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!