We work in collaboration with thousands of local partners and grassroots leaders across the nation who share our commitment to advancing shared prosperity, creating resilient economies, and improving quality of life.
Made up of small towns, mid-sized communities, and urban commercial districts, the thousands of organizations, individuals, volunteers, and local leaders that make up Main Street America™ represent the broad diversity that makes this country so unique.
Looking for strategies and tools to support you in your work? Delve into the Main Street Resource Center and explore a wide range of resources including our extensive Knowledge Hub, professional development opportunities, field service offerings, advocacy support, and more!
Join us in our work to advance shared prosperity, create strong economies, and improve quality of life in downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.
Staunton Stories is a collaboration between the Staunton Downtown Development Association (SDDA) and 106.3 WQSV. During the program, SDDA Executive Director Greg A. Beam interviews a local business owner or community member. These are the voices of the folks who contribute to Staunton’s vibrant and unique downtown community. Listeners enjoy hearing the stories, strategies of these individuals and their goals for the future. Ben Leonard, WQSV station manager records and edits the conversations to air for the station.
When I stepped into the role of executive director for the Staunton Downtown Development Association in 2019, I wanted to find ways to showcase what makes Staunton so special — the people behind the scenes. I had been kicking around the idea to host a pod-cast or casual type of radio show that would shed the spotlight on Staunton's business and nonprofit community. I have limited knowledge of podcasting, so I reached out to Staunton's independent radio station WQSV's Ben Leonard to see how to make something like that possible. Ben was open to the idea of WQSV partnering with the SDDA.
Each guest has been interesting. Some are, by nature more serious, others more playful and witty. It’s always interesting to see where the conversation goes and what folks chose to share during the hour. Upcoming guests include Mr. John Metheny, owner/operator of Nu-Beginning Farm Store, Ms. AnhThu Nguyen, Executive Director (and founding member) of the Shenandoah LGBTQ Center and Staunton Pride festival, and Mr. Jeremy West, owner/director of Silver Line Theater.
If you are interested in sharing out stories from your downtown, we recommend you reach out to your local radio station and/or folks that know how to create podcasts. Partner with the people, organizations or businesses in your downtown. The process should be about working together to tell the stories of your downtown and community.
Staunton Stories helps us continue to promote, highlight and celebrate the people who live, work and play in our downtown. We’re not the only community that has an old train station, businesses that sell ice cream, tacos or antiques. It’s the people behind all of those businesses, behind all those logos, graphics and beautiful buildings that makes Staunton special. Staunton Stories is a way to get to know those wonderful, hardworking and dedicated people. Staunton Stories has helped us to share our belief that “downtown is home.”
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.
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.
Last year, Main Street Selma created the Jeffrey the Ghost Project to honor the late Kathryn Tucker Windham, a celebrated author, folklorist, and Selma resident.
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.