Vote for the top 25 Virginia Main Street “Downtown Dining Destinations”

The Virginia Main Street staff does a lot of travelling each year and that travel can be hard on the stomach.  Luckily, we know that when we arrive, the local hospitality of our destination Main Street communities will be evident, and the top rate dining choices will be numerous. While having an office day, we … More Vote for the top 25 Virginia Main Street “Downtown Dining Destinations”

Virginia Main Street Downtown Improvement Grants awarded

Seven designated Virginia Main Street (VMS) communities have been awarded VMS Downtown Improvement Grants in a special initiative marking the program’s 25th anniversary. Successful proposals in the competitive process demonstrated:  Measurable impacts or deliverables; Committee or volunteer project leadership/involvement; Partnerships and resource leveraging; Local government involvement or support; Up-to-date program reporting; and The ability to complete the … More Virginia Main Street Downtown Improvement Grants awarded

How to attract Gen “Y”

Those of you who made it to the “Livable Downtowns” training held in Harrisonburg a couple of weeks ago know that just building upper story housing or rehabbing an old warehouse into loft apartments is not quite enough to get people living downtown.  It is important to have the amenities people need (dry cleaning, corner … More How to attract Gen “Y”

Report from the Main Street 2.0 conference

While the Virginia Main Street staff was unable to travel to Chicago for the 2009 National Main Streets Conference, Becoming Main Street 2.0, Jessie Chase from Harrisonburg was able to attend and reported back that it was fun, interesting and worthwhile. We returned from the Chicago National Main Street conference on Wednesday evening tired and … More Report from the Main Street 2.0 conference

New media

Question: What took 89 years for the telephone; 38 years for the television; and 14 years for the cell phone?  The answer? How long it took for each of these communication devices to be adopted by 150 million users. In only five years Facebook has attracted more than 175 millon users – and it’s not … More New media