Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance has accomplished a lot since its inception in 2003, but its work isn’t finished. The nonprofit continues to dream big for our city, and is inviting the community to envision the future of downtown at an “Idea Pop-up” event on April 19 from 5 to 8pm at Agora Downtown Market (165 S. Main Street).
The event is new, but the concept of bringing people and ideas together to create a downtown that everyone loves is an important part of HDR’s mission.
“Community involvement is at the heart of what we do. More than 75 volunteers work with HDR throughout the year and give us their ideas, feedback, and direction,” says Andrea L. Dono, HDR’s executive director. “This event will open our doors to those who we don’t get to hear from so that even more people can be involved in guiding where HDR could take Downtown Harrisonburg in the future.”
The format for the event is unlike anything the nonprofit has planned before. There will be six interactive stations where community members can share ideas in a variety of fun and creative ways. The event is structured so that anyone can stop by for a few minutes or the entire time.
Station 1: “Paper Pinterest” Board
Participants are encouraged to bring photos from places they’ve visited, download images from the Internet, or cut out pages from magazines to visually show ideas they would like to see downtown. Everyone will be able to vote on their favorites.
Station 2: Chat Room
Have ideas? Share them one-on-one with HDR board members, volunteers and staff.
Station 3: Idea Incubator
Feed ideas by writing them on a note card and pinning it to a clothesline. Build on other creative concepts and let’s see what ideas will hatch.
Station 4: Wish Mapping
What would you like to see in specific areas of downtown? Place sticky notes with your wish on a map.
Station 5: Mad Libs
Play a mad libs-style game and fill in the blanks to build a vision for what downtown could look like in 10 years.
Station 6: Sundaes by Kline’s Dairy Bar
Sweeten the evening with a free ice cream sundae!
The information and ideas shared at the event will help inform HDR’s future work plans and a shared vision for what downtown could become. All ideas and ages are welcome.
For more information, call Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance at 540.432.8922.
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