Volunteers provide a powerful economic benefit to communities across the nation. For downtown organizations, developing a professional team of volunteers for everything from serving on the board of directors, to updating the organization’s databases, to blowing up balloons can multiply the impact of paid staff. To run a successful volunteer program, the Michigan Main Street…To read more — login/subscribe
A unique public art project is raising funds and drawing visitors to West Point, MS. Four separate murals have been painted based on the work of Cassius Marcellus Coolidge, whose paintings of dogs in human situations, were popular in the early 1900s. The first of the four murals re-imagines the iconic Dogs Playing Poker. It…To read more — login/subscribe
On the Friday before Halloween, Downtown Campbell, CA, is taken over by the undead as the annual Zombie Crawl/Thriller Dance Mob hits the streets. The Zombie Crawl runs from roughly 7 to 10 p.m. The group wanders through downtown and performs the Thriller dance at 10 designated spots, typically in front of restaurants and bars.…To read more — login/subscribe
Toronto’s Open Streets program has drawn hundreds of thousands of people in recent years. In the final Open Streets event of 2019, the city closed two main thoroughfares to vehicles. In place of cars, drag queens offered face painting and organizers set up a skate park and a scooter park. Toronto isn’t alone in occasionally…To read more — login/subscribe
The Downtown Lincoln Association started the holiday shopping season early with the 12th Annual Shop the Blocks promotion on Thursday, November 21 from 4:30 to 9:30 a.m. Shop the Blocks is a ticketed event. Guests pay $7 in advance or $10 on the day of the event. An “all access pass” includes: In-store discounts at…To read more — login/subscribe
In Tucson, AZ (est. pop. 545,987), and Boston, shared kitchens have attracted dozens of entrepreneurs who run catering businesses and food trucks. The concept is taking off nationally, in big cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta and smaller cities like Shreveport, LA, Harrison, MI, and Loveland, CO, where community kitchens act as incubators…To read more — login/subscribe
In an effort to bring shoppers downtown and compete with nearby areas, a Canadian improvement district dusted off a classic downtown retail promotion and added some aggressive marketing techniques. The Glebe Spree, hosted by the Glebe Business Improvement Area (BIA) of Ottawa, ON, Canada, is a program that runs from November 15 through December 31.…To read more — login/subscribe
Little Estes Park, CO (est. pop. 6,248), sees far more vehicle traffic than most towns its size. As a gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park gets 4.5 million visitors a year, most of them crammed into a tourist season from mid-May through October. “We have such intense traffic congestion,” says Vanessa Solesbee, parking…To read more — login/subscribe
St. Paul, MN (est. pop. 306,604), has long faced perceptions that its downtown is unsafe. The St. Paul Downtown Alliance has made strides on that front with an inexpensive makeover of downtown trash bins. St. Paul’s sidewalks are lined with decades-old concrete containers. Over the years, the garbage receptacles have been covered with graffiti. The…To read more — login/subscribe
