Downtown draws droves
Main Street Lynchburg rippled with life Friday evening, as the Downtown Lynchburg Association hosted the 10thanniversary of its annual street festival, Get Downtown.
Vendors, food trucks, street performers, musicians and more gathered downtown Sept. 7 from 6-10 p.m. An additional hour was added to this year’s festival, and the event was extended from five to seven blocks of Main Street.
“The extra hour was added from direct feedback we received from previous event-goers,” Ashley Kershner, executive director of the Downtown Lynchburg Association, wrote in an email. “(Guests) always said that it went by too quickly for them to see the entire event. The extra blocks were added to accommodate increasing attendance.”
Main Attraction – More than 170 vendors packed Main Street with food options, informational booths, artisan creations and more.
Sponsors, volunteers and the city of Lynchburg powered this event. Kershner said Pacific Life, a downtown employer and primary sponsor for the event, played a major role in the success of the event.
“Not only (was Pacific Life) our primary sponsor on this event, but they … also (participated) in a huge way,” Kershner said. “Their employees (were) involved, and their block (had) many activities hosted by their company.”
The city of Lynchburg also contributed to the success and safety of the event.
“The first and most important entity we partner with to make this happen is the city of Lynchburg,” Kershner said. “They provide in-kind services in the form of police, paramedics, cleaning crews, and setup teams. Without that partnership, we would not be able to make this event happen.”
“The first and most important entity we partner with to make this happen is the city of Lynchburg … Without that partnership, we would not be able to make this event happen.” -Ashley Kershner
Manager of Planning and Analysis for Pacific Life Brandon Jones explained that Get Downtown gives downtown businesses and organizations a lot of exposure. By bringing people downtown, he believes that college students and Lynchburg residents alike can learn to appreciate their community.
“We’re hoping that this event kind of exposes the college kids but also residents that don’t come down here for whatever reason to the fun that’s here,” Jones, who is also a member of the Downtown Lynchburg Association board, said. “We feel it’s done that over the last 10 years, with this being the 10-year anniversary of the event, we just want to keep that momentum going.”