April 29, 2025
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Downtown Oswego to show off its charm

Charming Oswego will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday in the downtown

By Eric Schelkopf
From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, the Oswego Downtown Association will hold its first Charming Oswego event. Those who purchase a ticket get a bracelet and can visit each participating store for a custom souvenir charm at each stop.

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, the Oswego Downtown Association will hold its first Charming Oswego event. Those who purchase a ticket get a bracelet and can visit each participating store for a custom souvenir charm at each stop. (Photo provided by the Oswego Downtown Association)

Oswego is known for its charming downtown.

People will have the chance to see that for themselves from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, when the Oswego Downtown Association will hold its first Charming Oswego event.

The Oswego Downtown Association is an arm of the Oswego Area Chamber of Commerce. Those who buy a ticket get a bracelet and can visit each participating store for a custom souvenir charm at each stop.

“A high school student actually came up with the idea for the event,” said Kelley Rice, a member of the Oswego Downtown Association. “She came up with it as a fundraising idea and brought it to the Oswego Downtown Association. We loved it and ran with it. Because it was her idea, we let her help pick out the charity that the money will go to. So it’s going to cancer research in honor of her grandmother.”

A portion of the proceeds from Charming Oswego will be given to Waterford Place Cancer Resource Center in Aurora. Tickets are available at Oswego Downtown Association’s website, oswegodowntown.org.

Rice owns Imagination Print & Design in downtown Oswego and is co-owner of The Scoop ice cream shop in downtown Oswego.

There are about 30 charms in total. Anybody who buys a $30 ticket will receive a charm bracelet, a pouch for storing the charms and a map of participating businesses.

“At each business, you collect a charm that relates to that business,” Rice said. “So for The Scoop, we have a really cute little ice cream cone charm and for Imagination, we have a T-shirt charm.”

She thinks the event will be a hit. And with Mother’s Day on May 11, Rice said it is a way for mothers and daughters to celebrate that day a little early.

Rice is hopeful Charming Oswego will become an annual tradition.

“I think we’re all really excited about it,” she said. “Just like anything, it’s nice having events consistently happen each year.”

There will be plenty to do in downtown Oswego this weekend. Along with Charming Oswego, Oswego’s Wine on the Fox festival will return May 3 and 4 to Hudson Crossing Park along the scenic Fox River.

This is the 19th year of the event, which will feature more than 100 wine selections from Illinois wineries along with food trucks and live music.

More information about Wine on the Fox is at wineonthefox.com.