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Community Spotlight: Main Street Selma’s Jeffrey the Ghost Project
Last year, Main Street Selma created the Jeffrey the GhostProject to honor the late Kathryn Tucker Windham, a celebrated author, folklorist, and Selma resident. Inspired by Windham’s beloved 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey, Main Street Selma commissioned world-renowned folk artist Charlie "Tin Man" Lucas to create a sculpture of Jeffrey the Ghost. Lucas built a two-sided piece from Windham’s old washing machine, using the white exterior of the washer to evoke a white-sheeted ghost, and the metal inside to create an abstract ghost.
Throughout October 2016, Main Street Selma "haunted" downtown with Jeffrey, giving life to the ghost at different shops and destinations around downtown. The community was asked to search for Jeffrey, find him, take a picture with him, and post the picture to social media using the hashtags #Jeffreytheghost, #downtownSelma, and #AlwaysHome. Everyone who posted on social media were put into a drawing to win a basket full of prizes from several downtown merchants, and at the end of the month Main Street Selma hosted a Halloween party and announced the winner.
Jeffrey now sits on a pedestal build for him next to the Selma Welcome Center!
The Jeffrey the Ghost Project is a result of Main Street Alabama's participation in the Cultivating Place in Main Street Communities workshop. Thank you to Main Street Alabama and Main Street Selma for sharing this story!
At Fort Vancouver in Vancouver, Washington, Native Hawaiians played a critical role in the success of the Hudson Bay Company. Today, Vancouver’s Hawaiian history and heritage plays a crucial role in efforts to reenergize the city’s historic downtown.
Whether you're preparing your community for a surge of visitors, traveling as a visitor yourself, or looking for a glimpse from outside the path, there are many opportunities to be experience this unique event.
Learn how the Little Five Points neighborhood of Atlanta uses this unique mural program to celebrate Valentine's Day and raise important funding for their work.
Small Business Saturday is an important opportunity to show your support for local businesses. We asked business owners across the network what your support means to them.
Learn how Main Street leaders and residents in Los Alamos, New Mexico have used the town's fascinating history to create a hugely successful week-long ScienceFest, going 16 years strong and counting.
Learn how Hendersonville, North Carolina launched their first annual Earth Day Festival to celebrate their local environment and educate residents about ways to get involved with regional environmental sustainability efforts.
Jessica Morgan and Hayley Isbill from the City of Sweetwater (Sweetwater, Tenn.) explain how they prepared their community for the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse and give useful tips and tricks for those who are preparing for the next eclipse coming in April 2024.
Meet Kavi, the first Indian American Girl of the Year doll and a (fictional) resident of 2023 Great American Main Street Award winner Metuchen, New Jersey!
From the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers in Paducah, Kentucky, to the tasty cakes and sweet treats of Kendallville, Indiana, these Main Streets are the perfect places to show your love for all things local.
From social media scavenger hunts to downtown passports, the Main Street network has used countless innovative ways to encourage their communities to Shop Small®—and had plenty of fun doing it.
Staunton, VA is full of fascinating people, so when Greg Beam took over Staunton Downtown Development Association SDDA in 2019, he wanted to find a way to showcase them.
Learn about Friendly City Fortune, Downtown Harrisonburg Renaissance's largest annual fundraiser. It provides flexible revenue for a variety of projects including art installations, façade enhancements, and small business support services.
As a social impact funder, the Levitt Foundation partners with changemakers nationwide to create those destinations, leveraging the power of free, live music to amplify local pride, inject joy into underused public spaces, and foster more equitable, healthy and thriving communities.
We challenged our Main Streets to tell us their downtown’s strange sightings, haunted buildings, or other paranormal activities for a chance to be named a 2021 Great American Haunted Main Street.
Main Street America hosted our first-ever Instagram Stories Takeover, giving six Main Street organizations from around the Network direct access to our Instagram account.
Love Letters for Local is a new initiative that encourages community members to write letters of appreciation and support to small businesses as they persevere into the new year
Promotion positions the downtown or commercial district as the center
of the community and hub of economic activity, while creating a positive image
that showcases a community’s unique characteristics.
Too often, as we’re strolling our favorite Main Street, we pass empty or dark shop windows that make us want to hurry home a little bit faster. Imagine instead, a charming streetscape adorned with vibrant, lively window displays, showcasing retailers’ favorite products and seasonal gift ideas.
From authentic comfort food to farm-to-fork fresh and everything in between, these restaurants, bars, and cafes are key to the thriving social, business, and residential life in the historic commercial districts in Main Street Iowa communities.
Located in southeast Kansas, Independence (pop.8,799) is home to Fab Lab ICC, which is on track to be the world’s leading innovator in combining entrepreneurial mindset education with a fab lab maker space.
What if someone asked us for some quick marketing ideas that any Main Street town could use for more visibility, especially online? Here is what we’d say.
Oklahoma's Main Street Guymon Director Melyn Johnson found more than just an innovative way to engage nearby college students in Main Street activities.
Carbondale Main Street, established 1989, is located at a “sweet spot” for watching the total solar eclipse on Monday, August 21—it’s just a few miles north of the point of greatest duration within the path of totality
Fritz the dog has made his way into the hearts of the residents of LaBelle, Florida, and helped our Main Street Community find a way to make what we do more noticeable.
The Easton Main Street Initiative, established just a decade ago and serving the riverside city of Easton, Pennsylvania, decided it was time to give ourselves a pat on the back.