What’s Happening on Main Street, Gardnerville
Summer, summer, summertime
“Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August.”– Jenny Han
We hope you are surviving the heat wave, Main Street. As far as elements are concerned, in the Carson Valley, it comes all at once and relentlessly. You might want to capture some photos of Jobs and Freel Peaks, there haven’t been many years when we see snow on our peaks while trying to survive 100-degree weather! Oh Nevada, we sure love you.
Speaking of 100-degree weather – thank you to everyone who braved the heat to come wine walk with us last night! The weather was warm (ok HOT) and the beverages were refreshing. Although it was one of our lesser-attended events of the year with just under 400, we still had a phenomenal time. We are very grateful to everyone who supported our fundraising event and our fantastic small businesses. Thank you to our business district for staying open late and offering your incredible hospitality once again. We are really loving the hydration stations and refreshing nonalcoholic beverage options that are starting to pop up for our designated drivers and as palate cleansers for our walkers. I think I drank my weight in lemonade last night and was delicious. There is something about sipping on a sweet beverage and walking down our beautiful main street, it’s summertime memories at their finest.
If you have FOMO don’t worry, we have another fun Third Thursday Wine Walk planned for August. Grab those poodle skirts and grease that hair, “You’re the Wine that I Want” 50’s hot rod theme is coming at you, Thursday, August 17th!
We want to express a BIG thank you to Douglas County Sheriff’s Department for their support last night. They had extra traffic patrol on hand to slow that traffic down and ensure our pedestrians had a safe place to enjoy downtown. Thank you, Sheriff Coverly, Undersheriff Elges, and the entire Sheriff department for identifying this need for added safety and providing it. DCSO is the BEST.
ICYMI we hosted our Annual Freedom 5k – Run for the Wreath, the most patriotic 5k on this side of the Carson Valley, on the 4th of July. We had a record number of participants at 297 registered and just over 320 counting our tiny “runners” and our four-legged friends. It was such a great event! We can’t recall the last time we saw so much red, white, and blue in one place other than our July events. This is what we love about our community when we say dress up, you all understand the assignment! Our winners of the most patriot-dressed were our tiny runner, 8-year-old Kinley Holdridge, and husband and wife duo Jason and Tanya Hatfield. Until now, we would have never thought it was possible to run in jorts. Jason, you have proved us wrong!
This year we saw a new 1st place winner, Ramona Sanchez with a time of 18.32 minutes. We thought for sure our returning champ Luis Abandis was going to take it this year and become a threepeat champion. He wasn’t far behind Ramona finishing 2nd with a time of 19.23, and hot on his heels was 14-year-old Cayden Mosby finished 3rd with a time of 19.24. Luis has supported our event over the years and as a veteran himself, it is an honor to see him cross our finish line. The Freedom 5k marked a total of 1,281 days of running for Luis and we are sure by now he is close to hitting 1,300 days of running. Congratulations to all our winners and to everyone who crossed that finish line. If you didn’t catch our Freedom 5k promo series featuring “Meredith Knievel”, a screaming eagle, and Uncle Sam riding a unicorn – you can find it here on our YouTube Chanel
This event was so successful we were able to raise over $1800 for our Wreaths Across America Ceremony on December 16th at the Garden Cemetery. Thanks to your generous support of this fundraising event, we are 89% towards our goal with 195 of the 225 wreaths sponsored! This ceremony is near and dear to our hearts. Having an opportunity to honor our veterans laid to rest is very humbling and special to us here at MSG. Thank you for helping to make this happen. If you haven’t attended this event, check out this quick highlight of last year’s ceremony.
We talk a lot about fundraising around here, and how our signature events like the Third Thursday Wine Walk, Fall Festival, and Coffin Races, Freedom 5k raise monies for our organization, but you may not know what these funds are raised for. Most of you recognize our efforts with our iconic Main Street in Bloom flower baskets and flowerpots along Main Street, our community garden – the Heritage Park Gardens, murals, statues, and benches, but what do we do with the rest? At our core, we are a revitalization organization whose efforts are focused on developing a unique identity and preserving the historic nature of our community.
In simple terms – we are passionate about saving our buildings and helping our business and building owners with necessary improvements so the structures we are stewards of can last the tests of time. Our long-time goal became a reality last year with the creation of our Façade Improvement Grant program to do just that. The best part of it all, by attending our events and sponsoring our program, YOU help to make that happen.
We are very excited to announce our recent awardees of the 2023-2024 Façade Improvement Grant program. Last year thanks to your support, Main Street Gardnerville had $11,773.22 of Main Street dollars invested in this year’s grant cycle, and Douglas County, through its Economic Vitality department (and thanks to Douglas County Community Service Transient Occupancy Tax – TOTS funds) has contributed an additional $20,000 for this fiscal year for a total of $31,773.22 available for projects. These grants are reimbursement grants of up to 50% of total project costs awarded upon completion, which means we will see OVER $60,000 reinvested into the downtown this year!
