Outdoor Game? Outdoor Art? It's a Toss Up.

It’ll be all fun and games on the sidewalks of La Grange this summer as dozens of colorful bag toss (or cornhole) board games are displayed as a whimsical outdoor art exhibit throughout the village business district.

The public exhibit is organized by the La Grange Business Association (LGBA) as a way to entice visitors and residents to explore La Grange and support its small businesses. Local sponsors can purchase a set of unfinished bag toss game boards and arrange for a local artist to design and paint them.  The sponsor deadline is Friday, March 15; registration may be completed online at lgba.com.

The boards will be displayed in upright sets on the sidewalks from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Priced at $275 for LGBA member businesses and $375 for non-member businesses, the board sets will be sold in an art auction outside Village Hall benefitting local charities in September.

This is the seventh year that the LGBA has organized a summer outdoor art exhibit which has featured elephants, artist’s easels, Adirondack chairs, rain barrels, rocking chairs and clocks.

The bag toss board games are made of marine-grade wood.  Prior to display, they will be seal-coated at Douglas Auto Body in La Grange, one of the main sponsors, so that they are suited for outdoor display. The Village of La Grange is also a sponsor of the exhibit.

“We’re indebted to the financial and in-kind support of our sponsors which allow us to organize unique and creative events like this that get people talking about La Grange and what we offer,” said Charlene Vickery, the art exhibit chairperson. “Our sponsors are investing in the financial future of the village,” she said, “because their efforts help put customers into stores and patrons into restaurants.”

The LGBA is a consortium of small businesses, services and non-profit organizations that strive to energize and enhance the local business climate through marketing initiatives, events, networking and advocacy.