January/February 2022
Community eNewsletter

The Civic Association is on PAUSE

THE GPCA IS ON A PAUSE….  

What does that mean?  It means the GPCA will NOT be hosting any of the following events; the Pancake Breakfast, the Spaghetti Dinner, the annual Fish Fry, the Music by the Lake, Oktoberfest, Scholarships, Flocking, Easter Event, Halloween Decorating contest, and the Christmas decorating contest.  WHY?  All due to LACK OF VOLUNTEERISM.    A call for help was put out twice looking for folks to join the board – we had 1 person come forward. 3 board members is simply not enough to put all these events together.  NOW, we have chosen a PAUSE, however, this could be the end as well. IT’S ENTIRELY UP TO YOU! What we are willing to do is…

At any event the Park District holds, there will be a sign-up sheet to see if anyone is willing to volunteer for the above mentioned events. IF we have enough interest, we will come back in 2023. If not, the GPCA will simply say it’s final Good-Bye.

I’ve lived in Grandwood Park for 20 years and it’s ALWAYS been the “Best Kept Secret” in Gurnee. With all the turn-over in our neighborhood, things have changed.  I’m hoping all of you are willing to share this with the new folks who may not know about the GPCA and would love to be a part of such a great group, or simply consider stepping up yourself.

I would like to thank the Grandwood Park Park District for their efforts in taking over Music by the Lake AND Oktoberfest in 2021.  If it weren’t for the Park District running these events, these events would have not happened.  

Again, the fate of the GPCA is in the hands of all of you.  Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at 224-469-9933.

Thank you,
Darleen Gano
President, Grandwood Park Civic Association

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The House decorating contest this year was awesome!  So many folks in the community decorated their homes and our neighborhood looks great!  I’d like to congratulate our 1st place winner!  36671 N. Beverly - The Gerber family!  Be sure to drive by and take a stroll under their beautiful circle of lights!

2nd place was not an easy decision - so much in fact, that we decided to award two 2nd place winners -  The Smith family at 36474 Douglas AND 18674 W. Westwood place - the Klemm family.  Imagine our surprise to discover these two are sisters!!  Their displays are absolutely beautiful - be sure to check them out.

Our 3rd place winner is also on Beverly, 36586 - The Joneikis family.  Stop by and see their decorations as well!

Last but not least, we would like to offer a Jolly Shout out to the folks on Edgewood Dr.    Your street looks festive!

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Santa visited our community on Saturday, December 18th. Since his reindeer were resting up for their big ride on Christmas Eve, Santa was driven around by the Warren Township Highway Department. Thanks so much for  helping!!

We hope all of you were able to wave to Santa as he went by your house. He let us know that he was excited to to come back on Christmas Eve to bring presents for all the good little girls and boys, and looks forward to visiting next year!

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Children were treated to cookies and milk while making crafts and playing games. Each child was able to spend some time with Santa telling him what they wanted for Christmas, and Santa passed out stockings with goodies! It was a fun evening and we can't wait until next year!

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Have you seen the new and improved
Park District website yet?

If not, why not take a look now? www.grandwoodpark.net 

The Grandwood Park Park District  is committed to ensuring accessibility of its website and intranet to people with disabilities. We are continually improving the user experience for everyone, and applying the relevant accessibility standards. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. The Grandwood Park Park District strives to conform to WCAG 2.1 level AA.

Some aspects of this website may be partially conformant. “Partially conformant” means that some parts of the content do not fully conform to the accessibility standard. This may include PDF content (Some PDF content lacks metadata like title tags, ALT text, and other markup. A solution may be implemented at a future date), and embedded 3rd party components, widgets, and/or JavaScript.

We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of the Grandwood Park Park District. If you encounter accessibility barriers on the Grandwood Park Park District website that you would like to report, please contact us.

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Dads, round up your little girls and get ready for an evening together that you won’t want to miss! The night will be filled with dancing, laughing, and creating memories. Enjoy snacks and beverages while you dance the night away. Each family will go home with a picture to remember the special occasion.

Price is based on one dad and one daughter. Additional daughters are welcome at an additional charge.

This event is co-sponsored by the Wildwood Park District.

Residents $26 per couple / Non-residents: $32 per couple
Additional children: Residents $6 per child / Non-residents $7 per child

Min 35/Max 100
Pre-registration is required by Friday, January 28th

You can register now HERE

There are also plans for a Mother/Son event in 2022 .. stay tuned while we work out the details!

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Check out the website HERE to see what is available for rent and get all the details (more pictures, pricing, policies, etc.)!

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Beavers have been spotted in Grandwood Lake and along the creek. Some trees have already been taken down, and the beavers have removed the bark of others. According to the experts, and the trapper we contacted, beavers chop down trees with their teeth for food and building dams and lodges. The beaver population in Lake County is high, and trapping and relocating a beaver from one area to another commonly causes their death. Trapping and killing them is only a very short-term solution as new ones will just move into the area. The best answer is to protect the trees on your property with some tree protection techniques that are inexpensive, reliable, and relatively easy for nearly any person to do in a short period of time. Here are some resources for you on how to protect your trees:  YouTube video  YouTube video #2  Article from the Beaver Institute

If you see a beaver dam that is prohibiting the flow of water in the creek, please contact the Park District office right away at 848-356-0008 or by email at parkdistrict@grandwoodpark.net. If the beaver dam is not removed, the water will continue to back up and flood over the sides of the creek.

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