Downtown Retail Recruitment - Case Study

Trends in many downtown organizations across the country have included hiring new Retail Recruitment Specialists who serve on the staff of the downtown organization. Here is a story from Milwaukee, Wisconsin which outlines the details of their program including funding for the position.

The Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership includes retail recruitment in its fairly vast work plan and has enjoyed working with the entrepreneurs who are making downtown come alive by opening new downtown storefront businesses.

For more information on the Downtown Plan and other resources, click here.

NOMA Recurring Specials - Just so you know!

Sunday - Prime Rib Dinner $1.25/ounce (min. 6 oz.)
Monday - Burger and a Domestic Brew $10
Tuesday - Big Eat Dinner Entree special $10
Wednesday - NOMA 101 - 10% off food if you work or live in 27101 zip (Must bring proof)
Thursday - $7 Martinis

Great Urban Boat Rides

USA Today published a story featuring what it called "10 great places to stream through cities"

Here is a link to the story.

If you are a parent, you should know about this!

Click on the poster to see a higher resolution photo of the poster.

Click here to go to the website.

The Open Dream Ensemble, a multi-disciplinary children’s theater group sponsored by the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), presents “Dream Machines,” an original play commissioned by Open Dream Ensemble for premier in the 2009 season tour throughout North Carolina and the southeast.

“Dream Machines” will make its public premier on Thursday, September 3, 6:30 p.m. at the Stevens Center in downtown Winston-Salem. Admission is free.

Winkler's Bakery Video

Community Creates!

Join the cool crowd at this unique event featuring a live auction, raffle, fabulous original art, great food, dancing and effervescent guests dressed in upscale, artistic threads. All proceeds benefit the Arts Based Elementary School’s (ABES) Artist-in-Residence Program.

Seating limited, so reserve soon by calling ABES.

Visit www.wsabes.net for more information.

Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, from 7 to 11 p.m.

1380 Martin Luther King Blvd., Winston-Salem, NC

$30 per person, $50 per couple or Patron Tickets for $60 per person, $110 per couple.

coboyle@wsabes.net

336-748-4116

New signage at Winston Factory Lofts

West End Arts Festival -

Save the date for the 4th biennial ARTSfest 2009 in Grace Park in the Historic West End neighborhood of Winston-Salem; A one day festival of the finest visual arts, entertainment and food. September 26, 10am to 5pm

Facebook Page Link

Line Up for Sidewalk Sounds

Sidewalk Sounds starts Thursday (tomorrow) as reported here on this blog last week. Click here for a link to the story.

Line up of Musicians (subject to change)

Thursday, Aug. 27th from 6-9 PM – 4th Street only - 3 performers

1. Gene Francis
2. Dan Collins
3. Chad B

Saturday, Sept. 5th from Noon-3 PM – Trade Street - 4 performers

1. Jerry Blevins
2. Tommy Jackson
3. Todd Verts
4. Richard Boyd (if needed)

Friday, Sept. 11th from 6-9 PM – Trade and 4th Streets - 10 proposed sites, 5 performers

1. Molly McGinn
2. Kent Dunn
3. Richard Boyd
4. Jerry Blevins (if needed)
5. Gene Francis

If you are a supporter of live music, please consider supporting these artists who are doing this without pay. Our hats off to them.

Marth Bassett plays Summer on Trade Saturday night

Only 2 Saturday nights left for Summer on Trade. This Saturday Martha Bassett performs.

Check out this amazing photo of Downtown Winston-Salem

Click on this text to see an amazing photo taken of downtown Winston-Salem.

This photo was taken by Keith Morgan of Winston-Salem. Here is a link to his Facebook Page.

He published this photo on Flickr using the moniker Nosamk.

Foothills - Oktoberfest Celebration - September 12

The Foothills Oktoberfest celebration will be held Saturday, September 12th and will go all day.

In addition to a yummy German menu, a costume contest, games and fun, we will also be raising funds for several charities: Save the Tata's and Pints for Prostates.

In order to help raise funds for these great charities, they will be raffling great Foothills prizes! You won't want to miss this!

River Run Moving Sale

RiverRun is having a Moving Sale of all festival product and misc items on Friday, beginning at 10 am until 4pmPosters, tees, catalogs and other items are all for sale at bargain prices.Last chance to get one of the rubber RR posters for your doormat!

Location - 870 west fourth street

Goonies! This Sunday - Special Screening after two Rainouts

The show must go on! The Goonies will be featured this Sunday after two consecutive rainouts.

Link to the Movies on the Greenspot website.

Eric Essix Plays Friday Night Jazz this week

Click on the photo above to go to the website for this performer.

Bolich Building Drama - $1,000,000

The bidding goes up again, and on what was the last day it could (yesterday). The bid process is now reset for another 10 days. We will continue to watch.

Click here for a link to the Bolich Building Website.

Chicago - A "Model" City

Link to an Explanation for what this is.

The Movie on the Greenspot is Cancelled for this evening due to weather

The Movie on the Greenspot is Cancelled this evening due to the threat of rain. The equipment used to screen the movie is expensive and vulnerable to exposure to weather.

Check back next week for more information.

Tree on Trade Mural - Update

Photo from the August 21 Summer on Trade where the community is building the new mural.
Click here for the story.

Downtown Thai is open for Business!

Click on the photo to link to the Downtown Thai Website!
Congratulations to Souphab!

Camel City Carriage Hits the Streets!

Camel City Carriage is in service! Click on the photos or the link below to visit their website.
Link to Camel City Carriage

Rock the Block! ------ SEPT. 18th

Rock The Block Website!

