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Main Street reports First Friday success, hires farmers' market manager and previews summer events
Summary
Main Street staff reported strong participation at First Friday and the Flower Walk, introduced new farmers' market manager Ella Marlatt, and outlined upcoming events including Third Thursday and a June mini golf street event.
Main Street staff told the DDA board that recent downtown events drew strong engagement and that staff are preparing for a busy summer.
Kate, the promotions lead, reported that First Friday — the board’s largest recent outdoor event — filled downtown quickly at 5 p.m., and businesses reported strong sales. The Flower Walk had about 32 initial registrations that the staff reduced (after duplicates and no-shows) to 25 paid participants; post-event surveys from businesses were positive. The scavenger hunt associated with First Friday had 58 players, 45 of whom completed at least one challenge, and the majority of players were from the 49221 ZIP code.
Jay introduced Ella Marlatt as the new farmers' market manager; Jay said Marlatt is expected to graduate from Siena Heights and has local connections. Jay and Kate will be present at the market to help bring her up to speed.
Staff previewed upcoming events: Third Thursday (evening street music and food trucks) and a June 'Tee It Up' mini‑golf-in-the-street event with live music and family activities. Kate said the DDA has been running paid social promotion posts and is targeting the college crowd for Thursday nights.
Board members discussed food‑truck placement and restaurant impacts; Jay said anecdotal evidence from First Friday suggests food trucks did not harm restaurants and helped keep people downtown. Public comment later echoed support for food trucks.
The board also discussed logistics such as street closures from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. for street events and the need for better survey-response incentives to capture attendee feedback.
