Hawthorn mall festival in Vernon Hills marks Earth Day; ‘It allows the community … to come together'

Chicago Tribune

28-04-2025

For the first time in the newer part of the Hawthorn mall in Vernon Hills, Saturday's annual Earth Day Celebration featured food trucks, artisan booths, live music, lawn games, a petting zoo, animal show and more.
Liz Giergiel of Wauconda attended the Animal Quest show with children Jack, 11, and Natalie, 8.
'It's wonderful,' she said. 'It's great that they get to see this.'
Tia Prokos, the mall's marketing manager, said, 'Hawthorn has held a number of Earth Day events over the years to help educate the community about the importance of recycling and taking care of our environment, and we take that information to heart.
'In fact, Hawthorn, together with our owner Centennial, has been increasingly responsible stewards of the environment in Vernon Hills, an especially important task as the center continues its transformation into a mixed-use destination featuring a growing number of retail and dining options, as well as luxury apartment housing,' she added.
Prokos said a 'SEE Centennial' program was launched at company properties like Hawthorn with, 'the goal of making the next evolution of each shopping center a greener one.
'At Hawthorn, our individual conservation efforts diverted 5% of the shopping center's waste products from landfills over the past year, a significant environmental benefit for the village of Vernon Hills,' she said.
Prokos added, 'other important milestones' at Hawthorn over the past year included 242 tons of waste recycled, more than 8,000 cubic yards of landfill space saved, more than 4,000 mature trees saved, nearly 100,000 gallons of oil conserved, a 19% decrease in electricity usage, and a more than 50% decrease in water consumption.
Earth Day was April 22, but the occasion, including Arbor Day, are favorites celebrated by schools, libraries and municipalities often from April into May.
Artist Deya Rodriguez of Waukegan had an art booth with vibrant works, including an oil-on-canvas painting of the Earth. Rodriguez shared what the artist's thoughts were while painting the globe, which as a work is unnamed.
'I was just thinking about combining my interests,' said Rodriguez, whose collegiate studies include sustainability and the environment, adding
She said she wanted to, 'promote just an ability in the way I can do it … in my capacity.'
Maybe the youngest entrepreneur operating a booth, Sophia's Lemonade Stand, was Sophia Escobar, 8, of Ingleside.
'I always wanted to be a business owner when I grow up,' she said, adding she was raising money for a family trip to Disney World.
Her mother Josseline Michelle Escobar said, 'I'm so proud of her. She loves doing this. We started two summers ago. She was the one who brought it up that she wanted a little lemonade stand.'
Sophia's Lemonade Stand has a social media presence. and the family hopes to grow the brand.
'This is pretty much opening more doors for her to do other stuff that she's also interested in,' her father Christofer Gomez said. 'She's using this as a way to raise money to do other things that she wants to do as she gets older,' Gomez added.
Lucero Mendez of Vernon Hills, brought children Izzy Hernandez, 3, Jayden Hernandez, 7, and Adalynn Hernandez, 9.
'I love the events that they have here because it allows the community to be able to come together,' Mendez said.