And without further ado, your MSG Façade Improvement Grant winners: A Wildflower florist – updated signage, Re:Style Clothing Exchange – exterior paint, Historian Inn – balcony repair, and the Heritage Preservation Company for Cheshire Antiques – new roof. We are very excited to assist these businesses with their improvement and to have our first historic preservation project in this program with the rehabilitation of one of our oldest buildings in the district.
In other great news, we still have a balance left to award of just over $6,000 which means we are opening a fall cycle! Get those bids ready, fall cycle opens on September 1st. To learn more about this program and how to apply click HERE or on the flyer below.
If you love old buildings, flowers, art, gardening or just volunteering in general and want to learn more about Main Street Gardnerville and ways you can further help our mission, we invite you to join us for our I Scream for Main Street Ice Cream Social on August 10th from 5:30-7 pm at the Patio at DST Coffee. We will have our organization and committees on hand for you to learn all about our four-point approach and how you join! As we like to say, we put FUN in fundraising.
If you are looking for an opportunity to help before that, our Heritage Park Gardeners are hosting a community garden workday tomorrow, Saturday, July 22nd starting at 8 am until the heat sets in. Please come help the gardens tackle the weeds and bring the gardens back to its beauty. We have all the tools, we just need you. Grab some gloves and sunscreen and meet us in the Gardens!
Don’t forget to pop into our Just a Drop in Main Street Farmer’s Market every Wednesday from 8 am – 1 pm and get some wonderful organically grown produce and some unique finds from local vendors.
We also have the CV Flyte Wind Down Wednesday coming up quickly on July 26th from 4-8 pm at Heritage Park. The gals at CV Flyte continue to do an incredible job of organizing this event and bringing our favorite food trucks and beverage vendors. With the partnership and generous contributions from the Cultural Arts Foundation of Douglas County which provides the music lineup, this event is FREE to attend. This month’s music lineup will be the Rose Bud’s Dance Band and Cody Hayes Band for your music enjoyment with visual artist Bfree. You don’t want to miss it!
Thank you our loyal 5 readers for making it this far in the blog! There is always something happening here on Main Street, and we don’t want you to miss a moment. Here’s to more summer nights of making main street memories together. Throw on that sunscreen, hit the trails and beaches, venture downtown, sit for a spell in the cool air conditioning, and enjoy the days of sweet summertime. As always, remember to support your local businesses, tip generously, and be kind to each other.
Until next time Main Street!
Jen Nalder, Program Director
Main Street Gardnerville
Bring on that sweet summertime!
Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you; spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.― Amy Poehler
June Greetings Main Street Gardnerville!
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.
All of this is possible through volunteerism, private donations, grant funding, and contributions from our local municipality The Town of Gardnerville, Douglas County, the Nevada Main Street program, and most importantly YOU – all of whom share a common goal of creating a center in our community that brings people together through beautification, events, cultural celebrations, and historic preservation. We are doing this together!
We hope you plan on continuing the celebration all year long with us. We are just getting started with our Main Street summer series. Next up is our first Bike Rodeo, We are partnering with Western Nevada Safe Routes to School for this free community event. Join us tomorrow at Heritage Park Saturday, June 17th, 9-1 pm . We will have bike inspections, helmet fitting, a bike rodeo obstacle course, and a Little Tykes balance bike race! There will be some of our favorite vendors and partner organizations: Carson Valley Health, Bon Fire Coffee Collective, Grandpa Archie’s Ice Cream, Bus Boy Food Truck, and the Carson Valley Trails Association just to name a few. Check out the flyers below for the timeline of events for the day.
Our Friends at Cv Flyte are back for the next Wind Down Wednesday on June 21st from 4-8 pm at Heritage Park. They are partnering with the Cultural Arts Foundation of Douglas County to bring another incredible music and entertainment lineup featuring: Grupo Paso Pino with Miki Rae & the Hooligans. All of your favorite food trucks and beverage vendors will be on hand for another great night of friends, food, and music!
We are quickly approaching the most patriotic fun run on this side of the Carson Valley! Our Annual Freedom 5k run for the Wreath is July 4th at 8am, Heritage Park. This is our annual fundraiser for the Wreaths Across America ceremony at Garden Cemetary where we honor 225 veterans laid to rest in December. You know how much we love any reason to dress up, this is the perfect time to get your Patriotic gear ready for the TTWW later in July. Prizes will be given to best dressed, most patriotic participants. To find out more check out the flyer below!
Thank you for celebrating 15 years with us! It has been a remarkable journey over the last decade and a half, and we are just getting started. Here’s to summer nights and making main street memories together. Throw on that sunscreen, hit the trails and beaches, come downtown and sit for a spell, and enjoy the days of sweet summertime. While you’re at it support your local businesses, tip generously, and be kind to each other.
See you on Main Street!
Jen Nalder, Program Director
Main Street Gardnerville
Main Street Summer Series has officially begun!
“This is the power of gathering: it inspires us, delightfully, to be more hopeful, more joyful, more thoughtful: in a word, more alive.
