FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact
Downtown North Wilkesboro Partnership
Taylor Gann, Executive Director
336-667-7129 ext. 3021 | [email protected]
DOWNTOWN NORTH WILKESBORO PARTNERSHIP, INC.
RECOGNIZED AS 2022 MAIN STREET AMERICA AFFILIATE
North Wilkesboro, NC (May 2023) – The Downtown North Wilkesboro Partnership has been designated as an Affiliate Main Street America™ program for meeting rigorous performance standards. Each year, Main Street America and its partners announce the list of Affiliate programs to recognize their commitment to create meaningful improvements to their downtowns using preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street Approach™.
“We are very proud to acknowledge this year’s 412 Affiliate Main Street America programs, and their steadfast dedication to nurture economically and culturally vibrant downtown districts,” said Hannah White, Interim President & CEO of Main Street America. “The increase in the size and impact of our network speaks volumes to the power of the Main Street movement to respond to the needs of local communities and drive innovative solutions.”
In 2022, Main Street America programs generated $6.2 billion in local reinvestment, helped open 7,657 net new businesses, facilitated the creation of 29,174 net new jobs, catalyzed the rehabilitation of 10,688 historic buildings, and leveraged 1,528,535 volunteer hours. On average, for every dollar that a Main Street program spent to support their operations, it generated $24.07 of new investment back into their downtown communities.
Collectively, 2 million people live or work within the boundaries of designated Main Street America districts. An estimated workforce of 1.1 million people contribute their skills and expertise to advancing the missions of these historic downtowns and commercial corridors.
The Downtown North Wilkesboro Partnership’s performance is annually evaluated by the NC Main Street & Rural Planning Center, which works in partnership with Main Street America to identify the local programs that are committed to comprehensive, place-based revitalization efforts and achieving meaningful community outcomes.
ABOUT DOWNTOWN NORTH WILKESBORO PARTNERSHIP
Downtown North Wilkesboro Partnership, Inc. is a non-profit Main Street community organization dedicated to promoting the historic preservation, protection, culture, and use of North Wilkesboro's traditional downtown district. Since 2001, the Downtown North Wilkesboro Partnership, a 501(c)(3), has been a N.C. Main Street affiliated organization focused on economic development through rehabilitation of our historic downtown district. Other focuses include developing, promoting, managing, and enhancing the quality of life and commerce in Downtown North Wilkesboro and, thereby, in the county and surrounding area. It receives funds through a significant grant from the Town of North Wilkesboro, other grants and donations, and fundraising projects. Learn more about the DNWP at www.downtownnorthwilkesboro.com.
ABOUT MAIN STREET AMERICA
Main Street America leads a movement committed to strengthening communities through preservation-based economic development in older and historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. For more than 40 years, Main Street America has provided a practical, adaptable, and impactful framework for community-driven, comprehensive revitalization through the Main Street Approach™. Our network of more than 1,600 neighborhoods and communities, rural and urban, share both a commitment to place and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. Since 1980, communities participating in the program have generated more than $101.58 billion in new public and private investment, generated 168,693 net new businesses and 746,897 net new jobs, rehabilitated more than 325,119 buildings, and levered over 33.7 million volunteer hours. Main Street America is a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. For more information, visit mainstreet.org.
]]>
“Wilkes County is rich in artists and makers,” said Ashley Barton, Executive Director WAG, “We hope that this event will showcase local artists and highlight our downtown businesses. Art is known to be central to revitalization efforts in rural communities. A University of Pennsylvania study found that small art groups in neighborhoods have multiple positive effects. Areas with higher levels of cultural activities experience a positive impact on civic engagement, youth delinquency, and a host of other factors associated with community wellbeing. Join us at the gallery for a free opening reception of the Northwest Artist Exhibit and stop by participating businesses to see the good things happening in our community.”
Participating Shops include: On 10th Street; Wilkes Co. Hardware,Taupe Gallery and Waterhouse Studios. On Main Street; Pop’s Place, Ivy Ridge, Copper Barrel Brew Haus, A Baby Celebration and Blue Ridge Tranquility Center. On 6th Street; 6th & Main Restaurant and The Block. On D Street; Dom Bakeries.
Wilkes Art Gallery is located at 913 C Street and is open Tuesday through Friday 10A-5P and Saturday 10A-2P. Visit https://www.wilkesartgallery.org/ and https://www.facebook.com/downtownnorthwilkesboro for more on upcoming exhibits and events.
]]>
Jule Hubbard, Journal Patriot [NORTHWILKESBORO, NC April 19, 2022] - Developing a “river district” with a beach area and specialized parks, establishing a “regional STEM center” and greatly improved signage for trails and other amenities are among recommendations in preliminary results of an outdoor economy effort.
