Downtown Fresno Partnership Programs Supporting the Community
FRESNO – The Downtown Fresno Partnership never seems to tire when it comes to helping sustain a thriving downtown area.
A special new event grant the Partnership now offers is just the latest in programs the non-profit has created. $10,000 has been put into its budget that is going toward event support for different downtown happenings in the 2013 calendar year, and certain events can qualify for up to $1,000 to help with marketing. Event types could be cultural, musical, arts-related, and runs and races, to name a few. They must take place downtown, and priority is given to events taking place within the Partnership’s boundaries.
“We want events that support our downtown businesses,” said Gretchen Moore, events organizer with the Downtown Fresno Partnership.
The Partnership also has the power to oversee permits for events on the Fulton Mall. In October it signed a memorandum of understanding with the City of Fresno, giving it that ability. Permit applications to host an event on the Fulton Mall are available online.
“We will intake all the permits, we’ll go through the whole process, and then we talk to the City,” Moore said.
Assistance is also given to someone wanting to start up a new business downtown. The Partnership helps with finding a location that is suitable and the right size, and provides a contact. It also puts on business bootcamps with a number of useful topics, and helps businesses enter the world of social media and create Facebook and Twitter pages.
“We’re trying to bring them up to where they should have been 15 years ago,” Moore said.
Two Partnership programs doing well are the Downtown Fresno Ambassadors, launched last summer, and the Downtown Restaurant of the Week. Early next year could see the creation of a Downtown Restaurant Week, which would take place during lunch time.
People are already signing up for the second run of Over the Edge on June 1, where local citizens raise $1,000 in order to be able to rappel off the Pacific Southwest Building. 75 slots are available, and the Partnership gives tools to help participants achieve their fundraising goals. The money raised will help bring back the Downtown Fresno Ice Rink, which will make its return in November of this year.
“It can really be fun, and it’s a good team-building exercise for groups,” Moore said.
Other events that will draw people to downtown are the annual Cinco De Mayo celebration, where 60,000 people will pack the Fulton Mall, and the Market on Kern. The market will be held on Kern St. between the Crescent Building and the Fresno Convention Center every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“We’ll have performers out there every week, we always have musicians,” Moore said.
For more information on the Downtown Fresno Partnership, visit www.downtownfresno.org.