Our friends at CV Flyte kicked off our summer series with the first Wind Down Wednesday of the year on May 10th. The weather was mild and the food and music were perfect. The Douglas High School marching band played as the opener raising funds for their upcoming trip to perform at the Memorial Day Parade in Washington DC. Keith Alan Barnett and the Lonesome Polecat band was the main event for the evening and boy could they play. We had our favorites food vendors: Blanhir Bakery out of Yerington, Grandpa Archie’s Ice Cream, Out West Catering featuring Dollface Cheesecake, Valley Eats, King of Kings, Ping Pow Pom Shaved Ice, Cook’d Tumbleweeds, JTay Designs, Juniper Booth Photos, and Carson Valley Bounce House. It was a perfect start to the season. Next CV Flyte Wind Down Wednesday is scheduled for June 21st, 4 pm at Heritage Park.
We started May with one of the most successful SWEEP THE TOWN Main Street clean-up we have hosted yet. We had over 70 Main Street volunteers attended this district-wide clean-up in addition to the amazing staff from the Town of Gardnerville. Thank you to the wonderful volunteers who worked so hard to get our downtown clean and to the incredible support of the Town of Gardnerville staff. The Town of Gardnerville reports after four hours and numerous passes with the street sweepers over 8 tons (15700 pounds) of rock, debris, and dirt were removed from Main Street Gardnerville!! Our volunteers logged 288 volunteer hours which is an in-kind contribution of $9148.40 to our community – they really did some work! Thank you to Meredeth Fischer our Board Member and District Vitality chair for organizing such a successful well-run event – YOU ARE AWESOME!! And to all the volunteers who showed up, you all did amazing and our downtown is shining, thank you! For a quick highlight of the day click HERE.
This weekend is a BIG one for Main Street Gardnerville. We will be in two locations on Saturday, May 20th. Find our Heritage Park Gardners at the Center for Hope and Healing, Hot Air for Hope Balloon Festival at Lampe Park Saturday 9-5 pm, and also at the Heritage Park Gardens for their annual Heritage Park Garden Plant Faire from 9-1 pm. Please come, support the Gardens, and get a jump start on your garden with locally grown starter plants! There will also be garden goodies available for donation to bring some beauty and charm to your garden. Heritage Park Gardens is a community garden project with 56 community garden beds available to rent each year. The Gardens are made possible through 100% volunteer efforts and donations. Come explore the pride of Main Street Gardnerville, and see what you are missing.
I want to take a moment to thank you, our community, for being so welcoming to our Nevada Main Street Family and our Main Street America Senior Program officer Lisa Thompson. Nevada Main Street recently hosted technical training at the Douglas County Museum and Cultural Center. The training was facilitated by Lisa of Main Street America and Shari Davis of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (where Nevada Main Street operated) for the 21 communities throughout the state exploring their national accreditation. We had friends from as far East as Ely, Elko, Mesquite, and Boulder City, as far West as Incline Village and Mid Town Reno, and everything in between like Tonopah, Winnemucca, Goldfield, and Hawthorne. I’ve said it before, the people that make up the Main Street community are some of the most genuine committed people you will meet. You showed our friends some wonderful hospitality over their two-day stay, and lucky for us they were able to stay and attend our first Third Thursday Wine Walk of the year. Thank you for your tremendous warm welcome Main Street Gardnerville and thank you Lisa and Shari for this incredible two days of training.
Right now Nevada Main Street has an Assembly Bill AB481 in the Ways and Means Committee for 700k one-time funding to the Nevada Main Street program. If passed The Nevada Main Street program will provide technical training like the one we just attended this week, grant funding for organizations to create beautification and restoration programs, business incubators and so much more. If you love your Main Street Gardnerville program and wish to see more of our Nevada communities benefit from what and MainStreet America program can do, contact the Ways and Means committee and share your support for AB481.
We just received some exciting news yesterday!!! The Douglas County Board of County Commissioners just approved the supplemental funding request from the room tax fund of $20,000 for our Facade Improvement Grant program 2023/24 Grant cycle. We are champions for the Douglas County Economic Vitality Master Plan focus on “Distinct Downtowns”. Our District Vitality and Design committees have created this incredible 50/50 reimbursement grant program for our local businesses and building owners to restore, revitalize and improve their business structures. Last year we are proud to say we awarded over $14000 in Facade Grants to 6 lucky businesses and saw a return on investment of over $30,000 in our district. This year, thanks to the success of our fundraising efforts like the Wine Walk and community donations, Main Street Gardnerville has a contribution of over $11,00 and in addition to Douglas County’s recently approved contributions of $20,000, we will have over $31,000 available for grant funding this year! Thank you Douglas County Board of County Commissioners, Scott Morgan, Community Service Director, and Lisa Granahan Economic Quality Manager for seeing the value in this program. The grant cycle is officially open. To apply visit our Facade Grant Page on our website under: Downtown Development
Speaking of your Main Street dollars at work, Beverly Caputo artist of the iconic Basque Mural will be in town next week giving her art piece some new life. We have dedicated funds for the restoration of our public art pieces, and the Basque mural is first on the priority list. Beverly is also the artist of the Cowboy mural on the Mid Towne Plaza. Installing an art piece is one thing, keeping it around to endure the test of time is another. We are grateful to have Beverly available to take the time and touch up this beautiful art piece.
