CEO's Comments, Winter 2007
With the election of a new City Council this week, Main Street will be making plans to introduce the new Councilors to our program and learn their priorities. We particularly want to continue working with the Council to keep the revitalization of the Historic Waterfront District moving forward.
Since our last newsletter, Main Street, in collaboration with the CT Cruise Ship Task Force and the city, personally welcomed over 9,000 cruise ship visitors and introduced them to the district. Volunteers also distributed our district guide, with the Heritage Trail tucked inside, to give visitors something to do if they arrived before the shops opened. The result: New London received the highest marks on the cruising itinerary.
As soon as the last cruise ship departed, Fall Food Stroll was upon us. District restaurants and shops successfully hosted nearly 900 people, many attending the event for the first time. Analysis of button sales shows that 28 percent came from New London, 12 percent from Waterford, and the rest from all over the county and beyond, with East Lyme and Mystic/Groton each accounting for 3 to 4 percent. The event is bringing more folks than ever to our downtown, and everyone is working hard to convert these new visitors to patrons.
Last night, a number of merchants met at Flavours of Life to plan how to increase holiday sales. Shop owners who attended will be working to get others to agree to stay open late on Thursday nights, from Nov. 29 to year end. Under Economic Enhancement Committee Chair Jerry Sinnamon's expert guidance, we all had fun, too.
As the calendar year comes to a close, Main Street is launching its first ever Annual Appeal. In the nearly ten years of striving to improve the downtown economy, Main Street has mobilized hundreds of volunteers in an effort to put more feet on the street, to improve public spaces, and to publicize the history, beauty and uniqueness of the district. Please consider a year end gift to help us continue this work.
