ASHLAND — Hello, friends of downtown Ashland! It seems like ages since we last communicated with you via the Fourth Estate, and we’re excited to be back and sharing all that is happening in our gorgeous downtown via the Ashland Source.
Reviewing our notes, it looks like we haven’t had any downtown press communication since … July of last year. Holy moly. In those short months, a lot has happened downtown.
Where do we begin?
Actually, we’re going to begin where we ended it — the last article we were working on but never got published was a thank you the Garden Study Club for their dedication and hard work in bringing the downtown flowers to life. (You remember the downtown flowers, right? Those huge balls of pink petunia gorgeousness that graced our downtown all last summer? Before you ask, yes, they are coming back this year. As if that wouldn’t happen again!)
Since we’re talking about them, the flowers would not be here if it weren’t for the hard work and dedication and financial support of several people and organizations our community, including Substance Church, several major donors, several new donors, the city of Ashland, Green Valley Growers, and the Garden Study Club.
We will talk more about the people who are making the flowers possible this year (although we are happy to say “thank you” now!); but we want to focus on the ladies of the Garden Study Club at this time because they have been, stalwart supporters of beautifying Ashland’s Main Streets before there was an Ashland Main Street.
These ladies know that making things attractive is an essential component, of any venture. If you make it look nice, people will want to check it out. That goes for cities, too, and they’ve been working on our city for years.
Late Garden Study Club member Margaret Strube led the charge with the pots you see downtown, that have been filled with flowers for years. The club has continued to work with us, and as Ashland Main Street has grown, so have our plant offerings. You will see even more flowers this year for an even longer display, thanks in large part to these ladies.
Look for more thanks to our supporters when we get closer to planting time (It will get warm. We promise. Probably not tomorrow though.).
Until then, let’s skip along the Ashland Main Street calendar and peruse our future events offering.
First up is 419 Day, hold on, wait for it, April 19, 4/19. Get it? This is not a blockbuster retail extravaganza; more it is a day for us to celebrate all that makes the 419 so amazing. We encourage you to shop a local business or ten, from retail to commercial to professional. (Your local accountant may need some Miller Hawkins donuts by then. Or your favorite Main Street director may need a locally-made dirty chai. For example.)
Show your love of the 419 by supporting the 419. We’d be just another exit off the highway if it weren’t for our local businesses — let them know you support them.
Downtown, we are bringing back our See Upstairs Shop Downtown Shop Hop and Hidden Spaces Tour, on May 11 and 12. These are two events on the same weekend that will give everyone an opportunity to explore our amazing downtown buildings and shops.
The Shop Hop involves participating merchants who will be open extended hours (yay!), to give you an opportunity to really check out all the great products they have to offer. From 10 a.m.to 7 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, our retailers will be holding events or hosting specials as well; check out our Ashland Main Street Facebook page, website, and posters to see who is doing what.
Spoiler alert — there is some sweet stuff happening this weekend — you’ll want to come down and be prepared to shop. By then, there shouldn’t be any snow (fingers crossed). And if you aren’t watching your calendar closely, you may not realize that this is the weekend before Mother’s Day, on May 13.
Have you shopped for Mom yet? It’s pretty easy to get her the best gift ever in our downtown. Our even better, take her on a shopping spree downtown during our Shop Hop!
The other half of the weekend’s festivities is the Hidden Spaces Tour. There are buildings downtown that haven’t been open in years, and this is our opportunity to see them, maybe for the first time. Tickets for the tour are $10 per person and are available at our office (211 Claremont) and on the days of the tour.
The tour runs Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.
We are not about to get on our soapbox about the amazing buildings we have downtown (not this week, anyway), but if you want to see some gorgeous buildings, our downtown has them. Your mom may want to see them, too.
We’re so glad to be back sharing the grooviness of downtown Ashland with you all. If you haven’t been downtown in a while, dad gum is there a lot to do and see and buy downtown. Get on down here already.
If you have been a loyal supporter of our downtown – thank you. We wouldn’t be here without you. No matter which camp you fall in, make sure you are ending up in Ashland, and we’ll see you downtown.
Sandra Tunnell is executive director of Ashland Main Street, an organization that strives to lead the revitalization of downtown Ashland. For more information, visit www.ashlandmainstreet.org.