Staff of Boone-based Destination by Design shared conceptual images representing these and other proposals in an April 13 meeting at the Stone Center, held to draw feedback for use in preparing a final document.
“The work we’ve done so far is high level. We’re trying to throw out some ideas to the community and show where things could go,” said Eric Woolrich, principal with Destination by Design. A similar presentation was made for local elected officials about two weeks earlier.
Health Foundation Executive Director Heather Murphy said the company was hired for $180,000 to help develop a plan for expanding the outdoor economy in Wilkes, including identifying funding sources. A local outdoor economy working group is assisting.
Murphy said the effort is funded by the Health Foundation ($70,000) Wilkes Health Department ($50,000), Wilkes Economic Development Corp. ($5,000), Wilkesboro Tourism Development Authority ($5,000) and the governments of Wilkes County ($25,000), Wilkesboro ($10,000) and North Wilkesboro ($10,000). These entities and the Yadkin River Greenway Council signed a memorandum of agreement for the initiative in 2020.
She said the effort began with a group of elected officials and others from Wilkes attending an outdoor economy conference in Asheville over two years ago.
Most of the information presented April 13 and a couple of weeks earlier for local elected officials is in an 81-page document, prepared by Destination by Design. It includes recommendations and details on how they were developed.
Woolrich said emerging themes or goals resulted from three or four months of extensive research and all of the recommendations connect to them. These include promoting connectivity, elevating the quality of existing outdoor amenities, creating awareness through branding and signage, encouraging interaction between visitors and residents.
He said 513 people responded to an online survey as part of this research and 200-250 is considered a good response. Woolrich said this could indicate hunger for change and improvement in the community and good timing for the outdoor economy effort.
The River District proposal calls for establishing a beach area on the Reddies River. Woolrich said this would be done by restoring a portion of the Reddies to its original route between the D Street bridge and where it empties into the Yadkin River, thus creating a bend in the river.
In the early 1900s, the Reddies was rerouted into a straight channel dug from the Reddies River dam to the Yadkin.
The river district would include a viewing area with the beach; creation of not-too-challenging rapids with rocks placed in the river; an “urban soccer park;” outdoor boulder gym with man-made climbing structures; pump track for bikes (with a series of hills) skate park; “bike garden” for younger cyclists.
A regional STEM center with science- and technology-related activities and multi-family and single-family housing is proposed nearby.
“It’s not too often that housing is part of an outdoors action plan” but the need for this came up too much in interviews and other feedback) to ignore, said Woolrich.
The plan focuses on wayfinding/signage, state- and nationally-designated trails, state and federal lands and the Wilkesboros. It calls for continuing with implementation of a unified wayfinding signage program initiated by the Yadkin Valley Heritage Corridor and using it for trails, recreation areas and more.
It calls for “developing the most accessible, safe and compelling paddle trail” in the state on the Yadkin River.
This includes improving six existing Yadkin River access sites in Wilkes, including making four capable of accommodate commercial outfitters, and developing one new site.
Murphy said it includes a park at an access site off N.C. 268 in Roaring River. An archaeological study on the site in preparation is nearly complete.
The plan includes using the 300-acre Wilkesboro watershed property on the Brushy Mountains, owned by Wilkesboro, as a “family-friendly wilderness experience” area with “glamping” (camping with extra accommodations), zip line, summer camp, retreats and more through a public-private partnership. It would have mountain biking and hiking trails. This property is on headwaters of Little Cub Creek, with a small lake that once was the town’s water supply.
Similarly, it calls for using portions of the Town of North Wilkesboro’s Industrial Park property on River Road/Liberty Grove Road for outdoor recreation.
He said key goals while working with the county’s outdoor economy group were to identify and evaluate the condition of the county’s assets, engage as many people as possible through interviews, identify gaps in assets, identify other efforts in the community that might dovetail with the outdoor economy effort and create a visually compelling document.
Woolrich said the last steps are to develop strategies, determine who will do what and identify funding sources, including involvement of private investors.
Joshua Thurman, art director of Destination by Design, said he and others with the company set out to learn everything they could about Wilkes to develop branding for use as a face of the county to present to the rest of the world. Wilkes residents serving on a branding committee were involved in this process.
“We tried to capture the attention of outdoor enthusiasts… people looking for new trails and wild places to explore. The good thing is that Wilkes County has got a lot of that to offer,” said Thurman.
He said development of visuals began once “the Great State of Wilkes” was chosen as the brand. He said the primary logo “captures wild essence, some of the open space that Wilkes County has to offer.”
It features a big “W” for Wilkes with a tree line representing trees found in this area and a red-tailed hawk. Thurman showed slides demonstrating how it could be used in different forms and on various products and overlaid with photos.
