MainStreet Now in Birmingham, AL
- hello31579
- May 12, 2024
- 1 min read
Updated: May 18, 2024
left to right: Janide Sidifall, Deputy Commissioner, City Planning, City of Atlanta; Katie Voelpel, Virginia Highlands; Chelsea Sommers, East Atlanta Biz; Lejuano Varnell, Sweet Auburn; Rashida Cloud, Atlanta MainStreet Coordinator; Melanie Rabb, Little 5 Points (L5P) Biz and Hapeville MainStreet; Reid Koski, L5P MainStreet Coordinator; Kelly Stocks, L5P Biz Prez
From May 5 to 8, 2024 the President of the Little 5 Points (L5P) Business Association and the L5P MainStreet Coordinator attended the MainStreet Now conference in Birmingham, AL. The L5P Biz Secretary, Melanie Rabb, also attended, representing Hapeville and L5P. We attended many sessions over these days, delving into MainStreet preservation, entrepreneurial ecosystems, marketing strategies, building civic infrastructure, DEIA conversations, community storytelling, disaster and emergency communications and much much more!
Lejuano Varnell, Sweet Auburn
Among these enlightening sessions, one stood out as a highlight: A presentation on Wednesday by Lejuano Varnell, representing our Sweet Auburn cohort focusing on Design and Cultural Education for Vibrant Places.
Additionally, the conference provided many opportunities for networking, connecting with so many people from all over the United States and Canada. This broadened our perspectives further enriching the MainStreet Conference experience.
And we also had lots of fun!
Rashida and her friend gave us a party!
The Found Objects Bar and Puppet Theater was out of this world!
Lots of yummy food!
Now, back to the grind!
Planning such a trip, I was looking for convenient flight and hotel options but ran into confusion with bookings and changing conditions. Loveholidays became a reliable source of real user reviews that helped me quickly get oriented. Thanks to this I managed to adjust the itinerary, book everything without extra stress and had a wonderful journey filled with walks along revitalized streets, getting to know local culture and lasting impressions that now motivate me to plan new adventures.