organizations in our community.
The first Pioneer parade took place at Batavia's 100th anniversary celebration. "We thought it would be fun to recreate that and have kids dress up and decorate their bikes or wagons for it," Winter said.
Kids will have the opportunity to win prizes in three categories: pioneer, patriotic and birthday. The parade will travel from Clark Island to the Riverwalk at noon Saturday.
Winter also is excited about the community picnic at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Riverwalk.
"We're going to have some great old-fashioned games from a pie-eating contest to a cake walk," she said. "There will be plenty of games for young and old alike."
During the picnic, historical figures who came to Batavia during the course of its history will appear. The vignettes have been scripted by Mayor Jeffrey Schielke as his contribution to the big event.
"We will have visits from some of the important people who visited here, like Mary Todd Lincoln, Mark Twain and Jack Kennedy," Schielke said.
There will be a community church service open to all that will precede the picnic.
"We want to make it intergenerational," said the Rev. Mike Rassici of the Batavia Interfaith Council. "We wanted a service that would be welcoming for everyone."
Speaking of church services. If you are planning to attend Sunday morning services at your church, be sure to leave early. They're expecting 900 runners in the downtown area for the Batavia Half Madness Half Marathon from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Finally don't miss the 175th pageant of Little Town in the Big Woods, which takes place both Friday and Saturday nights at Rotolo Middle School. The pageant was originally produced for the 150th anniversary, but wasn't performed.
Our local historian Marilyn Robinson has updated it and Lori Holm has taken on the director's role. It should be worth the trip to the middle school to see this historical pageant.
And finally the fireworks promise to be a fitting end to the celebration. Who can forget the millennium celebration when we witnessed the fireworks high in the sky, reflecting on the river with church bells ringing? It was a memory that will remain with me always.
See you downtown this weekend!