Over 150 people attended the April 13 meeting.
Marty McGee Wilkes Journal Patriot Staff Writer
[NORTH WILKESBORO, NC March 23, 2022] - A varied and eclectic mixture of live music is on tap for the Town of North Wilkesboro’s annual Concerts on the Deck series.
The concerts, presented by the town and Window World, are slated for third Saturdays from June through October. All shows are from 6-10 p.m. at the downtown Yadkin Valley Marketplace venue.
“There’s a really good mix of music genres in the lineup, due mostly to feedback and requests from residents and concert goers over the past few years,” said Crystal Keener, the town’s director of tourism. “Many wanted to hear traditional and alternative country, norteño music, rock ‘n roll and R&B soul. We’ve checked a few of those boxes here.”
The shows begin on Saturday, June 18, with the Latin sounds of Tamborazo Santa Cecilia and Jorge de la Fuente.
“For the first time we’re bringing two Hispanic-music bands to Concerts on the Deck—a norteño music band Jorge de la Fuente and traditional wind band Tamborazo Santa Cecilia,” said Keener. “Because events like the Dia de los Muertos and Mexican Independence Day celebrations brought such a tremendous crowd to North Wilkesboro, we thought this addition would be well received.”
Country music is on tap for the Saturday, July 16, pairing of Ryan Griffin and local favorite Alex Key & the Locksmiths. Keener said, “We had a lot of people that wanted to hear and see country acts and we’re excited to bring that sound to Window World Concerts on the Deck in July.”
Keener noted that Griffin is a Florida native who relocated to Nashville and had a top-streaming song with “Woulda Left Me Too,” which introduced him as a singer with an “unusually empathetic hand and garnered millions of plays on Spotify. His unique niche between R&B and country can be heard on ‘Salt, Lime & Tequila.’ ”
Key hails from Wilkes County but has made a name for himself in Nashville and across the Southeast. His recent single and video release of “We Want You Back” is an ode to small-town life with deep roots.
“His brand as a musician is an embodiment of classic country translated into the 21st century,” added Keener. “Griffin brings to the stage a laid-back Buffett-Chesney vibe, while Key is definitely neo-classic country.”
On Aug. 20, Nashville-based American rock band the Cordovas and Blue Footed Boobies, a two-piece psych rock/blues band out of Wilmington, take the Window World stage. Expect the loudest show of the 2022 series on that Saturday evening.
The long-awaited appearance of American reggae band The Elovaters takes place on Saturday, Sept. 17.
“In 2020, we lined up The Elovaters and alt-country band 49 Winchester,” Keener explained. “However due to COVID-19 restrictions all shows were canceled.
“Then, in 2021, we were able to re-book The Elovaters, but not 49 Winchester. Unfortunately the last two months of that series, September and October, were again canceled. So, The Elovaters were out for the second year.”
The Elovaters are one of the fastest rising groups in the American reggae scene. They’ve opened for acts such as Stick Figure, Pepper and Ziggy Marley and are now headlining clubs across the country.
Keener added, “Unbelievably we were able to get them back on the schedule for 2022, after a bit of a wait and see. They’ll be performing with Chapel Hill’s The Hourglass Kids on Saturday, Sept. 17.”
The Hourglass Kids describe themselves as a “reggae/psychedelic rock fusion band that incorporates a variety of musical elements into our musical experience.”
The finale takes place on Saturday, Oct. 15, as 49 Winchester, an alt country outfit, takes center stage.
The band hails from Castlewood, Va., and have performed at the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Festival and at FloydFest in their home state. They are touring this summer all over North America with Whiskey Myers.
Their fourth studio album, “Fortune Favors the Bold,” marks the band’s debut for Nashville’s New West Records — one of the premier labels for Americana, indie and rock acts.
Keener noted that because the Town of Wilkesboro has “such a great event in Concerts in the Commons (second Saturdays from May-September), we don’t want to duplicate their roster—we want to enhance entertainment opportunities in Wilkes.” She added Call Family Distillers in Wilkesboro are “bringing in some big name acts as well” on second Saturdays from April-October.
In addition to Concerts on the Deck, Keener noted that Mayor Marc Hauser came up with the idea to add a new event to the downtown: the Shop n’ Stroll on first Saturdays beginning May 7.
“During these mid-day events, our businesses will have sidewalk sales and more, while our eateries will offer lunch specials, plus there will be live music on 10th Street from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.”
She added that the May 7 event, sponsored in part by Ivy Ridge Traditions, will feature R&B singer SunQueen Kelcey. “We’ll host other Shop n’ Strolls in June, August and September. Each of those months one of our businesses will sponsor the live musical act on 10th Street at the Brushy Mountain Apple Festival Park.”