Now that spring has at long last arrived (and, if the last couple of days are any indication, summer is not far behind) the beautiful weather is lifting our spirits and coaxing folks out-of-doors after this year’s long, dreary winter.
More and more people are out and about – at Stanley Park, at the Amelia Park Complex and along the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail. Throughout the warm weather months a number of activities are scheduled at Park Square in the heart of our city, including the popular Westfield on Weekends/Business Improvement District summer concert series, which begins on Thursday, June 27, with the great Livingstone Taylor.
And speaking of Westfield on Weekends (WOW), that energetic and community-spirited organization, launched its outdoor season last Saturday with its Third Annual Kentucky Derby Pub and Restaurant Tour. During their stroll from the Green to Orange Street and back, tour participants saw several new shops, including Mama Cakes, which has moved to a new and bigger spot across the street from its original home.
All of us are eagerly awaiting two new eateries (Burritos and Clemenza’s) scheduled to open soon, the start of work on the much-anticipated Gaslight District and the progress that has been made to fill the hole left in our downtown so many years ago.
At the other end of Elm Street, where the twin Green Bridges welcome visitors to our city, outdoor activity is beginning to take place, too. It is hard to believe that the bridge construction and the amenities that grace the banks of the Westfield River on both the north and south sides were completed less than a year ago!
Since then, the Westfield School of Music has opened its doors and a new shop, DTL, is open for business, offering customers the chance to “Design the Line” of t-shirts, sweats and other apparel.
The new riverbank walking trails are seeing increased activity, with families already frequenting them on weekends. The pocket parks on both sides of the river have become a popular location for photos (think wedding or prom), ceremonies and gatherings of all kinds. If you’re in that area, take in a bit of history at the clock tower, modeled on an Old World glockenspiel, where Westfield’s original whipmakers emerge from their tower at 3:00, 6:00, 9:00 and 12:00 to ply their trade using a braiding mechanism invented in Westfield.
And Westfield Museum Inc. (WMI) will soon begin the process of restoring the building at 360 Elm Street, home to The Whip City’s one remaining whip-making factory. Plans call for exterior restoration of this National Historic Register building, with the inside to feature a working museum along with community space, an education center and state-of-the-art gallery to display Westfield’s historic treasures. As a member of the WMI Board of Directors, I would like to take this opportunity to personally welcome two recently elected members to the Board: Judge Peter A. Velis, a lifelong Westfield resident, and Ken Haar, member of the administration of Westfield State University and staunch advocate for downtown Westfield. Both were installed at the WMI Annual Meeting in March and I look forward to working with them and the continuing board members, Dawn Thomas, Bob Dewey, John Knapik, Peter Martin, Guy McLain, Denise Quinn and Bob Plasse, as we move toward completion of this exciting project.
With the onset of good weather we all have the chance to experience many of the great things going on around town that we lay the foundations for when snow and ice is on the ground. I’ve mentioned a number of them here, and I haven’t even begun to talk about sports and other summer activities that the City of Westfield or Westfield’s organizations and institutions sponsor.
So come on out to an event, coach a team, volunteer to help with your favorite project or just take a relaxing walk along the river. Come on out and get involved in the great array of activities Westfield has to offer.
Brent Bean II
At-Large City Councilor
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not the staff, editor, or publisher of the Westfield News.
