50 Things To Love About Darien During Its 50th Anniversary

DARIEN, IL — It has been an all-year celebration in the city of Darien, which has had a number of events held marking the 50th anniversary of when it was incorporated as a municipality in 1969. Every week, a new fun fact about the city's history has been shared in the "Darien Direct Connect" email newsletter that goes out to residents and a "Happy Birthday Gala" at the Carriage Greens Country Club on Friday, Dec. 13 will wrap up the year-long celebration of everything Darien.

So we thought it would be a little fun to highlight 50 things that people love about Darien. Some, like City Administrator Bryon Vana, say the list could actually be expanded to 500. But that one will have to wait another 450 years before publication.

This one is primarily inspired by suggestions from Bonnie Kucera, who has lived in Darien for 20 years.

Kucera is a highly active citizen who has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the city. She's involved as the president of her townhome association, on the School District 61 Foundation board and active in her church.

Darien Mayor Joe Marchese also contributed to this list.

Not all of these are unique to Darien, as the city is not the "only" nice place to live in Chicagoland. But all these listed below, in no particular order, are certainly reasons to be proud of it.

1. The city's motto: "A nice place to live." Short and sweet, direct and true.

2. The National St. Theresa Shrine brings religious visitors from near and far.

3. The "Heart of Darien" award that recognizes influential local residents who are doing good for the community.

4. The city council's recent vote on recreational marijuana businesses (4-3 in favor of allowing them) was closely in line with a survey on the same issue (56 percent of residents want them).

5. The original flag of Darien, the Cass Flag that was handmade in 1861, is still around and on display at the Darien Historical Society.

6. The Darien Lions Club Children's Halloween Party at the Darien Sportsplex brings kids from not only Darien but other towns as well. About 700 attended last year.

7. Concerts and Movies in the Park. The Darien Park District holds a handful of these events every summer.

8. Darienfest. The annual Darien Chamber of Commerce event might be the best annual tradition in the city.

9. Historic cemeteries. The annual historic St. John's Cemetery Walk allows history buffs to tour gravesites and learn about the area since the days of the Civil War. Cass Cemetery on Frontage Road is also an original and historic cemetery.

10. At the St. John's Cemetery near 67th Street and Clarendon Hills Road, there is an original plat of Illinois land that's never been tilled.

11. The Good Worx - Sunny Patch Program. A group plants food that ends up getting donated to food pantries. Every year they harvest thousands of pounds of fresh vegetables that are donated.

12. Holiday craft shows. Darien is ripe for holiday craft shows from October through December, with the women's clubs, PTA and park district holding a number of them. There's going to be one almost every weekend from now until the end of the year.

13. The National Night Out event in Darien gets more popular every year, with nearly 500 attending this past August at Community Park. Those who attended this year were treated to an appearance from a Chicago Police Department helicopter.

14. The Indian Prairie Library is architecturally interesting. As is the name, unique in that it isn't just the "Your Town Name Public Library" that most other towns have.

15. Every June, the Darien Historical Society holds an old-fashioned ice cream social.

16. The 4th of July Parade. Most towns have a parade or celebration for either Memorial Day, the 4th of July or Labor Day. Darien is proud to boast one of the best in Chicagoland on the 4th of July.

17. The Historical Society is open for tours on the first and third Sundays of every month from 1-3 p.m. Private tours are also available.

18. Safety Village. Created in honor of 9-year-old Mark Hagen who was tragically struck by a car and killed in 1988, this enclosed area just north of Lace Elementary School at 7400 S. Cass Ave. is like a little city for children ages 5-8 where they can start navigating on foot and by bike. There's little stoplights there too.

19. The wide variety of shopping centers that are throughout Darien.

20. The holiday home decorating contest is held by a city-sponsored committee. Tours of some of the winning homes are offered afterwards.

21. The Darien Chamber of Commerce, and these seven businesses that have been members since it was first created.

22. The 9/11 Blue Light Program. Hundreds of homes in Darien participated this past year in remembering the victims of 9/11 with blue lights lit up on their front porches.

23. Historic Route 66 goes through Darien.

24. The VFW and their Memorial Day recognition and Veteran's Day ceremony.

25. The Darien Rotary Club's "Food for Kids" program.

26. The Darien Kiwanis Club, in particular their backpack program.

27. The Darien Women's Club.

28. The Darien Swim Club.

29. It's the home of Hinsdale South High School, and in particular the school's theatre program and Rotary Global Humanitarian club.

30. The annual Lions Club pancake breakfast.

31. That there are 19 parks within the Darien Park District.

32. That the city is one of those quirky ones that has a Back to the Future-style clock tower.

33. The Carriage Greens Country Club.

34. The Old Oaks Country Forest Preserve.

35. The Cancer Smashers. A group of students at local schools who volunteer to raise money for the Lurie's Children's Hospital.

36. The city's Arbor Day celebration.

37. The Darien Youth Club.

38. The Darien Fine Arts Council.

39. The Chamber of Commerce event “Dancing With the Starz.”

40. All the programs the Darien Park District puts on.

41. Matt Mayberry, who played for the Chicago Bears the last time they were in the NFC Championship Game back in 2010, is from Darien and an alum of Hinsdale South High School.

42. The Citizen of the Year Dinner Dance.

43. Darien is the home to several churches from a variety of religions and beliefs.

44. The annual Fall Hoe Down put on by the Darien Park District.

45. The city has an electronic recycling program.

46. All the great local restaurants to choose from. The Blueberry Hill Pancake House and Chuck's Southern Comforts Cafe are the top rated ones on TripAdvisor.

47. The Easter egg hunt put on by the Darien Park District.

48. The Lions Club's Day in the Park event.

49. Volunteerism: All the scouting groups, numerous sponsored food pantries, life-saving blood drives and other events and efforts that promote good humanity in town.

50. Darien's 50th Anniversary Celebration Committee. A hats off to those volunteers who helped make a milestone anniversary celebration a year-long party.