The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Main Street group takes shape
Organizers plan events, mixers, concerts to invite visitors to downtown for a good time
Main Street Lorain is inviting people to rediscover downtown with events planned through 2020.
The group began forming in fall last year and has created committees dedicated to economic vitality, design, promotion and organization, said bar co-owner Kurt Hernon, president of the group, and Chris Cocco, vice president.
Since the start in September 2019, the group has worked on three goals: increasing membership; finding diverse funding sources; and hosting a monthly event, Cocco said.
Those work toward a transformation strategy to revitalize downtown Lorain, make it the living room of the community and make it welcoming and inviting, he said.
Events starting soon
The events will start at 5 p.m. Feb. 11 with a Mix & Mingle Meeting at Scorchers Casual Eatery & Draft House, 900 Broadway.
“The first year, let’s do these things, let’s do them well and show people downtown is a welcoming place where you can go and spend your time.” — Kurt Hernon, president
The Mix & Mingle Meetings will continue May 12, Aug. 11 and Nov. 10, all at Scorcher’s, Hernon said.
“It’s about getting businesses together networking,” he said.
Main Street Lorain will have open community meetings at 9 a.m. on March 3, June 2, Sept. 1 and Dec. 1, at the Lorain County Community College Lorain Learning Center, Hernon said.
Muzik’s Auto Care will sponsor live music at Veteran’s Memorial Park the evenings of June 11, July 9 and Aug. 6 on West Erie Avenue.
Other themed events are in the planning stages.
For example, the April event will have an Easter theme and October will bring a Halloween event.
In May, a Main Street clean-up would align with the Black River Clean-Up and Pride Day, while November will continue the Shop Small Saturday promotion, Hernon said.
The group found success
with the Home for the Holidays free movies last year, so those showings will return.
“All of it with Main Street’s main goal to get people downtown,” Hernon said. “It gives businesses opportunities to get people through the front door.
“The first year, let’s do these things, let’s do them well and show people downtown is a welcoming place where you can go and spend your time.”
The event schedule will be published soon, along with a new website for the group.
Committee leaders
The Main Street approach uses methods with best practices for sparking interest and business in cities and towns.
Main Street Lorain intends to follow those because they work, Cocco said.
The committee chairmen and chairwomen already have been involved with revitalization of downtown Lorain.
Ward 2 Councilman Rob McFarland will lead the
economic vitality committee.
Jennifer Black, director of marketing for the Lorain Public Library System, will lead the promotion committee.
Andrea Neal and Joyce Ferlic Arredondo will lead the design committee; both are members of the city’s Design Review Board.
Page Hernon, who is the wife of Kurt Hernon and coowner of Speak of the Devil neighborhood tavern, and Barb Piscopo, executive director of the Lorain Historical Society, will lead the organization committee.
Each event will have its own chairperson to organize the gatherings, Hernon said.
Board meetings are open to the public on the third Tuesday of the month.
The next one starts at 5 p.m., Feb. 18, at the Lorain Historical Society Carnegie Center, 329 W. 10th St. in Lorain.
Momentum
Eventually, the goal is for the organization to grow large enough to support a full time director, Hernon
said.
Having that leader is necessary as the organization and local businesses grow, said Teresa Gilles, executive director.
It could be helpful to have a director who is from the city and knows its history, Gilles said.
Lorain also will need collaboration among representatives from community groups, businesses and city government, she said.
So far, the time is right for Main Street Lorain to grow, Gilles said.
“There’s so many great things that are happening in Lorain,” she said. “I see it going forward. They have to keep the momentum going.”
Hernon and Cocco credited the help of Gilles and Frances Jo Hamilton, director of revitalization for Heritage Ohio, for their assistance organizing Main Street Lorain.
The group wants to work with the other Main Street organizations around the county and with Visit Lorain County, the travel and tourism bureau overseen by the Lorain County commissioners.