Culpeper, Virginia just received some good press after it unleashed its new shop local campaign, Be a Culpeper Local. The campaign combines educating the nearly 50,000 Culpeper County residents on the value of buying locally with a website, beaculpeperlocal.com that directs visitors to local shopping and dining options, specials, and a way to track how much … More Be a Culpeper Local
One of Virginia Main Street’s most prized relationships is the one we have with Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC). We often plan our strategies to complement theirs and they often ask us what’s going on downtown that they can use to better market Virginia. They believe in Virginia’s historic commercial districts as tourist attractions to the … More Virginia Tourism is way ahead of the pack…again.
Is your economic restructuring committee effective? Challenges like recruiting businesses and interpreting expensive and technical market studies discourage eager volunteers. There’s no immediate result after hours of meetings and planning. Pressure to see results from business owners, local government and the community compounds the frustration. It’s easy for this committee, in particular, to go inactive. Main Street organizations all over America … More Designing a Marketplace
On Sep. 22 and 23, Advance Abingdon hosted 70 downtown revitalization professionals and volunteers from across Virginia for a training and knowledge share of best practices in the organization and promotion of downtown revitalization efforts. National Trust Main Street Center Senior Program Officer Kathy LaPlante, a nationally recognized expert on community based downtown revitalization, presented … More Downtown leaders cover Main Street Essentials at Abingdon training
As the television show’s narrator said, “There are eight million stories in The Naked City.” So your downtown district must be good for at least 50, right? Consider the history of your buildings, the successes of your emerging entrepreneurs, and the transitions you’ve seen firsthand in the last decade. You have stories that can inspire action … More Telling your revitalization story
We’re approaching fall in Virginia. That means crisp air and crisper apples, rotund pumpkins and autumnal spices, bluegrass and blues, vintage cars and vantage locations for the display of changing leaves. It means festivals. The 21 designated Main Street communities and some of our more active affiliates are setting out the hay bales and sweeping the streets to … More Where will you get your festival on?
If you want to lure residents downtown, you’ve got to have basic amenities, like access to groceries and green spaces. Those green spaces are important, because as, one luxury apartment developer in Roanoke discovered, if folks move downtown, they’ll bring their pets with them. With at least one dog in every new condo of this particular building, the … More Dog Park Powers Public Art
Virginia Main Street blog readers logged on in record number to select their favorite Main Street eateries. In just over a month nearly 59,000 votes were cast for one of 25 restaurants. Nearly half of the votes were for South Boston’s BISTRO 1888. And it’s a worthy top choice. The Bistro demonstrates what first-class food and downtown … More Virginia Main Street foodies pick their favorites
A Sunday travel piece in the Knoxville News Sentinel this weekend presented readers with all they need to know for a weekend trip to Abingdon, Virginia’s historic district. The article included an itenerary of things to see on a self-guided tour (brochure available at the visitor’s center), including a run-down of retail, restaurant, and lodging busineesses in this Virginia Main Street (VMS) … More Essential trip planning: Abingdon, Virginia
Frequently older community members will talk in downtown meetings about what it was like when foot traffic was shoulder to shoulder, and when everyone went to Main Street to go to the movies. Soon one might hear a young voice from the back of the room say, “What do you mean went to the the movies? Why didn’t they just … More Main Street across the generations
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