Project Name: Gladstone’s Old Fashioned Christmas
What is your first and last name?
Patricia West
What are your preferred pronouns?
She/her/hers
What city or village do you live in?
[534]Does your neighborhood have a name? If so what is it?
[535]Are you connected with anyone in your local government?
[536]Are you applying as a business owner, artist, non-profit, DDA, or Commercial Improvement District?
[280]Where will your project take place?
Delta Ave Business District within the City of Gladstone
Briefly describe your project idea:
The DDA plans to sponsor the Old Fashioned Christmas on Delta Ave to bring our community and visitors together to kick-off the holiday season. This event invites all businesses within the DDA district to participate by providing family friendly holiday activities along main-street for the public.
How will you be involved in this project? Who will you worth with?
There are so many entities that come together to make this event work, and that is no small feat! The City of Gladstone provides support from their Electric Department to hang the holiday lights and decorations down Delta Ave. The Parks and Recreation Department and Public Works Department have their staff involved in both set-up and clean-up efforts as well.
In addition, the Delta County Chamber of Commerce lends their large trailer wagons to the DDA to allow wagon rides to all participating locations at no cost. We also expect to receive a financial donation from a local retail business to help offset the cost of game prizes.
The larger the event recognition and engagement, the more volunteers we are able to secure. This provides us more feet on the ground to be available for any needs that arise during the actual event and feedback we will be able to collect to improve upon. Every participating business and entity is recognized on our marketing material and it is beautiful to see the community come together for the good of the public.
Finally, it encourages the public to interact with business owners, connecting people to services they could benefit from. For example, a chiropractor will be out on the sidewalk in front of his office serving hot chocolate to residents. The credit union will be be serving cookies with information on opening a child’s first savings account.
Describe the artist’s or artists’ work. This is not about credentials—what do they do as an artist?
Reflections is a staple in our community and they are the first to volunteer for any community event. They are an acoustic trio who play a variety of favorites from the 1940’s through today!
Please upload a letter of support for your project from your local governing body:
Click the icon(s) below to view. Note that this may download to your computer depending on the file type.
Additional Attachments (if any)
Click the icon(s) below to view. Note that this may download to your computer depending on the file type.
Why does your community need this project?
The Gladstone Downtown Development Authority (DDA) has moved away from event planning due to reduced revenue within the district, funding other large project initiatives, and limited staff availability. The Old Fashioned Christmas is the ONLY city wide event sponsored by our DDA and it has such a positive impact of our business district.
Each business has an opportunity to engage with the both local residents and visitors that are home for the holidays, opening their doors to community members whom have never had an opportunity or reason to enter their storefront before.
– Young children that have never been introduced to the performing arts get an opportunity to enter a dance studio to write a letter to Santa.
– The public gets an opportunity to meet the City Mayor during the lighting of the City’s Christmas Tree
– Free meals and goodies are offered at many of the participating businesses
– Visitors get a tour of our community offerings while riding the holiday wagon to each participating location
The event provides exposure for our downtown businesses, local artists, and participating churches while also providing our public a free family friendly activity with many goodies to enjoy. Memories are made at the Old Fashioned Christmas each year, and it bring a sense of nostalgia to those who are visiting home for Thanksgiving. This is essential as we consider marketing our community as a beautiful and safe place to raise a family.
What do you hope to achieve through this project?
Exposure for our city!
– Encourage new businesses to move into the district
– Members of the public putting a face to name with our City Commission
– Utilizing this event to market our community with visitors
Exposure for our downtown businesses!
– A local artist introducing themselves to a retail store owner proposing the idea of selling their items on consignment
– An increase in dog training sign-ups after the public visits D&D Dog Dynamics
– Connecting someone in chronic pain with one of our chiropractor providers after having a chance to meet face-to-face
– Dance studio registration rates increase from young visitors who came in to write a letter to Santa but left with a ignited interest in the performing arts
– Gift card purchases for the holidays at our local restaurants
– Gym membership sign-ups after touring the facility
– Small business owners having insightful conversations with an insurance firm in our downtown district
How do you plan to spend the $5,000 microgrant?
$300 – Band
A local band named Reflections will be hired to play on stage at the Farmers Market Square to entertain the public while waiting in line to meet Santa.
$500 – Face Painters
We plan to hire five face painters as one of the event offerings.
$2300 – Event Planner:
We plan to contract with an event planner located within our DDA district to reduce the burden on our DDA Coordinator who will be on maternity leave during the event.
$2400 – Materials & Supplies:
To eliminated any barriers for businesses to participate, we plan to purchase the materials and supplies for their activities. This may include food items like cookies, hotdogs, apple cider, candy, and s’mores, as well as supplies such as patio heaters, face painting materials, gift bags, game prizes, etc. In addition, we will also use the funds to purchase decorations for the downtown project area, including firewood, haybales, holiday lighting, A-Frame signage and chain-link gates to form lines.
What resources do you already have to make this project successful? Resources could include things like time, partners, expertise, donated goods/materials/space, matching funds, and more. Please approximate the in-kind value if possible.
– Matching funds up to $500 from the DDA
– We’ve partnered with an event planner
– We expect at least 15 downtown businesses to participate
– Many materials and supplies available from previous events
– In-Kind: Porta-potties, wagon trailers, city staff services
Will your project require special permits from the community you are in? For example, anything that requires a street closure or installing a permanent art piece will likely require a special permit from your local governing body or zoning board. If your project is funded, the MML Foundation is happy to help you navigate that process. Please note that all applicants must obtain any necessary permits for their projects, if selected for funding. *
Yes
Anticipated project launch date:
November 24, 2023
Will you serve as the primary point of contact for this application?
[291]Lead Artist First and Last Name:
Reflections Band (Michelle Czygan)
Lead Artist Website (If Applicable):
Business 1: Business Name:
Main Street Pizza
Business 1: Business Type:
Restaurant
Business 1: Business Owner First and Last Name:
Robert & Shelly Claycomb
Business 1: Physical Location Address
901 Delta ave
Business 1: Twitter Handle (If Applicable)
Business 1: Facebook Page Link (If Applicable)
https://www.facebook.com/MainStreetPizza1989/
Business 1: Instagram Handle (If Applicable)
https://www.instagram.com/gstonemsp/
Business 2: Business Name:
Frame Farm & Art Gallery
Business 2: Business Type:
Retail
Business 2: Business Owner First and Last Name:
Chase Debra Debacker
Business 2: Business Physical Location Address:
920 Delta Ave
Business 2: Twitter Handle (If Applicable)
Business 2: Facebook Page Link (If Applicable)
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057645661207
Business 2: Instagram Handle (If Applicable)
Business 3: Business Name:
[325]Business 3: Business Type:
[507]Business 3: Business Owner First and Last Name:
[326]Business 3: Physical Location Address
[327]Business 3: Twitter Handle (If Applicable)
[374]Business 3: Facebook Page Link (If Applicable)
[373]Business 3: Instagram Handle (If Applicable)
[383]Please list the names of any additional partners:
[336]Image Caption 1 (if any): Before Photo 1 – Delta Ave in Gladstone – Also referred to as Mainstreet
Image 1 (if any):
Image Caption 2 (if any): Before Photo 2 – City Christmas Tree Set-Up
Image 2 (if any):
Image Caption 3 (if any): Past Event: Wagon Ride
Image 3 (if any):
Image Caption 4 (if any): Past Event: Participants
Image 4 (if any):
Image Caption 5 (if any): Past Event: Flyer
Image 5 (if any):
