Oak Lawn Acorns Get Ready to 'Go on Parade'

Oak Lawn, IL, June 21, 2016 -- The Oak Lawn Arts Commission unveiled its first public arts project “Acorns on Parade” in the parking lot of village hall on Monday evening.
The 4-foot fiberglass acorns -- modeled after Chicago’s famous Cow Parade and Tinley Park’s annual bench sculptures -- will be placed in front of businesses and other prominent locations throughout Oak Lawn when completed.

Queen of Peace High School, Burbank.
Residents visiting village hall, the Oak Lawn Public Library and Wednesday Farmers Market are invited to stick around and watch artists and their teams paint the giant tree nuts before they go on parade next month.
The arts commission hopes the parade of iconic acorns will be the “seeds from which mighty things grow” toward making the arts a valuable presence in Oak Lawn. The acorns will also give Oak Lawn’s business community a branding image.

Residents and visitors will be able to watch artists and their teams paint the acorns over the next few weeks.
So far, 17 acorns in total have been sponsored by local businesses, schools and civic organizations. After the acorns go on exhibit, they will be returned to the donor.
Oak Lawn Community High School, Queen of Peace High School and Oak Lawn-Hometown Dist. 123 have already finished their acorns.

Oak Lawn Community High School "Spartan Pride"

Linda Vorderer, chair of the Oak Lawn Arts Commission and an art teacher at Queen of Peace in Burbank, said 14 more acorns will be cast in the fall. Once the second group is cast, the acorn mold will be broken.
“We’re hoping other business and groups will see this first group and love it,” she said.
Using St. Joseph, MI’s yearly changing public arts sculptures as an example, the town’s public art helped increase storefront occupancy rates from 67 percent in 2004 to a near 100-percent occupancy rate today, Vorderer said at the unveiling..
Also, St. Joseph was able to dramatically increase foot traffic in its downtown business district, which resulted in new businesses opening and increasing the success of existing businesses, according to the city’s website.
Artists and their teams will paint the acorns with acrylic paint. After the initial painting is done, the acorns will receive an automotive grade seal coat so they can be displayed outdoors and withstand the elements for years to come.

Oak Lawn Hometown Dist. 123
Sponsorships are $1,000. Proceeds from the sponsorships will go toward future public arts projects and other programs promoting the arts in Oak Lawn.
Businesses and organizations interested in sponsoring an acorn should contact Carmie O’Leary, at the Village of Oak Lawn, at 708-499-7742. The arts commission is also reaching out to all area artists and art lovers for help with this and other projects.