Welcome to the Berwyn Park District. Please visit our Classes & Programs and Special Events pages to see the complete list of Park District programs and events.

2012 South Berwyn Earth Day Kickoff
Join us at Proksa Park - 3001 S. Wisconsin, for the construction of six raised Community Garden Beds, construction of three compost bins or help plant a bed of Native Illinois Plants lead by Roy Diblik, much acclaimed because of his involvement with the Lurie Garden at Chicago's Millennium Park.

Or if you do not have much of a green thumb, join us at Sunshine Park - 29th Place and Oak Park Avenue, to install the Sunshine Park Sand Playground equipment.

Stop by one of our many projects and receive a vial of wildflower mix.

Parent Information Expo (P.I.E.)

THANK YOU!

Thank you to the following agencies, businesses and organizations for their continued support of the Berwyn Park District:

Presenting Sponsor:

Premiere Sponsor:

Berwyn Park District Commissioner Recognized With Statewide Award
Edward Karasek, commissioner of the Berwyn Park District, was recognized with one of the Illinois Association of Park District’s (IAPD) highest honors, the Commissioner of the Year Award, at the organization’s annual awards luncheon January 27th at the Hyatt Regency-Chicago.

IAPD presents the Commissioner of the Year Award annually to a commissioner who has served a minimum of six years on the board of his or her local park district, forest preserve district, conservation or recreation agency; who has shown outstanding leadership and service to the community; who has been an effective statewide advocate for parks, open space, and recreation through the Illinois Association of Park Districts, and who has the ability to stimulate community action while maintaining the highest ethics.

Read More >

New Playground - Thanks!

On Thursday, September 22, 2011 the Berwyn Park District, with the help of the Berwyn Development Corporation, Kool-Aid, KaBOOM! and over 200 volunteers, built a new playground at Smirz Park located at 34th and Highland Avenue in one day!

The Berwyn Park District was awarded the grant from KABOOM!, with Kool-Aid as the major partner on June 15. Since then, park district staff, board members and volunteers were hard at work planning and completing tasks for their assigned committees. A few Design Days were hosted, where children had the opportunity to put their “dream” playground down on paper. As the Build Date drew near, Prep Days were scheduled for Tuesday, September 20 and Wednesday, September 21 where we received and inventoried playground equipment, dug holes, distributed mulch, prepared registration and finalized details. Most of the prep work was completed on the first day and volunteers were not needed to return until Build Day.

207 volunteers assisted with building the new Smirz Park Playground. Approximately 30 VIPs attended the event and more than 100 students from South Berwyn School District 100 funneled in throughout the day; interviewing staff and build captains for a unique educational opportunity. Five hours later, after moving 230 cubic yards of engineered mulch and assembling a vast array of slides, ladders, and beams, the playground was complete! The event concluded with a few words from our sponsors, Executive Director Janda and Mayor Lovero and a ribbon cutting ceremony.

“I have worked for the Berwyn Park District for more than 21 years and the KaBOOM! Project is one of, if not the proudest moment of my career,” expressed Executive Director Janda during the opening ceremony.

The child-inspired playground at Smirz Park was made possible by the funding, hard word and contributions of Kool-Aid, Berwyn Development Corporation, Berwyn Park District, KaBOOM! and the Berwyn community. The Playground is now open and available for all to enjoy. Please see the list below for all the contributing partners.

Artisan Electric Berwyn Development Corporation Berwyn Emergency Services Team (ESDA) Berwyn Fire Department Berwyn Police Department Board of Commissioners Bryan Davids Landscaping Café Palermo City of Berwyn Dunkin Donuts		Jack’s Rental Kiwanis Club of Berwyn Kool-Aid Kraft Foods Paisans Peggy Rose Dance Academy United Way Waste Management Youth Crossroads

	Click here to view our slideshow of the kaBOOM playground build!

Citywide Event Calendar
The Berwyn Park District is in collaboration with the City of Berwyn, the South Berwyn School District 100, and all the other participating agencies to help provide a comprehensive calendar of events for all of Berwyn.

Click here to see this new and extremely informative calendar.

Nothing Hurts a Good Program More...
than everyone waiting until the last minute to register. If the minimum registration has not been met the week before the class is scheduled to begin, the program will be cancelled. Occasionally, we will extend the start date to allow more people to sign up and avoid canceling the class.

Workshops/Seminars
Do you have a knack for cooking? Or do you have the best flower arrangement on the block? The Berwyn Park District is looking for people with special talents or skills who would like to lead a workshop/seminar and teach others. If you are interested, please contact Hillary Fulara, Recreation Programmer at 708.795.2892.

Click to download the plan (pdf) ............. Click to download the 2008 Needs Assessment (pdf)

Dear Residents:
On May 27, 2009, the Berwyn Park District Board of Commissioners adopted the Berwyn Park District Long Range Plan. This plan, which is designed to guide the park district in its continual development and operations over the next five years, is a product of the 2007 Needs Assessment, planning sessions, and the hard work of community, elected, and professional staff members of the park district.

The long-range plan is designed to be updated annually and developed and refined a series of goal-related action items related to Programs and Services, Parks and Open Space, Facilities, and Team/Organization Development. A copy of the Berwyn Park District Long Range Plan is attached for your information.

Sincerely Yours,

Jeffrey S. Janda, CPRP
Executive Director
jjanda@berwynparks.org