It is spring! It must be — in spite of the wintry weather, Spring Fair was last week and the calendar is filling up with all sorts of things. Staff, committees and volunteers of the Puyallup Main Street Association will be very busy over the next six weeks or so. It is a trend that began a few weeks ago.
To start, this week Northwest Cable News begins showing two 30-second advertisements promoting the upcoming Spring Art & Wine Walk and the Puyallup Farmers’ Market.
Adam Henley of NW R/C Photography shot the video. On-camera talent was supplied by local dentist Dr. George Ghosn and Kerry Yanasak. These spots will air in Oregon, Washington and Idaho through the week of May 18. They are partly funded with Lodging Tax funds and a matching grant that is a cooperative effort between the Washington State Tourism office and Belo Broadcasting.
Next on the agenda, volunteers take to the streets in the downtown Puyallup Spring Clean-up.
Partly a celebration of Earth Day and partly preparation for the events in the coming weeks, the Clean-up takes place this Saturday. PMSA supplies tools, water and post-work pizza party. Anyone interested in helping out should contact PMSA Office Manager Becky Dickerson at 840-2631.
It is a great way for youth groups and service organizations to get involved in their community.
On Saturday, May 3, the Puyallup Farmers’ Market open another season. This year’s market looks to be even better than last year, which was a record setting year.
To date, Market Manager Janie Morris has more than 110 vendors lined up for opening day.
One change this year is that the Sunday Market will be held in the Village Green at the opposite end of Pioneer Park from the Pavilion. So, come on down for the best in nursery stock and fresh produce.
The Spring Art & Wine Walk follows close on Saturday, May 10. This event features more wine, art, food and fun than ever before. Sixteen wine tasting locations and nine food sampling stations will host a wide array of visual and performed art.
Washington State’s Poet Laureate Sam Green and Irish poet Tony Curtis will read. Music will include musical theater, acoustic guitar and more. Featured artists list Fred Oldfield, Dixie Rogerson-Bill, Betty Wise, Lisa Stilnovitch and Karen Lucus. And much, much more. Information on the event and how to buy tickets can be found on the Puyallup Main Street Web site, www.PuyallupMainStreet.com.
The following week, PMSA’s executive director and two board members will represent Puyallup at the 2008 Downtown Revitalizaton Institute in Wenatchee.
Main Street professionals and board members from all over the state gather to exchange ideas, techniques, resources and contacts. As the largest Main Street program (measured by annual budget, staff and attendance at events), many folks look to Puyallup to take a lead role at such functions.
The week after that, PMSA will take six downtown merchants to Jon Schallert’s Destination Boot Camp in Longmont, Colo.
Partially funded with Lodging Tax funds, this program will provide downtown Puyallup with marketing concepts and techniques that will bring visitors to Puyallup to relax, dine, shop and recreate. The three-day boot camp will be followed up in July by a site visit by Schallert, who will meet with the six attendees and do a walk-through of downtown.
The weeks following the boot camp will be needed to make the final preparations for Meeker Days, the largest event of downtown’s year.
Hopefully, La Nina will bring a warmer, drier weekend than last year. And then, after Meeker Days, we can all take a rest. Well, not really, as the second half of the year is stacked rather tightly, too. But this work is all about working toward the future. And for the time being, we can work toward each of these points as they come over the horizon.
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