45.3 F
Naperville
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Naperville Plaza is perfect place to plan for springtime holidays

-

After hitting the pavement running for all the March festivities and fundraisers, merchants in Naperville Plaza now are thinking green for all the upcoming holidays and springtime events.

spring-greetings-oswald-web
Oswald’s helps celebrates spring holidays & everything seasonal. It’s also the place to shop for Naperville t-shirts.

For starters, Oswald’s Pharmacy has restocked his greeting card section with hundreds of seasonal messages waiting to be selected to send to friends and family. Whether Passover, Easter, birthdays, anniversaries or friendships, colorful greetings are ready to be mailed to anyone who enjoys finding a letter in the mailbox.

No stamps on hand? Oswald’s is an official U.S. Post Office where you can purchase stamps and send right there on the spot. Oswald’s gift department also has many new seasonal items arriving daily, creating one-stop shopping for gifts to be purchased, boxed, gift-wrapped and readied for mailing all in one place.

Visit the seafood department at Casey’s Foods for many meatless choices during Lent. The butcher counter at Casey’s Foods also is taking orders for Easter Sunday.

Need a new Easter basket to fill with candy? Looking to send flowers for Easter or Mother’s Day? Ready for new tires? Planning a spring spruce up with paint inside and out? Searching for new sunglasses? Find a wide array of locally-owned businesses, eateries and services in Naperville Plaza.

Girls on Gartner returns May 7

Girls on Gartner, a special day designed especially for women, returns for round two on the first Wednesday in May. That means many participating merchants again will host many indoor and outdoor get-acquainted events at Naperville Plaza during business hours on Wed., May 7.

The inaugural 2013 event was a showcase of glorious sunshine, warm temperatures, live entertainment and plenty of give-aways; the perfect combination for attracting hundreds of visitors with spring fever.  In addition to Casey’s Foods and Oswald’s Pharmacy, the popular shopping destination features a wide variety of merchants including Peterson Spirits and Wines, Orangetheory, Weight Watchers, Trader Joe’s, Colonial Cafe, Massage Green, Badlands, Eye World, Celidan Florist, Salon Elite & Spa, Walker’s Charhouse, Sherwin Williams, Great Harvest Bread, AnaBanana Kids and First Community Financial Bank.

Watch for details coming soon about this year’s Girls on Gartner.

Naperville Plaza is located on the southwest corner of Washington and Gartner.

Related Posts – PN Archive: May Day Kick Off 2013 /  Girls on Gartner 2013

O’Naperville Plaza is a place for everything Irish

O'Oswalds
A U.S. Post Office is located inside O’Oswald’s.

March 14 Post / With just a little bit of luck, everybody can put on the green and be Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.

Locally, shoppers will find everything they need in Naperville Plaza to create a taste of Ireland in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day on Mon., March 17.

Without mincing words, head to Oswald’s Pharmacy for everything green—Derby hats, beads, shamrocks, napkins, paper plates and greeting cards with leprechauns.

Just steps around the bend, find Casey’s Foods where the family’s recipe for corned beef has been cured by the butcher, cabbage is waiting in the produce section and freshly-baked Irish soda bread is ready in the bakery.

irish-soda-bread
Casey’s has freshly-baked breads & cookies.

St. Patrick’s Day Primer, Legend & Lore

While planning your St. Patrick’s Day menu, consider the old Irish saying, “On the high day of Patrick, every fold will have a cow-calf, and every pool a salmon.”

For Irish alternatives to corned beef, check out Casey’s Seafood Section as well as Casey’s Deli for ready-to-go shepherd’s pie, Guinness stew and side dishes such as boiled red potatoes and cabbage wedges with baby carrots. After all, the traditional corned beef and cabbage is more American than Irish.

And remember the legend of St. Patrick. Simply put, the nobleman was born in Britain in the 5th century A.D., was kidnapped by Irish pirates and enslaved for 17 years, but escaped by walking back home to freedom. St. Patrick later returned to Ireland as a missionary where according to legend, he died on March 17.

Irish lore suggests that when St. Patrick rediscovered his Christian faith, he used the symbolic three-leaved shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. And those tricky little leprechauns, aloof and ornery shoemakers who live alone, date back to the 8th century.

Then there’s the Blarney Stone in Ireland. Kiss the magical stone to receive the gift of sweet persuasion, a.k.a. blarney.

St. Patrick’s Day even comes with its own riddles.  For instance, what do the Irish and everybody who wants to be Irish turn into on St. Patrick’s Day?

indie-quigley-guinness-web
Quigley’s Irish Pub is located at 43 E. Jefferson Ave. in downtown Naperville.

The answer? Pubs.

And in Naperville, the riddle could be answered with “Quigley’s Irish Pub” where Guinness is on tap.  According to Guinness, on an average day, about 600,000 pints of the Dublin brew are served in America compared to 3 million pints of Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day.

Celebrate all March

MJ-fcb-web
Update March 15: M.J. Leisten handed out tickets with lucky numbers along the parade route.

During the 21st annual parade with nearly 90 entries, watch for First Community Financial Bank, also located in Naperville Plaza. Dressed for fun and frolic, Mary Jane Leisten of First Community Financial Bank will stroll the parade route to distribute special tickets from the proverbial pot of gold. And in the spirit of the day, a sampling of the tickets will come with a lucky number that’ll provide a little green. Simply follow the rules on the ticket and pay a visit to the bank. The deadline to cash in a winning ticket is April 15, 2014.

St. Patrick’s events on Saturday end in time for brunch or lunch at one of more than 40 eateries in downtown Naperville. Come for a festive morning of fundraising events in support of many worthy causes and stay for an afternoon shopping and dining.

Celebrate safely! Sláinte!

Stay Connected!

Get the latest local headlines delivered to your inbox each morning.
SUBSCRIBE
- Advertisement -
PN Editor
PN Editor
An editor is someone who prepares content for publishing. It entered English, the American Language, via French. Its modern sense for newspapers has been around since about 1800.

LATEST NEWS

DON’T MISS OUT!
GET THE DAILY
SQUARE-SCOOP
The latest local headlines delivered
to your inbox each morning.
SUBSCRIBE
Give it a try, you can unsubscribe anytime.
close-link

Stay Connected!

Get the latest local headlines delivered to your inbox each morning.
SUBSCRIBE
close-link