Don’t forget Main Street in Bloom is about to hit Main Street. We only have a few Hanging Flower Baskets and Adopt a Pots to sponsor! Not only does everyone look forward to our iconic hanging flower baskets, but the partnerships to make this program possible are awesome. Your sponsorship and flower pot adoption is vital to the success of the Main Street Gardnerville beautification efforts. Our beautiful baskets and pots are cultivated by the students of the FFA/Horticultural youth program at Douglas High School, Smith Valley School, and China Springs Youth Camp. These students are dedicated to ensuring the flower pots are planted and cared for until they become part of our downtown landscape. We can’t wait to see their hard work hit Main Street for the summer. To sponsor a hanging flower basket or adopt a pot, check out the link below.
Well, my friends, that is the long and long of it. Next month is our 15th Anniversary and as I have been calculating data from over the last 15 years, I am again left with a deep sense of gratitude and love for this community. You have supported our mission and vision for 15 years and in that time we have done so much together. Thank you for your continued support of Main Street Gardnerville through your donation, partnerships, support of our fundraising events, volunteering, and showing up. What we accomplish is not possible without you. You have shown so many what the power of a community that really cares can do. I am grateful for each and every one of you. I hope you have a wonderful month ahead enjoying all the beautiful things our community has to offer. Summertime is coming! Enjoy the weather, get outside, breathe the fresh air, support your local businesses, tip generously, and be kind to each other.
See you on Main Street!
Jen Nalder, Program Director
Main Street Gardnerville
Main Street Happenings for May!
“What you leave behind is not engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”― Pericles
Hello and Happy Spring Main Street Gardnerville!
Spring is finally making an appearance! Oh, happy days of warm sun on our skin and the anticipation of spending time outside to explore and enjoy once again everything our beautiful area has to offer, but more importantly… the kickoff of our Main Street Summer Series of events! Not only are the wine walks coming, but MAIN STREET GARDNERVILLE IS TURING 15!! You know what that means, downtown district-wide celebrations every chance we get!
I recently got a fortune cookie whose fortune read: Travelling East will bring you great fortune. Turns out, that fortune cookie was one smart cookie. The last month was a whirlwind and with luck and timing on my side, I was able to represent MSG at some amazing conferences over the month. I found myself singing good ol Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again” as I packed my bags and traveled East.
First up was an incredible opportunity to attend the AIANTA Nevada Tribal Tourism Conference at the historic Stewart Indian Colony. It was a very moving experience listening to our local and regional American Indian community speak on ways we can support their efforts in sharing about their culture and land in respectful and sustainable ways. We look forward to working with our newfound partners and collaborators on how we can support and create meaningful projects together.
From there we were off to Main Street America Now conference in beautiful Boston, Massachusetts. Daphne Hillyer, our MSG Board member, and Promo Committee Chair, and I were two of over 1900 in attendance at this year’s event. Main Street America did a phenomenal job of creating informative sessions and speakers to not only renew our passion for what we do but also give us the tools and insight to accomplish our goals and help set future goals. We spent a great amount of time enjoying the company of our Nevada Main Street Family. Nevada has close to 20 communities throughout the state looking to establish a Main Street program like ours in their communities. Their efforts are led by some of the most incredible, passionate people I have had the honor of getting to know. Big shout out to Shari Davis the herder of cats and the state coordinator of the Nevada Main Street program, for her tireless efforts in supporting our Main Street programs. She is AMAZING. Here are the highlights of Boston in under a minute!
I just returned from beautiful Ely, Nevada where I attended the Nevada Art Council Basin to Range Exchange 2023. Hats off to Erica Hill our regional coordinator, Tony Manfredi, Executive Director of NAC, and their entire team for a fantastic 3 days. I met some incredible artists, performers, and leaders in the art and culture community throughout Nevada. Needless to say, I am pretty excited to continue our mission of supporting our local artists, performers, and culture while continuing to find ways the community can experience the tremendously talented neighbors that call this community home and celebrate the rich culture that twines us together.
Speaking of Art – We unveiled our newest Art piece for 2023 Save the Date Cards at this year’s Volunteer Gala. The watercolor is called Main Street Wine Walk by local artist Tina Forkner and it is simply perfect. Thank you, Tina, for creating such an incredible work of art for us. This beautiful piece is below for you to enjoy. Tina will be selling reproductions of the print, and because her generous heart has no end, she will also be donating proceeds of the sales of this print back to Main Street Gardnerville1 See what did I say? Tremendously talented neighbors live here.
