By Justin Markofski
Northside Planning Council

Northside pride runs deep, and there are many reasons why most Northsiders love the place we call home. In a time when people are often dislocated from a sense of attachment to a particular place and meaningful connections to neighbors and neighborhood, there are exceptions to this that remind us this has not always been so, nor does it have to be. There are movements in society that recognize the loss that occurs when places no longer retain their unique value or identity, and local history is forgotten. 

Local farms, local food, local businesses, aging in place, place-making are all part of both creating and retaining a diverse and vibrant culture made up of those who live, work, and play in proximity to one another. As a longtime Northside resident, I appreciate the role that the Northside Planning Council (NPC) has played in helping to shape and preserve a Northside identity and culture.  Part of this includes the creation and continuation of the North Star Awards — an annual recognition and celebration of individuals, organizations and businesses contributing to the good and well-being of the Northside in various works and ways.  In a year of anniversaries here at NPC (30 years for the Northside Planning Council and 10 years for FEED Kitchens) this will be 20 years of North Star Award ceremonies. Hundreds of Northside individuals and groups have had their often quiet and unassuming good deeds acknowledged and applauded over these past 20 years, and we will do so again Friday, Oct. 13 this year at the Warner Park Community Recreation Center. Please save the date. On the back page of the Northside News there is a North Star Awards full page advertisement which includes information about how to sponsor the event, nominate award winners and attend. Please do so. The more engagement and investment we have together, the more culture is shaped and shared and the greater the impact of our collective contributions. Each of you reading this either is someone or knows someone who is taking action that is benefiting the Northside community in some way. Here is a chance to shine a little light on these efforts and hopefully encourage all of us to not grow weary in doing good, as well as inspire us to realize that we each can have an impact by the choices and actions we take with our time, talent and resources. 

If you have never been to a North Star Awards celebration and are new to the Northside, please plan to attend. If you have lived your whole life on the Northside and have been to every North Star Awards, please attend. If you are tired, skeptical, cynical or discouraged, please attend. If you are full of vision, passion and energy for change, please attend. You get the idea. It won’t be the same without you. 

There will be an open cash bar with local musician Isaiah Oby for the initial hour (5–6 pm) followed by the formal program from 6–7:30 pm. Thanks to Warner Park for hosting once again.