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.
Main Spotlight: Engaging with Science on Main Street
Main Takeaways
Using science in your Main Street programming can create unique experiences that build curiosity, discovery, and wonder among visitors and residents.
Engaging with science is a way to bring communities together, especially when the concepts of science are emphasized as being both locally alive and universal in scope.
Science-related events won't (and shouldn't) look the same in every community -- they're most successful when communities design them around their unique geographical and cultural traits.
Science is not just a static pile of facts and knowledge, it's the human experience of curiosity, discovery, and wonder. It is a way of telling stories and creating interactive experiences that connect us to the natural world and to each other. Most importantly, science isn't just for students or highly credentialed people working within institutions of power, it's for everyone! When you take this broader view, it opens a world of possibilities for how science and Main Street might connect.
We hope these stories spark some ideas as you as you consider integrating science into your events and activities.
Sweetwater, Tennessee | Totality in the Valley
On a late summer day in 2017, Sweetwater, Tennessee, a small city of 6,000 people, hosted an estimated 50,000 people from at least 36 countries and all 50 states – all for an event that lasted 2 minutes and 37 seconds. Why? Sweetwater was in the path of totality for the total solar eclipse that passed across the U.S. in August 2017.
To make the most of this rare celestial event, Sweetwater Main Street focused on putting together a strong marketing campaign to attract visitors, creating a visual identity through a special logo, hashtag, and mottos. In addition to reaching out outside of their home community, Sweetwater also focused on educating their residents to get them excited about the fascinating time. For example, they worked with their local library to align their summer reading program around a space theme and to create DIY viewfinders, and worked with a local art teacher to host a summer camp for children in which they painted an eclipse-themed mural that visitors later stood in line for hours to take a photo in front of! They also worked with schools, community organizations, colleges, and universities to create educational projects leading up to the big day.
Hendersonville, North Carolina | The Desire for a Different Earth Day... Downtown
Hendersonville, North Carolina, is located in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a geography rich with waterfalls, greenways, farmlands, and beautiful hiking trails. To the residents of Hendersonville, the environment surrounding their community is a significant piece of their identity. So last year, a group of passionate community members worked together to create the first ever Earth Day Festival in an attempt to properly honor the environment around them that they so deeply love and respect. The environment is what their makes community whole.
In the past, Earth Day in Hendersonville had been observed primarily with park trash pick-ups. During the first-ever Earth Day Festival, the Hendersonville Main Street district hosted over 2,500 visitors to join in interactive activities, meet with local scientists and environmental sustainability groups, witness live demonstrations, and more.
Los Alamos, New Mexico | Using Scientific Significance to Instill Community Pride
Los Alamos, New Mexico, holds a prominent place in the world of scientific history as the birthplace of the atomic bomb during World War II. Through this scientific heritage, the annual Los Alamos ScienceFest has emerged as a catalyst for the revitalization of the downtown commercial district. The annual ScienceFest is a celebration of science, innovation, and community that not only attracts visitors from far and wide, but also plays a significant role in preserving and reviving the historic charm of town.
The festival has become a source of immense community pride and has spurred significant economic development since its founding. The festival includes guided tours of historic sites, presentations by and about renowned scientists, science-themed art exhibits, lectures and workshops, and much more. But the Los Alamos ScienceFest goes beyond being a celebration of science, it is also a platform for promoting preservation-based development. Recognizing the importance of preserving the town's historical architecture and character, the festival actively supports initiatives that focus on the history of the town. Simple measures like renaming their sponsorship tiers after famous local scientists, and significant partnerships like collaborating with the Historical Society, contribute to preserving the town’s unique identity.
Learn more about how to create science-engagement programming on your Main Street:
Do you already manage a science-related event? Join the Science Festival Alliance to network with other event organizers and receive tools, resources, and education.
Find examples of integrating science into existing celebrations through Science In Vivo.
Explore stories and examples about various ways to connect science and culture through Science Sandbox, a program of the Simons Foundation.
SnowShoe, a Main Street America Allied Member, is this quarter's Main Spotlight advertiser. For more information about what they do to support Main Street organizations, click here >
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.
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.