Not only did we gain an art piece, but we also gained a volunteer in Tina. MSG has a way of welcoming volunteers that stay. I say this because April is Volunteer Appreciation Month and when we host our Volunteer Gala, I witnessed the beauty of a room full of volunteers MSG has welcomed in over the years celebrating our accomplishments together. This is my favorite celebration simply because we take time to pause and thank our volunteers for everything they contributed over the year(s) and acknowledge those who have gone above and beyond. Last year Main Street Gardnerville volunteers dedicated 3474 HOURS of volunteerism which is equivalent to over $104 THOUSAND dollars in in-kind value. We had over 50 of those dedicated volunteers in attendance, including some of our local community leaders. I cannot express my gratitude enough to each and every one of them – they ARE Main Street Gardnerville! Congratulations to our Volunteer of the Year Sophia Roussakis; Business of the Year CV Flyte; Promo Committee Acknowledgment Mike Olson; Design Committee Acknowledgment Mike Henningsen; District Vitality Acknowledgment Allie Galloway; Organization Committee Acknowledgment Debbie Ham. Thank you again to Commissioner Chair Mark Gardner and Town of Gardnerville Board member and Main Street Founding Father Jim Park for delivering such kinds words to our volunteers BIG THANK YOU to our gracious hosts Woodett’s Diner, Christelle, and Chef Remon for an exceptional meal to be remembered for years to come. And an even bigger THANK YOU to our Organization committee, Teresa Bennis, Beth Watts, and my co-hostess with the mostess Meredith for pulling this all together. Check out the highlights of the event HERE
Have I mentioned we LOVE volunteers? If you are interested in joining us, we would love to have you. Mark your calendars for the upcoming opportunities to lend a hand at the Heritage Park Garden Earth Day Clean Up: Saturday, April 22 at 10 am at the Gardens and the Sweep the Town event on Saturday, May 6th, 9 am! More hands, the quicker the work. Scroll down to learn more and how you can help.
I promised myself I would not be long-winded… again, and yet here I am. Thank you to those loyal 5 readers who have made it this far. Make sure to show those businesses down at the bottom some love and click on their ads, follow their pages, and support them by shopping locally. They are the reason we do what we do, and what makes this area so unique and cool. Trust me, I have seen many places and I will say our home is AH-MAZING. Let’s keep it flourishing, remember to shop local, tip generously, and check on your neighbors.
See you on the streets…SOON Main Street!
Jen Nalder, Program Director
Main Street Gardnerville
Spring Greeting Main Street Gardnerville!
Hello Main Street Gardnerville Friends!
As that old saying goes: March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, almost as if March has been known to act like this, repeat offender if you ask me. It has been quite a wild ride this winter and some days it seems like mother nature will not let up. Safe to say that groundhog nailed his prediction this year. By this time we are usually enjoying “Fool’s Spring”, followed by 2nd or 3rd winter… I forget at this point, and honestly, I can’t say if we ever came out of “First Winter”. Welcome to the Carson Valley, land of all the seasons, at once, and in excess.
One thing is for sure, SPRING IS COMING! March is without a doubt one of my favorite months. Winter slowly gives way to new blooms, longer days and the whisper of Spring hangs in the air. March is also when we start kicking off community events. This means I have more to share and less waxing on about the blah-de-blahs of Main Street, lucky for you, you’re welcome.
We are determined to make spring happen one way or another. This past Monday, Design’s Flower committee was FINALLY able to journey out to China Springs Youth Camp to plant the first Hanging Flower Basket plugs for 2023’s Main Street in Bloom! In case you aren’t familiar with our Main Street in Bloom program, it is one of MSG’s longest-running beautification efforts that partners with our local FFA/Horticultural Youth programs at Douglas High School, Smith Valley High School, and China Springs Youth Camp. These students are dedicated to ensuring the flower pots and baskets are cultivated and cared for until they become a part of our downtown landscape.
Under the guidance of our ever-so-talented Flower committee, we work year-round to create beautiful Hanging Flower Baskets and Adopt-a-Pots that adorn Main Street from June – September. Every “Thriller”, “Filler” & “Spiller” is thoughtfully selected each year depending on the successful picks from years prior. For a sneak peek of 2023 Main Street in Bloom beauties and how you can sponsor this program, check out the link and video below!
Speaking of planting, We have our annual Heritage Park Garden Spring Forum and Expo this SATURDAY MARCH 18th from 10 am-12 pm at the Gardnerville Station. This is a wonderful FREE event open to the public. You will learn from the best in the industry planting tips and tricks for successful gardening, taming noxious weeds, critters and insect strategies, and how to have a successful crop in this hostile environment. Presenters this year are Chuck Schembre on Understanding Ag, Master Gardner, Jessica Gardner with UNR Ag extension sharing information about the community gardens and what 2023 has in store, Shannon Allen with Heritage Park Co-op sharing about our explorative children’s gardening and STEM classes held in the Children’s Garden, and Craig Witt of Full Circle compost sharing his knowledge of all things soil and of course the famous Worm Juice! The Heritage Park Garden committee will have Garden Goodies for sale and a drawing for beautiful Gardening Baskets. The HPG Committee will also be on hand to answer any questions about our Community Garden Plot rental for the 2023 season. You don’t want to miss it – last year’s event was standing-room only, so make sure to arrive early.
We had a packed house for our first Discover Downtown and Mingle of the year. We want to extend our gratitude to our wonderful businesses who stayed open later and in the midst of a monsoon to welcome us in and provide such wonderful hospitality. Thank you to Karen at Chesire Antiques, Darlene at Beautique Beauty Bar, Berzchete at Berzchete’s Nails, and Rachel at Sage River Photography for a most memorable night. We made so many new friends and explored some of the oldest buildings in the district, not to mention their refreshments! If you missed it, don’t worry, we have two more on deck. Our next Discover Downtown & Mingle will be on June 8th! We will announce the next block of businesses as the event draws near. If your business or block of businesses are interested in hosting an upcoming mingle, please let us know! Highlights of the evening and save the date are posted below.
