When Homewood staff members opened a popup shop in the board room at village hall on April 20, the line to buy cicada-themed T-shirts and tote bags ran out the door to the street.
Engagement Specialist Antonia Steinmiller, right, present a check
for more than $3,400 to Anew representatives.
(Quincy Crump/H-F Chronicle)
The popularity of the village’s cicada merchandise turned into a $3,486 boon to Anew: Building Beyond Violence and Abuse, an agency based in Homewood that supports victims of domestic violence.
Mayor Rich Hofeld and Community Engagement Specialist Antonia Steinmiller presented a check for the proceeds of the sale to Anew officials at the Tuesday, July 9, board meeting.
Steinmiller, who created the cicada information campaign, said she wanted to make learning about the periodic brood emergence fun. She used a cicada graphic and borrowed from pop star Taylor Swift’s wildly popular Eras tour to create the theme for the campaign.
“Because you know, we’re all Taylor Swift fans here,” she said.
When the cicada graphic was posted on the village’s Facebook page, it went viral, Steinmiller said.
“It picked up a lot of media attention, and our community members wanted the graphic (turned) into merchandise,” she said.
In addition to the popup shop at village hall, Steinmiller set up an online store, and the merchandise was offered for sale at the village’s Art & Garden Street Fair on May 31 and June 1, during the height of the cicada emergence.
The merchandise sold out.
