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 [...]

I want my M(ain Street)TV

When you think about it, Main Street is an easy sell. Supporting local merchants, caring for older buildings, and maintaining community character all have a feel-good quality; instinctively they’re the right things to do. And the community of volunteers and stakeholders who make it happen  sell it the best.  With inexpensive technology and free hosting [...]

Guest Blogger: Warrenton’s Charla L. Malone on Main Street’s ambush-style makeover

Today, we are obsessed with makeovers.  On television, everything is given a chance for dramatic overhaul, from houses and children’s behavior to 18-wheelers and, of course, the face. Wouldn’t it be great to harness that interest and use it to motivate more people to walk your Main Street? The Partnership for Old Town Warrenton did just that [...]

Putting events to work for your downtown district

Why do you do it? That festival takes months of planning. The parade risks being rained out. There are suddenly four previously un-calendared community events on the same weekend as the chili cook-off; the band shows up late; and the vendors haven’t brought enough change. Events can be a real headache. But you still put [...]

Staunton’s storefront art initiative

What happens when you team artists with local arts, culture and social organizations and task them with creating an innovative street gallery in vacant storefronts? On June 25, Staunton visitors and residents will find out, as a month-long exhibit opens in the empty windows along Beverley Street.  For a downtown braving a major construction project, [...]

South Boston puts on a show

The performing arts are at home on Main Streets throughout Virginia. Commissioned works on a regional theme premiere at Abingdon’s Barter Theatre.  Shakespearean tragedies move audiences at the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton. And audiences around the country tune in to watch bluegrass legends pick and sing on Song of the Mountains from the stage of Marion’s Lincoln Theatre.  South Boston’s Prizery has added to that list [...]

Cultivating an Entrepreneurial Downtown: Summer toolkit registration now open

Wouldn’t you like to have a downtown filled with energetic and forward thinking businesses? In today’s fast changing economy, success belongs to those nimble risk takers who understand that their job is to fill consumer demand; The Entrepreneurs.  Join the Virginia Main Street network of downtown revitalization professionals and volunteers in Franklin on July 22 and 23 [...]

The entrepreneur as community problem solver

Give an entrepreneur a challenge and let them rise to it.  That strategy is fueling two transportation efficiency efforts, and it may provide a much needed model for community problem-solving.  In one case, Oliver Kuttner, a Lynchburg entrepreneur, is responding to the fuel efficiency challenge made by Progressive Automotive’s X-Prize: to create a practical, safe car that can travel 100 miles on [...]

National Trust names new president

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which houses the National Trust Main Street Center, has named Stephanie Meeks as the organization’s eighth president.  Meeks replaces Richard Moe, who led the organization for the past 17 years before his retirement in late 2009. Meeks has an established track record leading large nonprofit organizations.  She served as president [...]

Virginia Preservation Toolkit, a green guide?

Historic preservation is gaining popular recognition as a “green” practice connected to broader sustainability goals.  After all, reuse of a historic building is fundamental recycling.  From a national perspective, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has created a Sustainability and Historic Preservation Web resource for homeowners, Main Street communities and preservation planners.   Now Virginia can [...]