June is for vacations, weddings and celebrating Homeownership Month! And celebrate we will, with three events in Petersburg supporting home buying, homeowners, and housing production.   Virginia Homeownership Program Lunch & Learn | June 7 This event will focus on making homebuying accessible, featuring speakers and organizations discussing grants and other assistance programs available to those … More Celebrating Homeownership Month in Petersburg!

During the month of May, the Virginia Main Street (VMS) team published eight blog posts, highlighting the latest community vitality-related news, events and more! Here’s a recap: Recognizing National Small Business Month Even though National Small Business Month has ended, your local Main Street program should still work to support entrepreneurs and small businesses. Click here to … More In Case You Missed It: May 2023 Digest

Public art is a key component in creative placemaking. It’s a no brainer really: enhancing your environment increases residential and tourist footfall, which, in turn, improves local economies. Leveraging public art for placemaking is a visible symbol of renewal, fostering civic pride, and creating a strong community identity to attract investors, tourists and workers. Here … More Public Art and Creative Placemaking

As part of an ongoing streetscape improvement project on Piccadilly Street, the City of Winchester has turned street parking spaces into parklets designed by local artists. Arte Libre VA, a local nonprofit that works to empower Latinx, Black, and Youth of Color through equitable access to quality arts education and programming, was a major partner … More Winchester Adds Art to Its Streets

Seeking to develop stronger connections between Farmville’s historic commercial district and anchoring educational institutions, particularly Longwood University (LU), Farmville Downtown Partnership (FDP) partnered with students from Dr. Alec Hosterman’s COMM 430 – Public Relations Campaigns class, which is the capstone course for public relations students, to create project-based work plans that help the organization friend-raise … More Longwood University Students Help Farmville’s Local Main Street Program Strengthen Fundraising Efforts, Build Community and Promote Downtown

Thriving communities work daily to attract, grow, and support small businesses. Not only do small businesses bring in additional revenue and jobs for residents, they give their community a unique character and sense of place. May is recognized as Business Appreciation Month, and in honor of small businesses across the Commonwealth, we are featuring three … More Business Appreciation Month: CBL Small Business Feature

Since 1973, when Historic Preservation Month (well, a week at the time) was signed into law by former President Richard Nixon, civic leaders, historians, and community members have taken the month of May as an opportunity to celebrate and educate our nation on its historic assets. Historic preservation is an essential facet of the work we … More May is Historic Preservation Month

The Local Initiative Support Coalition (LISC) recently created the Black Restaurant Fund, made possible by a donation from Uber, to invest in the growth of Black-owned restaurants and food service businesses with an equity-like investment program. Interested business owners can learn more about the program here and submit an intake form to determine eligibility. What … More LISC Black Restaurant Fund

Over the past decade, entrepreneurship has played a bigger and bigger role in the practice of Main Street at the national, state, and (hopefully) local levels. Main Street America (MSA) has done extensive research to develop resources to guide local efforts on building healthy Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, and Virginia Main Street (VMS) created and spun off the Community Business Launch (CBL) program that … More Vital Activities for Your Economic Vitality Committee

During the month of April, the Virginia Main Street (VMS) team published seven blog posts, highlighting the latest community vitality-related news, events and more! Here’s a recap: VMS Community News: The Town of Crewe has become an Exploring Main Street (EMS) community and formally joined the powerful, grassroots VMS network. Click here to learn more! On March 27, 2023, Main Street America (MSA) announced … More In Case You Missed It: April 2023