Organizers putting final touches on town's sesquicentennial festivities

Mount Kisco Historical Society President Ralph Vigliotti holds the journal from the village’s 125th anniversary celebration in 2000, as well as standing with commemorative merchandise the organization is selling for the May 31 and June 1 sesquicentennial. Martin Wilbur Photo

By MARTIN WILBUR

Mount Kisco is going to have a celebration next weekend that has been 150 years in the making.

Final preparations are being made for the village’s sesquicentennial celebration on Saturday, May 31, and Sunday, June 1, featuring tours, music, food trucks, recognition of the community’s nonprofit organizations and overall merriment. 

With a weekend full of festivities, the Sunday afternoon parade through the downtown promises to be one of the biggest in Mount Kisco’s history followed by a celebration party with food, games and entertainment.

The weekend coincides with the official June 1, 1875, incorporation of the village.

“At this point, I think we have the events pretty much in place for the two days, and it seems like more and more of the community is hoping to jump on board,” Mount Kisco Historical Society President Ralph Vigliotti said. 

Beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 31, there will be the unveiling of the Wilfred Jennings Garden at Lieto and Gato Drive. Jennings, a longtime resident and World War II and Korean and the longtime leader of the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester, was remembered for helping to positively shape the lives of many children. Friends, family and community members will be on hand for the dedication.

Opening ceremonies for the weekend will begin at 11 a.m. outside Village Hall with various dignitaries speaking.

The village acquired a 40-seat tour bus and also added its senior citizen minibus for the 45-minute historical tour of about 23 sites throughout the village. There will be four separate tours on the hour starting at noon, but Vigliotti said tickets for the free tour sold out quickly.

However, for those who want to learn more about the village’s history and were shut out of the bus tour, not all hope is lost. There is a self-guided walking tour of historic sites in the downtown using a map that will be available for the occasion.

Attendees can also visit the old Mount Kisco post office next to Village Hall (now home to the Singleton & Singleton law firm) with an exhibit of photos dating to the 1930s.

Expect to find local residents dressed in costumes that approximate the styles of the late 19th century.

“Milestones are important. They’re important to recognize,” said Shantae Artis, who helped lead the village’s sesquicentennial committee meetings and spearheaded the efforts of the special 150th anniversary journal. “I think every 25 years is significant because you have such a change in the fabric of what makes up a community. We give appreciation for every generation.”

The more than 100-page journal is available for sale for $25 on the sesquicentennial website, at mtkisco150.org.

Chamber of Commerce Co-Executive Director Beth Vetare-Civitello said that also on Saturday at least 25 local nonprofit organizations will have tables and tents around Fountain Park, the public space between Village Hall and the library, to make the community aware of each of their missions.

For Vetare-Civitello, whose late father was a former Mount Kisco mayor, the sesquicentennial weekend is going to be one to remember.

“I think the weekend is going to be really huge,” she said. “So, I was here for the centennial and that was really big, and that was the first time they had accomplished anything of that magnitude, and I think this is really going to equal, if not better, those kinds of events that happened then.”

There will be music throughout the day on Saturday, May 31, which will close out with a food truck festival in the Village Hall parking lot from 4 to 8 p.m. The festival will also serve as a fundraiser for Leonard Park.

Ed Reilly, who led the coordination of the events for the weekend, said Sunday’s parade will be one of the largest Mount Kisco has seen, with somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 people marching from various organizations. There will also be floats and bands, he said.

It is set to step off at 2 p.m., starting at Main Street and Moore Avenue and ending on South Moger Avenue.

“It really is nice to see,” Reilly said of the celebration. “It’s just a shot in the arm for Mount Kisco.”

After the parade, there will be a community celebration with games, activities, food and entertainment until 6 p.m.

The only potential hurdle is the one that no one has any control over — the weather. Reilly said the village can press forward with most of the events if there is a light or intermittent rain, but in case of worse weather on Sunday, a decision would have to be made on the parade by 8 a.m. The village could try and reschedule the parade for the fall.

“It’s really going to be a sight,” Vetare-Civitello said of the upcoming weekend. “It’s great, a celebration that’s about time in Mount Kisco. We’re all focused on the negative, but there’s so much more positive.”

For more information, visit mtkisco150.org and the Mount Kisco Historical Society at mountkiscohistoricalsociety.org.