Beautify Dixon gears up for summer season with monthly cleanup

DIXON – Volunteers were up bright and early Wednesday to kick off Beautify Dixon’s 2024 monthly cleanups.

At 8:30 a.m., 15 community members met on the corner of West River Street and Galena Avenue to grab their pink gloves and bags. The group covered the downtown area south of the riverfront, picking up garbage. When they finished, they had filled 10 bags, Robin Canode, chairperson for Discover Dixon’s beautification committee, said in an interview with Shaw Local.

Beautify Dixon, a subsidiary of Discover Dixon, aims to promote and encourage community members to take pride in the appearance of their community by hosting monthly town cleanups, creating corner gardens at cross streets and recognizing beautiful properties through an awards program.

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Paula Sherman picks up garbage in downtown Dixon Wednesday, May 1, 2024 as part of the Beautify Dixon campaign. (Alex T. Paschal)

It all started back in 2017, when the Dixon Chamber of Commerce merged with Dixon Main Street and formed Discover Dixon. Dixon Main Street, associated with Illinois Main Street, was dedicated to economic development and community preservation.

After merging, a beautification committee was formed to continue Dixon Main Street’s vision. From the committee, Beautify Dixon was created as the face of its initiatives.

Canode has led the committee for four years. She and the committee’s eight members focus on “making the town pretty,” she said.

Beautify Dixon’s town cleanups, which run monthly throughout the summer, cover different areas each month based on community recommendations and need. When they first started doing the cleanups in 2021, they would “get about 24 bags full of trash,” Canode said. Today, that number has gone down to seven or eight bags, Canode said.

As the time spent picking up trash has gone down over the years, the group also spends time weeding and gardening around town. One area of focus is the riverfront. Throughout the summer, they plant and maintain “corner gardens” at different cross streets to increase curb appeal.

Beautify Dixon also encourages community members to join its mission by taking pride in their property’s appearance through a recognition program.

From May until September, the group will select a home from each of the town’s quadrants – southeast, northeast, southwest and northwest – on a monthly basis. All residential properties within Dixon city limits are eligible.

The committee will recognize the four winners each month on its Facebook page and award them with an official Beautify Dixon yard sign.

Residents can nominate neighbors who spend time sprucing up their yards and making exterior home improvements. Judging factors include overall appearance, tidiness and neatness of the front and side of the property with visually eye-catching curb appeal through color and texture.

Beautify Dixon also partners with other local organizations as often as possible and highly welcomes their interest and participation in the group’s mission, Canode said.

For information, call Discover Dixon at 815-284-3361 or visit Beautify Dixon on Facebook.