Mt. Kisco Historical Society, Residents Plan for 150th Anniversary Celebration
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Mount Kisco residents and visitors to the village will have the opportunity next year to take in special exhibits, re-enactments, a parade, concerts and lectures, among many other activities.
What’s different about these and other community events for 2025 is that they aren’t part of recurring annual celebrations but commemorations for the village’s 150th anniversary.
Last week, the Mount Kisco’s Historical Society and dozens of community members met and brainstormed in the library’s Community Room to plan for the village’s sesquicentennial. While events are being planned throughout the year, starting in spring and lasting through most of 2025, the major kickoff will be a sesquicentennial parade during the weekend of May 31 and June 1, with the latter date recognized as the actual anniversary of when the village was established in 1875.
“The purpose of this meeting is to create an open dialogue, start brainstorming, figuring out ways we can celebrate as a collective village and how each of the various organizations and committees can work both independently and together to really create memorable sesquicentennial festivities throughout the year,” said village resident and Mount Kisco Historical Society member Shantae Artis.
Ralph Vigliotti, the president of the historical society, outlined some of the potential ideas that Sesquicentennial Committee members have posed thus far. How elaborate some of the plans will be will likely be determined by how much money will be available, he said.
Some of the activities are likely to include guest speakers, historical reenactments, entertainment, which could include a sesquicentennial celebration at Fountain Park, people strolling in period clothing at various times and exhibits featuring some of the more than 3,500 Historical Society photos and other artifacts related to the community’s history, Vigliotti said. Organizers are also planning to sell Mount Kisco sesquicentennial merchandise.
The Historical Society will also put together profiles of all 32 of the village’s presidents (which Mount Kisco’s chief executive was apparently called at one time) and mayors in its history as well as an updated journal, Vigliotti said. A journal done for the municipality’s centennial celebration in 1975 will be a good starting point, but much has happened in the 50 years since, including Mount Kisco officially breaking off from Bedford and New Castle in 1978 and becoming one of only five coterminous town/villages in New York State.
“We have research, we have lots of research that just needs to be put in some type of order,” Vigliotti said.
One of the many decisions that will need to be made in the coming weeks is whether the village and the Historical Society will hire a consultant to help pull all the elements together, he said.
County Legislator Erika Pierce has secured $5,000 in county funds toward the celebration, and Vigliotti said the Historical Society is likely to kick in additional money, possibly a similar amount. There will be fundraising and acceptance of community donations.
Vigliotti said the organization will discuss with the Village Board ahead of its springtime budget deliberations about municipal funding. The next fiscal year starts on June 1.
There is grant money available from the Office of Tourism and the village has some unused state money, which could be included to defray costs, Mayor Michael Cindrich said. Village officials will also likely decide during their budget discussions how much to contribute.
For Cindrich, having a meaningful celebration is critical for Mount Kisco.
“The history of the village is somewhat important,” Cindrich said. “I think we’ll focus (more) on the last 25 years when we had the last celebration in 2000, but that celebration was kind of muted. But building the profile of what we are and who we are I think is important.”
At last Thursday’s meeting, there were four subcommittees that were filled – funding, communication, events and merchandise – as community members split up to discuss ideas of what they would like to see.
Artis said there will be a website developed with a calendar of events, an online shop, a photo gallery and a page with links to village businesses and organizations. Logos are being worked on and there will also be a social media presence, she said.
In addition, Cindrich asked community members whether they knew any residents whose ancestors can be traced to 1875 to the turn of the 20th century in the village. He also hopes to honor the few businesses that have operated in the village for at least a century.
While there is a lot of planning that needs to be done in the months ahead, organizers are looking forward to the celebrations.
“The parade will wind up being the event that ends up bringing a lot of this together, and then in the fall it could be around SeptemberFest, October when people are in town,” Vigliotti said.
The first meeting of the Mount Kisco Sesquicentennial Committee will be on Thursday, Jan. 9 at noon at the Historical Society Archives located at 40 Green St.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
