Street Festival 2005

The 19th Annual Street Festival is just around the corner!  If you haven't already marked your calendar, please do!  This year's event will take place Saturday, August 13th from 10 am to 6 pm.

The committee is striving for this year's event to return to its roots.  Nineteen years ago the Street Festival was the biggest and best sidewalk sale around.  We are hoping this year's event will rival the days of old with every retail merchant in our downtown area participating with a sidewalk sale.

Restaurants have also been asked to join in the festivities by offering box lunches or specials for the day.

Local non-profits, crafters and businesses have been invited to participate in our "locals only" booths with a food, sales or information booth.

The popular car show, free watermelon and kiddie carnival are all returning this year along with two stages of live entertainment.

The 19th Annual Street Festival promises to be the best yet.  If we all get involved and participate, it will be!

See you there!

~ Brenda Weatherly

P.S. See the article below for ideas on how to make downtown events, such as the Street Festival, work for your business!

Greetings from the New Executive Director

My apologies for not getting my first newsletter out sooner!  I have had a lot to learn the past few months and a lot to do as the new Executive Director of the Hollister Downtown Association.

It is truly a pleasure to be associated with this organization and all of its members again.  Liz Sparling was such a great asset to this organization.  She has left very big shoes to fill.  I wish her all the best as Executive Director for the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce.  Fortunate for me, Liz left Diana Thorson, the HDA Administrative Assistant.  Diana is truly a godsend for this organization and for me as I try to figure everything out. Diana is a pleasure to work with.  Her knowledge and "can do" attitude are truly appreciated by all.

During my first week on the job, I hit the streets to visit many of you of whom I have known for years and to meet those of you who are new to the downtown area.  From our conversations, several issues became apparent.  These are:

• Employee parking

• Lack of crosswalks on San Benito Street

• Highway 25 Bypass

• Wastewater treatment plant and the building moratorium

• The closing of Dorothy McNett's Place (health of the downtown business economy)

• The need to market downtown Hollister as a destination

Our board has plans to address all of the above issues.  Committees are meeting and plans are being made to get things moving in the right direction.

A healthy, vibrant, pedestrian-friendly downtown is important for the downtown, the city, and the county.  Downtown Hollister is the heart of Hollister and we plan to keep it that way.

~ Brenda Weatherly
Executive Director, HDA

Parking....Something to Think About

Parking.  It has been reported by several business owners that we have a big issue downtown with employees and business owners parking in spaces that should be left for customers.  Rest assured, this is not a new problem, nor is it one unique to our community.

In a search for a possible solution, the following creative alternatives were discovered:

• Naughty, Naughty Award (Bath, Maine) ~ If you are a merchant or employee and you are caught parking in a space for shoppers or residents, your windshield may have a "Naughty, Naughty Award" slapped on it to embarrass naughty parkers.

• Peer Notices (Walla Walla, Washington) ~ The downtown merchants police their own blocks and place "Employee Vehicle Parking Notices" on the windshields of offending cars.  Employee parking in 2-hour zones has dropped 60 percent because it's their peers who are making the request to park responsibly.

• ParkWise (Albany, Oregon) ~ Merchants and employees register for parking permits and a ParkWise administrator walks the downtown area with a hand-held computer to "chalk" the tires and issue tickets to time violators.  Employees who abuse the system receive a $25 ticket for their first offense and $50 for the second.  Retailers report a 40% increase in sales and customer traffic since ParkWise was implemented.

These are just a sample of solutions that other downtown communities have adopted to address their employer/employee parking issues that we are also plagued with.

The quickest and easiest solution would be to not have to adopt any program, but rather to have employers and business owners mandate that their employees use side streets, public parking lots and the parking structure that was built for this purpose.

The fact of the matter is that every business needs to have parking available for their customers.  If a business fails because customers find it inconvenient to shop at that business, then the employees of that business are out of a job.

We need to encourage everyone who owns a business or works downtown to think about the customers and not about themselves when they choose where to park.

Making Downtown Events Work For Your Business!

Thousands of potential customers are planning to visit Downtown for events.  Are you ready?  The Midtown Association of Jackson, MI suggests some ways that business can take advantage of the crowds.

1. Plan an activity in your store that is part of the larger event such as a close-out sale, sidewalk sale, or offer special discounts.  Children's events such as face painting or balloon animals are always crowd pleasers and give parents an opportunity to admire your products.

2. Market to an audience ~ Change your window display to highlight the event theme or put up a sign indicating that "Event attendees are welcome".

3. Get them in the door ~ Offer products or free offerings that will encourage them to look around (free ring cleaning, free consultations, ice cold water or drinks, tours of unique elements of your building).

4. Prepare for company ~ Clean display windows, place some items on the sidewalk, create a sandwich board indicating you are open, prop your door open and entice customers with fresh scents or music.

5. Get them to come back ~ Distribute fliers, bag stuffers, or coupons encouraging attendees to visit your store at a later date or hold a drawing that will allow you to create a mailing list that you can target for your upcoming sales.

6. Service businesses can be involved, too ~ Try demonstrating your product, plan an open house with product information, or invite an artist to do a live display.

HDA Committee Updates

Interested in knowing what activities our various committees are engaged in?  Simply visit our website at www.downtownhollister.org/projects.htm to see monthly committee updates.

What's Important To You?

Would you like to know more about a specific issue facing the downtown area or our community?  Let us know if there is a specific topic you would like to have us cover in our newsletter by emailing info@hollisterdowntown.org.