Schaumburg surveys residents on potential rebranding of Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts

Schaumburg residents and other patrons are invited to weigh in on a potential rebranding of the village’s Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts that would leave the former mayor’s name intact ahead of its 40th anniversary next year.

An online survey will be in operation through July 18 seeking not only suggestions for a possible new name but also some other indications of how people feel about the facility at 201 Schaumburg Court.

“We’re trying to look at our identity,” Schaumburg Cultural Services Director Tiana Weiler said. “What do people in our community see as our benefits? Who does the community think we are already?”

The effort began from a recognition that the center opened during a very different era of the village, so much so that its logo features stalks of wheat, Weiler said.

The survey, available at villageofschaumburg.com, follows meetings with focus groups and stakeholders. Nevertheless, the survey remains open to any suggestions of a new name rather than offering a choice of existing nominees.

The entire process is being assisted by Joy Riot, an advertising agency based just outside Washington, D.C., which the village contracted for $51,135.

Weiler said the firm was chosen from among other respondents to a request for proposals based on its prior work with such community branding projects.

In addition to a name, survey participants are asked whether they associate the center with any colors or personality traits that could also help shape notions of its future identity.

Schaumburg itself will be marking its 70th anniversary next year. That year will see the completion of a new village hall that’s already begun construction next to the Prairie Center. The arts facility will join in itself next year with a simultaneous expansion of its theater lobby.

Nevertheless, those intensive construction projects aren’t expected to interfere with the celebrations of both anniversaries, Weiler said. If anything, they’re anticipated to provide a sense of looking forward.

Though the survey will be concluded this month, the general public likely won’t hear much more about the process until a proposal is formally made to the village board in the winter.

A decision is expected to be made by the end of the current budget year next April 30.

But if a change is preferred, it’s possible putting a new name on the building could be held back until the village hall is completed as well.

Final plans are being made for how this year’s Septemberfest over Labor Day weekend will be arranged around the village hall construction. But there was never much doubt that both events would be compatible, Weiler said.