How would your Main Street organization celebrate years of making downtown a social and investment hub?

As a kick-off to their 20-year anniversary, the Staunton Downtown Development Association (SDDA) hosted “Staunton Stories,” a one-day event to celebrate and document the people that make downtown Staunton a dynamic and diverse community. The event was held at the R. R. Smith Center in March and received almost 70 stories and items of memorabilia. During the event, local residents and business owners were invited to bring up to three original photos or hand-held items that told the story of their connection to Staunton.

The stories, images, and videos collected at the event have become part of the upcoming exhibit and an online archive housed on the SDDA website. “The Staunton Stories Exhibit” is being organized in partnership with the Historic Staunton Foundation, NBC Channel 29, Virginia Eagle Distributors, the Artisan Loft, Flying Warthogs Film and the city of Staunton’s IT Department, with a grand opening that happened on Friday, June 17.

“It is an honor to be part of the 20-year anniversary of SDDA and to honor those people and organizations that make this community thrive,” says Julie Markowitz, director of the Staunton Downtown Development Association. “Everyone is invited to come and celebrate with us at the Artisan Loft, a new gallery space located above the Staunton Antiques Center at 19.”

The Staunton Stories Exhibit is partially funded by a Downtown Investment Grant awarded by Virginia Main Street and is part of a series of activities and special promotions that not only commemorate the 20-year anniversary of SDDA, but are designed to connect the Staunton community to downtown.