We want to take a moment to thank Douglas County Economic Vitality Director, Lisa Granahan and the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners for the opportunity to present our updates on the 2022 Facade Improvement Grant Program. It was wonderful to share the success we experienced in our first year of this pilot program. We received valuable feedback that will help guide us into the upcoming grant cycle for 2023! If you would like to learn more about this program and if you qualify for our 50/50 reimbursement grants for improvements to your business exterior, visit the Facade Improvement Grant Program landing page.
You can also view our presentation here at the 1hr 15min mark:
The next Grant cycle will open in May 2023 so get those bids ready.
In closing, it’s hard for me to overlook any opportunity to express my gratitude for this wonderful community. Thank you, again, our community and our neighbors for your continued support of our program and this wonderful place we call home. It’s been a pleasure sharing our recent Main Street moments with you, and we are so excited to make more memories soon. Until then shop local, tip generously, and check on your neighbors.
Happy St Paddy’s Day! See you on the streets!
Jen Nalder, Program Director
Main Street Gardnerville
Greetings from Main Street Gardnerville
“If we don’t care about our past, we cannot hope for the future… I care desperately about saving old buildings.-Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Greetings from Main Street Gardnerville!
I feel like I have been a little MIA in the district lately and it’s giving me a case of cabin fever. Outside looking in, it seems all quiet on the home front, but I can assure you it’s anything but quiet here at Main Street Gardnerville! I sometimes forget how labor-intensive paperwork in the first quarter of the year can be: Permits, applications, reports, setting dates, and meetings. A friend once said ” You have to do the have-to’s before you can do the want-to’s”, so for now, paperwork purgatory it is until we can spend the summer enjoying our want-to’s together.
Speaking of meetings, we had an incredible round of committee meetings this month. We were so excited to welcome new friends wanting to volunteer with Main Street Gardnerville. It was wonderful to see new faces and feel their enthusiasm as we exchanged ideas and shared our passion for this organization and community while learning about their passions and strengths. That synergistic energy created when collaboration takes over is so cool. We absolutely LOVE having our community join us. Believe me, we have a task for anyone and any skill set, and we will put you to work! Our volunteers are incredible human beings connected by the one common fiber of wanting to create a space for the community to enjoy…. and save some old buildings along the way. If any of this sound like something you are curious to explore, please check our volunteer page outlining the committees of our four-point approach and how you can join us.
We had the absolute privilege of previewing local artists who answered our “All Call for Artists” to create our 2023 Main Street Gardnerville artwork for our save-the-date cards. We were thrilled to have one of the artists attend the Design Committee meeting and present her concept which was actually a completed painting. It blew us away. I know I have said it before, but there is something so special about artists and the work they create. It is an indescribable feeling when the artist can take an image that only exists in your head and apply it to their medium and create the most perfect art piece. It is magical. I stand in awe of our local artist’s talent. We have so many talented artists of every medium that live here, it’s really quite amazing. Must be something about those mountains, pastures, old buildings, and wildlife that continue to inspire and feed their souls. I know it sure feeds mine. Thank you to all the artists who took the time to submit their letters of interest and concepts. You made our job really difficult. The selected artist and the piece will be announced after final approval at our Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday.
Quick update on our 2022 Facade Improvement Grant program. We have all projects completed and will be awarding the final four grant project reimbursements SOON! This Facade Improvement Grant Program has been a long-time goal for Main Street Gardnerville to establish. If you remember, opportunity and timing were on our side as we were included in Douglas County Economic Vitality’s Master Plan update as a focus for Distinct Downtowns. We were named champions for this project in creating a pilot program for the County to eventually adopt. The FIP is a 50/50 reimbursement grant for improvements and preservation efforts of our building owners in the district. Last year was our first year launching the program and as I have shared before, we were able to award $15,000 in grant funds to our local building owners thanks to a generous contribution from Douglas county of $10,000 and our contribution of $5,000 raised through Wine Walks and other fundraising events. To learn more about the Douglas County Economic VItality Master pan updates CLICK HERE
This year we are doubling down our investment and have budgeted $10,500 to be awarded in year two of this program. Our goal is to be more proactive with our historic building and get funding to our property owners allowing them to do the costly repairs, restoration, and upkeep that come with owning old buildings. Historic preservation funding for private owners of historic buildings is few and far between. Last year after losing more structures, it was a call to action. We can be better about investing in preserving the history and culture of our downtown, and that is exactly what we plan on doing.
These Facade Improvements grants are available to all commercial building owners in the district for projects that enhance the look and feel of our downtown. You can learn more about the program HERE. The next grant cycle will open in May!
If you are still reading this, thank you for sticking with me! I was told keeping it simple is the best approach, but if you know me, being long-winded is in my DNA. I hope this gave you a fun insight into what we have been up to. I look forward to seeing you all at our first Discover Downtown and Mingle of the year and the Heritage Park Garden’s Spring Forum & Expo in March. Until then, shop local and tip generously.
