Yet Another Reason To Spend Saturday in Middlesboro

Yesterday, I talked about the TourSEKY event at the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Take a Hike for Tourism and mentioned stopping by Shades of Brown Coffee Shop for something cool to drink. 

Well, now there is even more reason to stop by Shades of Brown this Saturday, August 29 from 6:00-8:00 p.m.  Shades of Brown will be hosting a book signing and introduction to Tim Cornett's new book, A History of Bell County.  Stop in to purchase a copy of the book and get it signed by the author himself, and enjoy a great dinner and something to drink!  I recommend a half sandwich and salad with a sweet tea. 

I know what I'll be doing this weekend, and I hope to see you there!

kassie 

Spend Saturday in Middlesboro!

Happy Monday Everyone! 

I know it's a little early to think about what you are doing next Saturday, but I wanted to fill everyone in on some great events that are happening in and around Middlesboro on the 29th.

The Middlesboro Farmers' Market is continuing its raffle for EBT and Debit card users and starts at 9:00 am.  It's a perfect pit stop in town before heading out to the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park for a TourSEKY event called Take a Hike for Tourism, that runs from 10:00-1:00.  The first 500 participants will get a free gift, water and a snack!  The weather looks like it will be gorgeous, so what a perfect time to spend the day outside at the park!

If you find yourself hungry after exploring the park, Shades of Brown Coffee Shop on Cumberland Avenue opens at 3:00 and has amazing new flatbread pizzas that I highly recommend.  It would be the perfect treat after a long hike!

So, stop wondering what this weekend will bring and plan on spending some time in downtown Middlesboro and the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park this Saturday, August 29th!  

Hope to see you there!

MBORO FARMERS' MARKET RAFFLE! WIN $50, 75$ OR $100

Use your Debit or EBT Card at the

Middlesboro Farmers' Market

through September 26th

and you could win

$50 $75 or $100!

*The Middlesboro Farmers’ Market is every Saturday from

9-1 at 2005 Cumberland Ave

*Anyone can enter once per week by using their ATM Debit or EBT card

 

*The drawing will take place at the Market on September 26

*Full contest rules available at the Farmers’ Market

Newly Updated Bell County Tourism Website

Happy Monday Everyone!

I just wanted to get the word out about the new website for Bell County Tourism.  It is at the same link http://mountaingateway.com/

This website is a great place to go if you are interested in what is going on in Bell County.  It has just about everything you want to know about the area!  

Discover Downtown Middlesboro is in the process of redoing our webpage.  I'm hoping that we have the new one up and ready by October.  This week should be another busy one!  Lots of work to be done about a meeting we are hosting in October for the South Eastern Kentucky Main Street Managers, and getting started on the Master Plan for downtown.  It's not hard to stay busy that's for sure!

Hope you get a chance to check out the new website!

kassie

Lots and Lots and Lots of Meetings

The past couple of weeks have been really busy for me, as there have been a  bunch of meetings to attend!  I attended my first South East Regional Main Street Meeting last week, and got to meet a lot of the Main Street Managers for other towns in the area.  We met in Harlan, Kentucky and toured the Court House which is undergoing some great renovations.  

Yesterday, I went to Lynch Kentucky for a First Frontier Corridor Meeting.  Judy, our Tourism Director and I went together.  We got to tour a new attraction in Lynch where you go into a mine (Portal 31) and view animatronics that share the history of mining and the area.  It was very interesting and educational!  

Last week was our monthly Discover Downtown Middlesboro Meeting and we got quite a bit done!  We unveiled the new logo and Josh, our chairman passed around a Chairman's Report that I will post as soon as I get a copy of it!  We also made plans to unveil a new website, and get a neighborhood plan together for the area.  I'll be working on both within the next month and hope to get something ready to present to the group by September.  We're also busy getting Fountain Square finished and we will be hosting the next South East Regional Meeting!  It's going to be a very excited fall!

I better go, I've got to get ready for a meeting on the Christmas Parade!

kassie

CHECK OUT THE NEW LOGO FOR DDM!

HERE'S THE NEW LOGO FOR DISCOVER DOWNTOWN MIDDLESBORO!  THANKS TO KEVIN SMITH FOR DESIGNING IT! 

Historic Banners Put up In Downtown Middlesboro

If you've driven down Cumberland Avenue in Middlesboro over the last week or so, you may have noticed a couple of new banners on the sides of some of the downtown buildings.  Three historic photographs representing Middlesboro's rich history are on display downtown.  Each one depicts something different: one is of an old Kroger cart in Middlesboro, one is of Middlesboro's founder Alexander Arthur and another is of his wife, Nellie Arthur.  

Each photo was picked for its representation of historic Middlesboro.  The photos are a result of a Paint the Town 2008 grant that was awarded to Bell County Tourism.  President of Bell County Tourism, Judy Barton applied for the grant, which came from TourSEKY.  Many thanks go to TourSEKY and Congressman Hal Rogers for supporting the project.   

