Main Street efforts are already bringing together economic, social and environmental goals in pursuit of fostering quality in their communities. To push it a step futher, 70 participants gathered in Staunton in July for two days of conversation on and the examination of sustainability models in Virginia. Speakers included Andrea Dono of the National Trust for … More Sustainable Main Street resources available
Virginia Main Street’s Downtown Improvement Grant provided Martinsville Uptown Revitalization Association (MURA) an opportunity to roll out a long-planned district awareness and shop local campaign. The effort, broadly dubbed “This is Uptown,” includes a number of strategies, such as a loyalty card offering discounts with merchants across the district. The free cards are limited to 500, 350 of which … More Uptown Martinsville’s Downtown Improvement Grant at work
Buy Local: Build Community, the Spring 2011 Virginia Main Street Monitor focuses on maximizing your return on a buy local campaign. Of course as far as campaign results, we think first of dollars spent in a downtown district, but you can also achieve outcomes in terms of community strength, leadership, and connectivity. And for a community benefit nonprofit … More Buy Local: Build Community. Monitor technical brief now available
When people shop locally, they know they are helping to support their community and the shop owners who live there. At Warrenton’s Latitudes Fair Trade, shoppers know they are supporting not only a local business, but also artisans from developing countries around the world. Latitudes buys handcrafted items from overseas either directly or through a … More Guest Blogger: Jennifer Heyns on Warrenton’s Emerging Latitudes
On March 31, 2011, community leaders from the 21 Designated Virginia Main Street Communities met to celebrate achievements built over the course of their efforts. The crowd of 95 gathered for the Milestone Achievement Awards luncheon and ceremony at Richmond’s historic Jefferson Hotel. At the ceremony, Mary Rae Carter, Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade for Rural Development congratulated the communities … More Congratulations Milestone Achievement Award Recipients!
When people proudly shop locally, they do so to support their neighbors and fellow community members–those working to earn a living, create a job or two, and invest in the district. It makes sense then that highlighting people behind the business can strengthen the the link between merchants and their customers. That is exactly the point of one of … More Advance Abingdon gets up close and personal with merchants
The Yellow Button, a clothing boutique for the fashionable in the heart of Harrisonburg, knows its cutomer. Students and professionals in the Shendandoah Valley don’t want to give up access to quality clothes and accessories just because they’re not in a major urban area. In fact, this 2009 photo shoot, which uses Harrisonburg’s downtown streets as … More Main Street Merchant Profile: The Yellow Button
All along Main Street, changing technology is shifting buying patterns. Some projections put online spending at half of all retail spending by 2015, and smartphone applications like ShopSavvy allow for instore price comparisons against competitors. The challenge is to work with the technology where you can to increase sales while still maintaining the commitment to place-based strategies and … More New Google ebookstore a tool for local independents
Floyd, Virginia is a small rural town located along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It has a reputation as an artistic community with a rich sense of place. Maintaining its unique character and scale while fostering a vibrant downtown requires foresight, planning and creative community development. Recently, four Virginia Tech students embarked on a project to help develop and attract new sustainable … More Virginia Tech Students Help Green Businesses Emerge in Floyd
Merchants make the Main Street, and Lynchburg’s Accents Flags and Gifts proves the point. Deborah Fears Keeling, owner of the 21-year old business, has been involved in Lynch’s Landing, the city’s Main Street organization, for seven years. But this year, she says, the events and cooperative marketing strategies have really taken off. In January, Lynch’s … More Main Street Merchant Profile: Lynchburg’s Accents Flags and Gifts
Virginia Main Street 