See you on the streets!
Jen Nalder, Program Director
Main Street Gardnerville
“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.”
― Ruth Reichl
Happy New Year Main Street Gardnerville!
Well, 2023 sure came in with a statement! More like an exclamation point! We haven’t experienced snowfall like this in many years, all at once, relentless, and still so beautiful. Although, I must admit, waking up to snow on Thursday morning (again) made me a little melancholy and dreaming about warmer summer sunny days. This quickly changed after setting our event calendar for the year. I decided winter can stick around for a little bit longer and I will live in this season just a little bit longer.
We had our first committee meeting of the year and firmed up dates for 2023 events. You can expect so many fun activities again this year. Our friends at CV Flyte are working on the Wind Down series for the summer to compliment our Main Street staple: the Third Thursday Wine Walks. It is going to be a great year and we can’t wait to share it with you. Make sure to scroll down and peek at the Events Calendar for the year and mark your calendars!
Last year sure kept us busy with new events, partnerships, and ART. We have been working on collecting all our accomplishments, volunteer hours, and stats for the year to include in our 2022 Impact report, and I have to tell you, compiling all the data and seeing it on paper is astonishing. With the volunteers hours calculated so far, we are over 2000 volunteer hours and this does not include Wine Walks, Flower committee hours, or events! (Have I mentioned how amazing our volunteers are?) As Idowu Koyenikan said, “There is immense power when a group of people with similar interests gets together to work toward the same goals.”
Thanks to the help of our volunteers, community partners, and sponsors like you, we were able to invest $29, 564.55 into our community through our Façade Grant program, over $5000 in public art, and host a multitude of community events and we are just getting started! This next year we are looking to invest even more back into the community through programs, resources and projects aimed to improve our community as a whole and help our local businesses and property owners so we can have them around for a long time.
We will publish our Impact Report very soon and also announce Round Two of our Façade Grant Program so stay tuned!
We want to take a second to congratulate Eddy Street Vintage Market for being a repeat champion of our Light Up Main Street Holiday Light Contest. They have earned themselves a 2023 business sponsorship on us. It was a tough competition, I have to say. I wasn’t sure they would beat the Unicorn & Flamingo display at Fabric Chicks, the beautiful traditional lights at JT Basque Dining Room, or the incredible lawn display at the Museum but they did! (I think Derek was a little nervous about the unicorn.) Congratulation Eddy Street Vintage Market & welcome back to Main Street!
With the impact of the weather postponing our transition out of the holiday season, it feels a little bit like we are still stuck in the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Hurry up and wait. This weather has tested our patience and perseverance, and it’s still just January. Some days are harder to keep the melancholy post-holiday blues away and the snow isn’t much help. Reminding ourselves better days are ahead and memories we made together last year will keep us going. Winter can be very lonely and isolating for many who can’t venture out. Remember to check on your neighbors, send a smile to a stranger, find opportunities to let the sunshine on your face, help each other out, be patient and kind, and we will get through this together.
I hope you find some joy in this winter season and have opportunities to get out, explore and try something new in the snow. Enjoy the beauty of our home and all its seasons. Until next time Main Street.
See you on the streets!
Jen Nalder, Program Director
Main Street Gardnerville
Spring has sprung . . . a leak!
“Volunteerism is the voice of the people put into action. These actions shape and mold the present into a future of which we can all be proud.”
— HELEN DYER
Hoppy Easter and Happy Friday Main Street Gardnerville!
Judging by the weather we have officially survived the second false spring and third winter. If you lived here long enough you know if you don’t like the weather wait 5 minutes! Flip flops and wool coat season is here, and we are very, VERY grateful for all that precipitation it brings.
April is Volunteer Appreciation Month! Last night we had the pleasure of hosting our Annual Volunteer Gala at Woodette’s. It was an incredible evening of amazing food, smiles, hugs, and celebration of everyone’s hard work and dedication. Among the honorees, we presented our friends Keith and Monica at Big Daddy’s Bike and Brew with the 2021 Business of the year award. Keith is a HUGE supporter of our program and graciously hosts not only of our most popular Wine Walk registration locations but has also become the home of our community partners’ fundraising events as well. The gracious hearts at Big Daddy’s is another wonderful example of and representation of what this community is all about.
Last night we also had the pleasure of celebrating our 2021 Volunteer of the Year, Pam Sbragia. Pam’s contributions and dedication to Main Street Gardnerville over the years are nothing short of incredible. I think her nomination says it best: “She is one of the most dependable and dedicated volunteers I have had the pleasure of interacting with since she joined MSG and the Flower Committee in 2013.” “One can count on Pam to be first to offer her assistance wherever and whenever there is an opportunity. These opportunities include flower promoting, planting, and decorating activities; HPG workdays and events; garden art painting and selling events; wine walk registrations; and numerous other MSG activities. Her willingness to participate goes beyond anyone’s expectations.” Thank you Pam for the years of dedication and heart you have given to Main Street. You are really a “Big Dill”
I commonly say, Main Street Gardnerville is a 99% volunteer-driven, 100% inclusive organization. We are proudly a 501(c) non-profit – a fancy word for saying we are a non-profit organization made possible solely through volunteer efforts, funded by sponsorships, donations, grant funding, and support from our community, local municipalities and county. How very fortunate and blessed we are as an organization to have so many incredible volunteers that make it all happen and make me look like a superstar. Main Street Gardnerville’s mission is to actively work to cultivate communities, and I can say after looking over the room last night, that is indeed what we do. For highlights of the evening click HERE.
