Community Celebration May 25 for Washington Main Street Award

A community celebration for Downtown Washington Inc. winning the 2012 Great American Main Street Award will take place this Friday, May 25, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Farmers’ Market.

The band Sons of Song will perform at the family-friendly event and there is no admission charge.

“It’s a celebration for the community,” said Bridgette Epple, Downtown Washington Inc. executive director.

“Our community being chosen for this national award is something we all should be proud of,” she said. “This will be a really fun event where we can all come together and celebrate.”

At the event, the downtown organization will show the video it produced as part of its application for the award, as well as a video from the awards ceremony itself which was held in April at the National Main Streets Conference in Baltimore, Md.

The video showcases the downtown area, events and festivals, and some of the projects the group worked on over the past year, including the renovation of the downtown post office. It also touches on each of the Main Street four points and how the organization is utilizing them locally.

The videos will be shown at about 6:30 p.m., Epple said.

The Great American Main Street Award is sponsored by National Trust for Historic Preservation, which announced five winners. A GAMSA jury, comprised of representatives from the commercial district revitalization field, served as the judges.

Downtown Washington Inc. also was a semifinalist for the award in 2000 and 2001.

Only two other communities in Missouri have received the award — Clarksville in the late 1990s and Lees Summit in 2010.

Washington was well represented at the conference. Epple and Aimee Frey, staff members, attended along with current and past board members, Mayor Sandy Lucy and Darren Lamb, community and economic development director. Several Historic Washington Foundation board members, Downtown Washington Inc.’s sister organization, also were in attendance.