Bring on that sweet summertime!

Summer feels like it is here at last!  The wild weather has continued through the spring bringing us some torrential downpours lately.  To smell the remnants of fresh rain and see the skies open up to give us colors of the sunset exploding across the skies, is such a moving experience and gives us yet another reason to love and cherish this amazing place we call home.
Luckily, the weather did not slow us down or keep the crowds away from this month’s “Chardon-HAAAYY” Rodeo-themed wine walk.  Personally, I am a huge fan of dressing up, and walking down Main Street last night it’s obvious you are all too!  Y’all looked great and Rodeo-ready for the Biggest Little Rodeo to hit Reno this week. I’m pretty sure I spotted Dolly and definitely a lot of Wine-stone Cowboys. Thank you to all the businesses who stayed late, opened their doors, and helped to host this event, and especially to everyone who traveled near and far to attend our fundraising event. We had travelers as far as the UK not to mention regulars who come in from California to enjoy this little space we call home. As I like to say, we put the FUN in fundraising! Yee-haw!  In case you missed our Spaghetti Western promo reel for the event, you can watch it HERE
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the next Third Thursday Wine Walk on July 20th. Next month’s theme: “Pour Score and Seven Years Ago” Patriotic Theme
Yesterday was a BIG day for Main Street Gardnerville not only did we host the third Thursday Wine Walk, but we also continued our Main Street Gardnerville’s 15th-anniversary celebration with a proclamation read at the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners meeting (presentation at the 1:23:30 mark of the meeting) This was our second proclamation recognizing our 15th anniversary this month as the Town of Gardnerville recently recognized MSG as well at their Board of Director’s meeting on Tuesday, June 6th. We were honored to have a few of Main Street’s founding board members, Margaret Pross, Carol Sandmier, and Marcia Voeller in attendance
On this milestone of 15 years, we think it is fitting to celebrate and share a little of our history and accomplishments over the years. On June 3rd, 2008, Main Street Gardnerville was created as a non-profit organization through a proclamation by the Town of Gardnerville Board of Directors as a way to address the numerous issues facing older and historic downtowns during that time, including historic preservation and economic vitality.
In 2017 the Nevada Main Street Program was approved by the State Legislature allowing Main Street Gardnerville to pursue national accreditation with the Main Street America Program. Main Street Gardnerville received its national accreditation in 2020 and is now among only 862 accredited programs in the nation and the only nationally accredited program in the state of Nevada!
Over the last 15 years, we have partnered with local organizations to host successful fundraising events and programs such as; Third Thursday Wine Walks, weekly summer farmers markets, monthly Wind Down events, a stop in the Great American Race,  Heritage Park Gardens, Sweep the Town district cleanup, Façade Improvement Grant Program, Annual Slaughterhouse Lane Coffin Races and Fall Festival, Paint the Town Pink Breast Cancer Awareness initiative, Freedom Festival 5k Fun Run, Wreaths Across America Ceremony, and a Día de los Muertos festival.
Under our Main Street in Bloom downtown beautification project, Design’s Flower committee has partnered with our local FFA classes at Douglas High School, Smith Valley High School, and China Springs Youth Camp students to cultivate: 894 Hanging Flower baskets that have graced our Main Street, and 777 Adopt a Pots which have adorned our business frontages to date. The Petal Pushers’ work doesn’t stop there, they work throughout the year to bring color and vibrancy to our downtown.
Our Heritage Park Gardens, a 1.5-acre community garden began in 2011 through a generous community donation. The community garden has been developed and is currently maintained by a volunteer committee with the vision to provide “a place to learn, grow, share and beautify, to cultivate and nurture our community.” Since its first debut, the garden has transformed from hay bales for garden beds to what it hosts now: 56 constructed beds that are rented each season for the community to grow their own small crops, a walking labyrinth, and large-scale chess and checker’s board, a recognition wall to honor the volunteers over the years that made an impact,  and a children’s garden where young future gardeners can learn all about nature, panting and growing.
We have installed five public art pieces which include our murals, recognition wall, and the beloved “Man with Dogs’ statues that are always dressed for the occasion by a secret anonymous community member. And we can’t forget the 30 commemorative decorative benches and 7 bike racks in our district for our community to enjoy.
Over these 15 years, our volunteers have logged over 58,094.48 volunteer hours – a value of $ 1,266,196.31 of in-kind contribution of volunteer support to our community.  I tend to get quite emotional as I speak on behalf of Main Street Gardnerville and all of these wonderful volunteers and past directors. I take great pride in tooting the horn of these incredible humans because they are so humble in their achievements and dedication.  By far my favorite experience this month was sharing a moment when our first board president, Margaret Pross met the current board president Berzchete Thompson for the first time.  Life is truly a full circle.

Jen Nalder, Program Director
Main Street Gardnerville

Main Street Gardnerville is a 501c3 non-profit whose mission is to revitalize downtown Gardnerville utilizing design, organization, promotion & district vitality to develop a unique identity and preserve the historic nature of our community