Oswego arts commission asks for $16,000 to expand downtown banners, launch lantern walk and beautify utility boxes

Anthony Pastore, chair of the Culture & Arts Commission, and commissioner Michelle Myers presented the commission's 2026 budget request at the Village of Oswego's Committee of the Whole on Oct. 25. Pastore said the commission is asking to repeat the downtown student art banners program, "Look Up Oswego," and to continue small community art projects that help market the village.

"We're looking at repeating our downtown student art banners, our Look Up Oswego project, which is $6,000," Pastore said. He added the commission also wants to continue a small program to beautify local utility boxes and to expand the free-library initiative the commission began this year.

Myers described a new proposal for a lantern walk: a low-cost, nighttime, multi-generational festival that would rely on homemade lanterns and LED lights rather than open flames. "We were trying to propose something that would be culturally different within our community to bring multi-generational residents together for an evening," Myers said, noting she consulted with other cities and found none in Illinois running a similar lantern festival.

The commission estimated about $3,500 for utility-box painting, $4,500 for the lantern walk, and miscellaneous signage and program materials, with a total request roughly in line with last year's allocation. Trustees asked clarifying questions about ownership of utility boxes and whether permission would be required from private providers; staff said they were reviewing which boxes the village owns and where permission would be needed.

Trustees and staff discussed potential partnerships, including with the park district for a possible evening farmers market, collaboration with schools for lantern-making workshops and outreach to local cultural associations to broaden programming. Pastore suggested using drone video for marketing to show lanterns moving through downtown.

The presentation concluded with staff and trustees expressing support for the proposals and encouraging the commission to refine permits and partnerships ahead of program approvals.

The item was presented for board consideration as part of the 2026 budget package; no final appropriation vote was recorded at the session.