If you are interested in joining this amazing group of people, we would love to have you! Our next Volunteer opportunity is SWEEP THE TOWN happening on May 7th at 9 am. Grab a broom, gloves, and your friends to help tidy up our Main Street! Everyone is welcome. We will have water provided by our Silver Key Sponsor Carson Valley Medical Center. For more details check out the flyer below. Can’t make it? Don’t worry we have so many more volunteer opportunities that can be found at the bottom of the newsletter, so make sure your scroll ALLL the way to the bottom!
WINE WALK SESON IS HERE! We are on cloud WINE to have the opportunity to bring this event back for another year! And to add even more fun to the event we have brought back themes for each Third Thurday Wine Walk!
- May “It’s Wine o’clock Somewhere” Tourist in your own Town Theme. Spend the evening viewing your town through the eyes of a visitor. Grab your Hawwiian shirt for a voyage through the town or weather depending, your parka for a fun arctic adventure!
- June “Wine-stone Cowboy” Western Theme. Ye haw, grab your partner in wine and get Rodeo ready!
- July “ Red, WINE and Blue” Patriotic Theme. Benjamin Franklin once said “ Beer is proof God Loves us and wants us to be happy”. We think he meant wine too. In the “spirit” of our president, who are we to argue?
- August “Hey Daddy-o! Lets sip some Bordeaux” 50’s Theme. Don’t be a square.
- September “Fall into Wine and have a Hauntingly Good Time” Fall Festival theme. Are you Team Coffin or are you Team Scarecrow? Whether you are a die hard fan of the Annual Slaughterhouse Lane Coffin Races or the Scarecrow we want to see your favorite fall fashion.
- October “Sip, Sip Rosé!” Our Paint the Town Pink celebration is back for it’s second year. Join us for our last wine walk of the season and do some great thing for our local cancer treatment centers while you are at it!
Don’t forget: this year we are introducing a Season Pass for the season! Don’t want to worry about registering every month? We have you covered, Third Thursday Wine Walk Season Passes are available for pre-purchase through May 13th. You will have your own VIP line to check in and get your sticker and stamp for the month’s event plus a bonus gift for registering for the whole season.
Want to be a Participating business? You don’t have to have a brick-and-mortar in the district to participate. We are an equal opportunity promoter. This year you have two options to participate:
- As an out of district vendor, you can pay per event $25 and fill out the registration form to participate
- Become a 2022 sponsor of the Main Street Gardnerville program starting at $100, and all wine walks entries are included PLUS the perks of being a sponsor such as advertising space in this super cool email newsletter, placement on our website, and promotion through our social medial pages. (Clearly the best value)
ALL PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES MUST BE REGISTERED WITH MAIN STREET GARDNERVILLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE THIRD THURSDAY WINE WALKS
Don’t Forget about the FREE Jazz and Art Festival to Heritage Park on May 22, from 1- 6 pm. We are partnering with our friends at Carson Valley Arts Council to bring you this fun free community event. Bring your chairs, picnic lunch, and beverages for a fun day of great music and art. Scheduled to perform are the DHS Jazz Band, The Jazzettes, The Gardnervillains, Mile High Jazz Band, and the Sagebrush swingers. Again this is a FREE event to attend.
Don’t forget to sponsor your hanging flower baskets and Adopt-a-pots! MAIN STREET IN BLOOM Flower Basket and Adopt-a-Pot program is a unique program that allows us to work with Smith Valley High School Ag Department, China Springs Youth Camp, and Douglas High School FFA. These students get hands-on experience creating the baskets and flower pots you enjoy in the district during late spring and summer. How incredible is that? We are so appreciative of the future gardeners and ranchers and our Flower Committee for the time and care they put into cultivating this beauty for us. If you want to learn more about the program CLICK HERE. These pots will adopt quickly so get your registrations in today!
Main Street Gardnerville Facade Improvement Grant Program, our exciting new program with the support of our terrific community supporters: the Town of Gardnerville and Douglas County Nevada Economic Vitality, will allow us to invest back into our business community through a forgivable 50/50 grant for our business to do exterior improvements and enhancements on their buildings. We will be announcing the opening of the grant cycles, who is eligible, and how to apply on NEXT WEEK! We are so excited to help give back to our community as we create a distinct downtown together.
As always, thank you Main Street Gardnerville, our partnering organizations, and the community at large for your continued support and enthusiasm for our program. We could not do it without you!
We hope you have a Happy Easter and enjoy the beauty of our area over Spring Break. Get out and EXPLORE!
See you on the streets!
All the best,
Jen Nalder, Program Director
Main Street Gardnerville
Experience the Past. Enhance the Present. Embrace the Future.