Our hearts are deeply connected to our communities, so we want to be part of the decisions that impact our community’s future. They can affect our quality of life, job opportunities, public health and most of all, our families. But, how do we become part of that decision making, a real participant that impacts direction? … More Create a Stronger, More Cohesive Community
Why should an entrepreneur choose your downtown for a new location? Selling your community to prospective entrepreneurs is challenging without the information they need to make location decisions. Throughout the last few years, Kansas’ Emporia Main Street refined an attractive and easily updateable business investment guide to help make the choice that much easier. The guide sells … More Make Your Downtown an Easy Target for New Business
When we talk about entrepreneurship, so often artists can be left out of the conversation. The Staunton Creative Community Fund (Staunton Fund) has been examining entrepreneurship through the lens of artists. Wrapping up the spring with a Bach n’ Roll Roundtable, the Staunton Fund brought together stakeholders to talk about needs and ideas for growing … More Give your local artists the business tools for success
How can your local Main Street program better use limited resources to create vibrant, people-centered places? The Main Street Approach has been a successful model for older commercial district revitalization for more than 35 years and is used to revitalize and manage downtowns in more than 2,000 communities across the U.S. The Four Point approach offers … More Three Steps to Refresh Your Main Street Strategies for Visible Results
Is your downtown ready for new businesses and residential investment? In order to meet new challenges and ensure a strong Main Street, communities need ongoing training. Whether the community is just getting started with Main Street activities or well-seasoned in managing a prosperous commercial district, staff and volunteers need different skills in different phases of … More Three Upcoming Opportunities to Rev up Your Downtown Revitalization Efforts
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 … More Staunton Has a Story to Tell: Celebrating 20 years of Main Street
Beginning May 23-25, Virginia Main Street (VMS) staff and more than 25 staff and volunteers from the VMS designated communities are in downtown Milwaukee for Main Street Now, the National Main Street Center conference. Main Street Now is the largest nationwide gathering of commercial district revitalization professionals and community leaders in the nation. This year, the conference will bring together more … More Hello from Milwaukee: Main Street Now Conference this week
Who was that charming lady on the Google search page? Wednesday, May 4, 2016, marked 100 years since the birth of Jane Jacobs. Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) was an urban writer and activist who championed new, community-based approaches to planning for more than 40 years. She loved cities and, while she never studied urban planning, Jacobs considered … More Community-based Inspiration: Jane Jacobs’ 100th Birthday
Who knew you could support your local businesses from the luxury of your own couch? Don’t let that stop you from shopping in person in one of America’s most charming towns. Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia has been named ShopOnMain’s most “Charming Town” in America and will now be featured in an upcoming episode of the TV series “Small … More Seek the Unique and shop Downtown Bristol!
Virginia Main Street 