Now is a great time to take a walk or drive down Cumberland Avenue to see the new banners!

President and CEO of Bell County Tourism, Judy Barton stands in front of one of the photographs being put up by Lester Signs. 

View of the photograph featuring Nellie Arthur on the side of the AD Campell Building at the intersection of 21st and Cumberland Avenue.

Alexander Arthur on the side of Jim and Mary's Flower shop.

Farmers' Market Tomorrow

Just thought I'd let everyone know that I will be working the booth at the Farmers' Market tomorrow.  We are still selling t-shirts for $10.00 each and accept both EBT and Debit Cards at the Market.  

Come by tomorrow between 9-1 at the Farmers' Market Lot on Cumberland Avenue!  

Have a great weekend, 

kassie

Downtown Concert and the Main Street Application

Thanks to everyone who came out to the concert on Tuesday night!  We had over 100 people there, the weather was beautiful and both choirs sounded great!  Here are a couple of pictures from the show.

Also, today, I will be sending out an application for Main Street Candidacy through the Kentucky Heritage Council.  If the application is accepted, Discover Downtown Middlesboro and the City of Middlesboro will have two years to apply to become a certified Main Street City.  This certification will make Middlesboro eligible for a number of different opportunities from networking and logistical support to grants along with many other things.  Kentucky, as a state, has been involved in the Main Street program for 30 years, and many towns and cities across the state have seen a great deal of improvement come to their downtowns because of it.  

Certified Main Street programs see very positive results from using the Main Street Four-Point Approach, which divides working on downtown revitalization into four categories.  They are: promotions, organization, economic restructuring, and design.  

Well, City Hall is about to close, so that's all for now, thanks again to all that came out to the concert last night!  

kassie

Free Concert on the City Parking Lot in Middlesboro!

There will be a free concert this Tuesday, June 23 at 7:00 p.m. at the City Hall Parking Lot in Middlesboro featuring the Trinity Baptist High School Youth Choir from Raleigh, North Carolina and the Tri-State Youth Choir from the surrounding area.  Mark your calendars and bring your lawn chairs, ALL ARE WELCOME!

Farmer's Market Kick-Off this Saturday!

This Saturday is the summer kick off to the Farmers' Market!  We are located on 2005 Cumberland Avenue and will be selling a little bit of everything from produce to crafts, jam to goat cheese.  The market is open from 9-1 and if you don't have cash, that's fine, we accept ebt cards and debit cards every Saturday!  We will also be open every Tuesday from 4-8, so if you are gone over the weekend, make sure to catch us then!  

The image below is the front to our new t-shirts that we will be selling for $10 each.  The t-shirts are green and have a Kentucky Proud logo on the back.  It's a great way to support the Farmers' Market and is a really fun t-shirt.  We only have 100 t-shirts so come to the market on Saturday to make sure you get one!  

Hope to see you there!

Finally Posting!

Well, the fountains are in and running, the Farmers' Market has already started, and it's about time I started blogging!  Today marks my fifth official Discover Downtown Middlesboro Meeting as the Main Street Manager, and I'm busy trying to get all of our online sources up and running.  Between a blog, photos, our website and facebook it's been a juggling act trying to get them all coordinated.  

I'm going to try and post on here a couple of times a week--photos, updates, what is going on downtown, and anything that happens to come across my desk!  Stay tuned for many exciting things to come for the summer but let me first take a moment to update you on some of the highlights over the last few months:

February kicked off work on the Fountain Square Project.  Four fountains have been installed, one on each corner of the intersection on 20th Street and Cumberland Avenue.  Soon to come will be benches and landscaping, making it a great place to sit and spend some time on the Avenue.  

We also put the finishing touches on the Farmers' Market area!  The stands have been painted black and new awnings have been put up on each of them.  Volunteers from the Key Club, Discover Downtown Middlesboro, and the Farmers' Market Committee all helped to renovate the area.  The Farmers' Market is located on 2005 Cumberland Avenue and will be open on Saturdays from 9:00am--1:00pm and Tuesdays from 4:00pm-7:00pm.

Three downtown buildings have received grants from TourSEKY to help with street front improvements.  The three buildings are Mikel's Pharmacy on 1928 Cumberland Avenue owned by Mikel and Vicki Byrne, the Middlesboro Pawn Shop building on 2021 Cumberland Avenue owned by George and Charlene Fisher, and the First Place Trophies building on 2121 Cumberland Avenue owned by John and Teresa Brown.  I can't wait to see what they are going to do to there buildings!  

Discover Downtown Middlesboro members and Middlesboro citizens 

at the TourSEKY luncheon on May 12, 2009.

That's it for now!  Of course much more has been happening and there will be a lot more to come so stay tuned and take some time today to Discover Downtown Middlesboro!