Marion, Iowa © Tasha Sams
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Kendall Whittier — Tulsa, Oklahoma © Kendall Whittier Main Street
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Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity for Main Street’s to show their love for downtown businesses. We have collected examples of interesting and creative Valentine’s Day initiatives from around the country that are engaging communities, increasing foot traffic, and encouraging people to shop downtown this month.
Valdosta Main Street is promoting local businesses through their “Love Downtown Valdosta” marketing campaign. Valdosta residents can participate by visiting local downtown businesses, spending $25 or more, and then uploading their receipt through this page on Valdosta Main Street’s website. This will enter them into a drawing, and at the end of each week, Valdosta Main Street will draw a winner who will receive a $50 gift card for a local downtown business of their choice. They will also give a grand prize of $200 at the end of the month!
‘Fall in Love with Downtown’ this month with South Boston’s Passport to Downtown! With the purchase of a qualifying item from a participating downtown business, participants receive a passport. Subsequent purchases will earn stamps in the passport. Residents are encouraged to collect many stamps to show their love for downtown all month long. At the end of the month, Downtown South Boston will award a gift basket to a lucky winner!
Looking for a unique date activity on Valentine’s Day? The Downtown Scavenger Hunt takes participants across St. Johnsbury using a series of clues. “Over the course of about an hour, it creates a sense of exploration and adventure, and helps folks show off—or grow—their local knowledge. We love that this activity highlights the unique history, culture, and points of interest worth discovering in downtown St. Johnsbury,” said Discover St. Johnsbury Director Gillian Sewake. Download the list of clues to get started. Participants can submit their entries at the end to receive a free #ILoveSTJ sicker!
Laramie’s Main Street is helping residents share the love for each other while also supporting Laramie’s Main Street program through their Adore-a-gram program. Residents can order one of three types of deliveries that include a valentine, a rose, and chocolate truffles from local business The Chocolate Cellar. Adore-a-grams will be hand delivered by Main Street volunteers, and proceeds support the amazing work done by Laramie Main Street.
Have you ever wanted to write a love note to your favorite local business? Red Wing is celebrating Valentine’s Day by helping residents show their love for downtown businesses. People can submit ‘love notes’ showing their appreciation for a business, and Red Wing Downtown Main Street will display them on the windows at Mandy’s Coffee and Café. They will also hand deliver the notes to each business to make sure they really feel the love. Submit your note here >
Siloam Springs’ Conversation Heart Scavenger Hunt is a fun, family-friendly way to get out and explore downtown! Participants pick up their first conversation heart at local business Ability Tree Art Studio and scan the QR code with their smartphone. This kickstarts an exciting scavenger hunt that will carries participants down Broadway Street through a series of clues. Finishers are entered into a drawing to win a Valentines Gift bundle.
Shop local across Pennsylvania for the opportunity to win big! From flowers and chocolates to romantic dinners and other outings, Valentine’s Day creates many opportunities to shop local. Participants can post a picture of Pennsylvania downtown business purchase all month and tag @pa_downtown_center with the hashtag #noplacelikelocal for the change to win a $100 gift card.
Celebrate this Valentine’s Day on Main Street! Share your Main Street Valentine’s Day with us on social media using the hashtag #MainStreetLove and tag us on Instagram and Twitter @NatlMainStreet.
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.
From Maine to Texas and beyond, people gathered to bask in the the totality or peer through funky glasses at the Great American Solar Eclipse!
Erie, Pennsylvania © Dave Tamulonis
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.
This Washington Main Street is encouraging people to brave the rainy weather with their free umbrella share program.
Learn how Bainbridge Island Downtown Association leverages their connection to the ferry to create a walkable and vibrant downtown.
Bainbridge Island, WA © Anna Carson
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.
Laramie, WY © Laramie Main Street Alliance
Celebrate this traditional Mexican holiday with Gardnerville, Nevada.
Gardnerville, NV © Main Street Gardnerville
This holiday season, rally your communities around the small businesses that help make your downtown thrive.
Small Business Saturday is Nov. 25! Check out these five strategies to celebrate shopping small.
Learn how this community in Oklahoma celebrated Dia de la Independencia with a big festival.
Tulsa, OK © Kendall Whittier Main Street
Get ready to support your small business owners and encourage people to shop small this November!
Learn how the South Carolina Coordinator Program is uplifting small businesses across the state with their dedicated e-commerce platform.
© Main Street South Carolina
Learn how Majd Alsaif, Celeste Constancio, and Leilani Commons supported Main Street America this summer.
Check out this vibrant event celebrating small businesses and community joy in Massachusetts.
© Devon Moos Photography
Celebrate summer in Louisiana—Cajun style!
© Abbigail LaCombe
Learn how this Georgia town is recruiting their furry friends to help spread the word about Main Street.
© NewTown Macon
Learn how this Massachusetts community uses their farmer's market to increase access to fresh food.
This unique event brought new life to an old space while celebrating everything 90s.
© Downtown Little Rock Partnership
Are you in the path of totality? Check out these tips from Carbondale's experience in 2017.
Main Streets across the network are bringing science downtown. Check out these examples from Hendersonville, NC, Los Alamos, NM, and Sweetwater, TN.
© City of Hendersonville
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.
© City of Hendersonville
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.
Spring is a great time to do some spring cleaning and maintenance for your digital storefront: your website.
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!
Metuchen, NJ © Lauren Beischer Photography
Check out these marketing tips from Allied Member Tourism Currents.
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.
Kendallville, IN © Historic Downtown Kendallville
Learn how Main Street America partner Equiticity is fostering stronger community connections through their bike ride program.
Chicago, IL © Oscar Sanchez.
Rhe City of Conway, SC rebranded for the month of October as the City of Halloween. Check out this photo essay showing their month of spooky fun.
Conway, SC © Adam Emrick
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.
Oceanside, CA © Road West Photography
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.
Staunton, VA © Greg Beam
Emporia Main Street celebrated the return of their college students with their annual Welcome Back Student Block Party.
Emporia, KS © LatinFit
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.
Harrisonburg, VA © Downtown Harrisonburg Renaissance
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.
Learn how this exciting winter event leveraged a rail trail to bring communities together.
York, PA © Downtown Inc
Is your Main Street ready for the biggest small business shopping day of the year?
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.
Emporia, KS © Emporia Main Street
Interested in creating a StoryWalk in your downtown commercial district? Read on to learn more about installing a successful story walking trail.
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
Frederick, Maryland © Downtown Frederick Partnership
The Maine Downtown Center launched an interactive web portal aimed at attracting visitors through one-stop shopping and compelling content.
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.
The Ocean Springs Chamber Main Street gave their logo and branding a fresh look incorporating their 2013 Great American Main Street Award victory.
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.
Main Street Hanford hosted a special Lemoore Naval Air Station Appreciation Night at their weekly Thursday Night Market Place.
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.
Main Street Bartow's empty storefronts become pop-up art galleries to promote economic development.