A Musical Experiment! Sidewalk Sounds!

An experiment will be taking place in the streets of downtown Winston-Salem!

Musicians on the sidewalk, just like the photo above.

The performances will include local artists (solo, duo, or trio) providing unamplified (limits sound pollution) musical performances in select sidewalk locations of downtown Winston-Salem.

The dates for the Sidewalk Sounds Music Hop Series are (a schedule of street musician performers will be announce in the coming days):

1. Thursday, August. 27th from 6-9 PM - 4 Locations on 4th Street sidewalks (between Trade & Poplar)
2. Saturday, September 5th from Noon-3 PM - 4 Locations on Trade Street sidewalks (between 5th & 7th)
3. Friday, September 11th from 6-9 PM - 10 Locations on 4th & Trade Street Sidewalks (between Trade & Poplar and 5th & 7th)

Why is this taking place?
The idea behind Sidewalk Sounds is to create a non-business and city service intrusive - no street closings and no mass gatherings of people for a specific destination type event – activity that enhances the existing vibrancy of our current retail, restaurant, and nightlife establishments and encourages people to stroll through a part of town, or the whole Trade Street & 4th Street corridor, taking in the sights, sounds, smells, and places in a more interactive and participatory way.

The Sidewalk Sounds Music Hop Series is a collaborative effort of The Arts Council of Winston-Salem & Forsyth County (AC of WS), The Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership (DWSP), and the Downtown Arts District Association (DADA).

Sidewalk Sounds is supported in part by the following not really real organizations:
Walk Winston
Art Works
Music is Every Where

Paul Norby (City/County Planning Director) published in Carolina Planning magazine

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Factory 12, Chestnut Street, ca. 1920s

(Courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection)

Click on the photo above or on this link to read Paul Norby's article that was published in the Carolina Planning Magazine's Summer Edition.

Goonies Plays the Greenspot on Sunday Night!

Click on the Photo above to take you to the Movies on the Greenspot Blog

Melva Houston Plays Summer on Trade Saturday Night - Don't Miss it!

Link to Melva Houston's Website - Go and check out her impressive Bio

Aperture is Under Construction

What is taking place behind that board? Interior demolition is happening! The new Aperture Cinema is now under construction!

Level 23 Gets NEW Signage

"CAN" WE FIX IT - YES WE "CAN"

UNITED WE CAN to Kick Off 2009 United Way of Forsyth County Campaign

United Way of Forsyth County will kick off its 2009 Campaign with UNITED WE CAN, an event for the entire family. UNITED WE CAN will take place from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Civic Park between 3rd and 4th Streets at Trade Street.

The highlight of UNITED WE CAN will be a competition for the most creative and visually
captivating sculpture made from cans of food and other basic needs items. The sculptures will be
built by employees from local companies who donated the items. United Way chose this activity
to focus the community’s attention on the greatly increased requests for emergency needs.

Other activities will include:

− A “How I LIVE UNITED” photo display
− Games for children and adults
− Free popcorn, cookies, and lemonade for all

All collected items will be donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina following the event.



Check out this VIDEO to GET MOTIVATED THAT "YES YOU CAN"

Step Up Forsyth! is a free community-wide program that aims to improve quality of life through increased physical activity. Participants may engage in physical activity on their own or form physical activity teams.

The 2009 Step Up Forsyth! program will run for 8 weeks from September 10, 2009 through November 7, 2009. Participants are encouraged to start the program on September 10th but may join any time during the program. Our goal for 2009 is to log a total of 1.5 million minutes of physical activity!

Click here for more info.

Girls on Grapes @ Chelsee's

Chelsee's Coffee Shop & More is the home of the Girls on Grapes Winston Salem, a women's Wine Tasting & Networking group. They meet the last Thursday of each month from 7PM to 9PM. The next event is August 27th. The featured speaker will be Julia Sherron from Vass, NC who came up with "The Woozie" (a wine glass koozie which can be purchased at Chelsee's. Julia is going to share her experience with taking an idea from conception to finished product.

Picture Framing

A new business has opened in downtown Winston-Salem. Liberty Road Framers is providing affordable and high quality picture framing services. I just had them do some work and they did a fine job.

Ed Koos owns Liberty Road Framers downtown in the Artist on Liberty Building (AOL) at 521 N. Liberty Street, Suite 112.

Contact Info - (336) 996-6096 or by e-mail ed.koos@chann-tech.com

His hours are Monday - Friday Noon to 5PM.

EVENT NAME: "Nobodys Darlins" recent paintings by Patrick Harris

LOCATION: Urban Artware, 207 W 6th Street, in Winston-Salem's Downtown Arts District

DATE & TIME: Friday September 4th, 7pm-10pm, in conjunction with First Friday Gallery Hop (show on view thru Sept. 30th)

DESCRIPTION: Patrick Harris

Patrick Harris was born and raised in the piedmont of North Carolina. His mother was an art teacher when he was just a toddler and she took him with her to her classes and let him join along. He’s been drawing and painting ever since he could hold a pencil or brush. His fascination with art led him to study its history.

His interests were most captured by two of the most adverse styles in art history: pop art with its unfeeling look at culture and society through graphic means, and expressionism with its extreme search to convey the deepest of emotions through the brush. Patrick's work is a continuing effort to combine the didactic effects of both styles: trying to capture the warmth of expression in the cold style of the pop graphic.

CONTACT: Millicent Greason-Spivak 722-2345 or urbanartware@bellsouth.net