We live in wonderful communities in a fantastic metropolis, but you’d hardly know it based on how the City of Chicago too often forgets to celebrate itself, even on its birthday.
Not so here in the McKinley Park neighborhood, where for the second year in a row we’ve celebrated the anniversary of the founding of Chicago at the city’s geographic center at West 37th and South Honore streets.
Mariachi Luis Alfredo leads singers at Chicago's Birthday Party on March 4, 2025.On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, Chicago’s Birthday Party brought together the volunteer efforts of dozens of local organizations, institutions, elected officials and enterprises to celebrate our city by singing Happy Birthday to Chicago in multiple languages.
A Unique Coalition
The event grew significantly from last year’s first, more modest affair: as we've previously reported, a gathering on the stoop of St. Andrew Lutheran Church with a PA speaker and microphone in the hands of community leaders who led the crowd in singing in English, Spanish, Cantonese, Polish and Mandarin.
This year’s celebration of the 188th anniversary of Chicago’s founding continued the event’s unique tradition of being powered by a coalition of all types of organizations and people spanning local communities that often don’t get a chance to connect and collaborate.
Donor Support
Chicago Police Department 9th District officers and Commander Joseph Mark, right, take a photo booth snapshot at Chicago's Birthday Party on March 4, 2025.Big upgrades for this year’s party included jumps in size, amenities and production values: a program nearly twice as long with more performances, commercial tents for weather protection, professional stage and sound production, and a crowd that more than doubled in size, despite the threat of rain.
All of this was possible thanks to six months of advance planning paired with unprecedented generosity and support from our local business community, including major financial donors Swap-O-Rama and QTS Data Centers.
In-Kind Donations
We also received wonderful in-kind donations of services and materials that directly supported the event, including from Pepsico, Cadinho Bakery, Navarro Content Strategy and photo booth provider RIO Event Studios.
In addition to bringing its captivating student band to perform for us, Horizon Science Academy – McKinley Park supplied many sheet cakes to feed birthday celebrants. (All were devoured.) Gracious site host St. Andrew Lutheran Church served as the event’s infrastructure and home, including as our planning headquarters.
Volunteer-Run Event
Executive Director Grace Chan McKibben, left, and Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community members lead the Cantonese longevity song at Chicago's Birthday Party on March 4, 2025.Direct support by the 12th Ward and Alderwoman Julia Ramirez, as well as significant ongoing help from Chief of Staff Bill Drew Jr., was instrumental for both event planning and networking. Non-profit fiduciary agents the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community (CBCAC) and the McKinley Park Civic Association (MPCA) were the linchpins that allowed us to have and manage our first-ever event budget.
All performers donated their time to the event, including Captain Chicago and astonishingly talented mariachi Luis Alfredo, who came to the event courtesy of supporter Tu Casa Guanajuato. Many members of our event coalition also brought volunteers and set up booths to share their resources and programs, including the Midwest Asian Health Association (MAHA) and its McK-UDOS program, the Chinese-American Service League (CASL), the Omega Delta Youth Baseball and Softball League and the offices of Illinois 24th District State Representative Theresa Mah and Cook County 7th District Commissioner Alma Anaya.
Many Languages
Students at nearby Nathanael Greene Elementary School created wonderful Chicago keepsake bracelets and birthday cards, integrating local history and craft into their curriculum. William McKinley American Legion Post 231 added meaning and excitement by kicking off our birthday ceremony with its color guard and gun salute. (The post is also hosting our after-party for coalition members and volunteers.)
Birthday cards for Chicago by Nathanael Greene Elementary School students help decorate Chicago's Birthday Party on March 4, 2025.Our lineup of multi-lingual birthday singers included Ramirez, CBCAC Executive Director Grace Chan McKibben, St. Andrew Pastor Adam Gawel and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Dan Pogorzelski. My favorite moment as emcee of the event was getting help on stage from local kids who led us in the final happy birthday song in English.
Growing Pains
As the executive director of this and last year’s events, it’s been my pleasure to lead this effort, and I am immensely proud of what our coalition has accomplished, especially how we all came together to support and grow Chicago’s Birthday Party.
Although I expect myself and the McKinley Park News to remain significantly involved, to keep the event moving forward, I’m stepping aside as its solo director, as Chicago’s Birthday Party has outgrown the capacity of a single volunteer. Instead, I’ve authored and submitted a “Prospectus for Continuance and Growth” for consideration by members of our coalition to keep throwing a birthday party for Chicago every year.
Community Resiliency
Event organizers for Chicago's Birthday Party gather at the event's final planning meeting on February 25, 2025, at the St. Andrew Lutheran Church ministry center.One measure of the strength of our community is its resiliency: a benefit that relies on all of us being connected to and supporting each other. It’s my hope that the Chicago’s Birthday Party event not only activates a third space in our community — even if only for a night — but also helps build relationships across all parts of our communities through a universally accessible and appealing program.
I am proud to be a part of this, as well as a resident of Chicago and the McKinley Park neighborhood. Thank you to our amazing Chicago’s Birthday Party coalition members, the constituents of all of our communities and the residents who joined us last Tuesday. I look forward to partying with you for many years to come!
— Justin Kerr
Publisher, McKinley Park News
Event photos provided courtesy of Sal Navarro, Navarro Content Solutions. Photo booth image provided courtesy of RIO Event Studios.
Find more event and photo booth photos at the Chicago's Birthday Party website at https://mckinleypark.org.
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