downtown development Our aim to bring people downtown who wouldn’t otherwise work or live there is achieved through the numerous seasonal activities, including the vital Downtown Farmer’s Market, and annual events. Downtown Events Group, created in 2004 to develop and grow premier annual downtown events, grabbed the spotlight not only by producing the nation’s third best Arts Festival (as ranked by working artists in ArtFair SourceBook), but also by creating a nationally recognized signature event: The Wells Fargo World Food Festival, held in October in conjunction with the World Food Prize. The downtown safe, clean and beautiful program celebrated many successes this year including the addition of vehicular way finding signs guiding visitors to cultural attractions. Many new beautification projects were also launched this year, bringing praise from residents and visitors alike. The Transportation Management Association’s “Rest Your Car”commuter reward program was launched in 2005 and enticed over 1600 to enroll in the program. This reduced the stress on our roadways by over 173,000 vehicle miles. Promotion and marketing of downtown reached a new level in 2005. Over 1,000 people now subscribe to the knowdowntown newsletter, which launched in August, and a rapidly growing number of unique visitors visit www.knowdowntown.com to check the calendar, read about downtown housing and general development, events and other relevant information. |
number of people that attended Downtown Events Group events
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