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Main Street Lexington celebrated its 10th anniversary with a reception at the Gin Hotel ballroom in downtown Lexington on Tuesday, Oct. 10.
The reception featured remarks from Rebecca Rowe, associate director of community revitalization for the Division of Economic Development and Community Vitality within Virginia’s Department of Housing and Community Development, as well as MSL Executive Director Rebecca Logan, MSL board of directors President Holly Ostby and Lexington Mayor Frank Friedman.
The event honored past and present staff, board and committee members, volunteers, partners and other supporters of MSL, and it featured a celebration of the organization’s accomplishments over the past decade.
MSL business support initiatives have kept $381,000 in the local economy through the downtown Lexington gift certificate program; distributed $295,200 in relief funds during the COVID-19 pandemic; welcomed 46 new businesses to the downtown commercial district, filling 24 vacant storefronts; and awarded $32,955 in signs and awnings grants for downtown merchants.
MSL has created six new public events in downtown Lexington: Rock the Bridge, the Jingle Bell Run, the Love Lex Lotto, the Science Festival and the twice-annual Restaurant Week. Additionally, MSL has assumed the coordination of several existing events, including the July 4 Children’s Bike Parade, downtown trick-ortreating, the candlelight processional and tree lighting in November and the Downtown Lexington Christmas Parade. And MSL partners with other local organizations to present the Freedom Food Festival each July.
Additionally, MSL has spearheaded multiple downtown beautification projects, including the recently completed Gateway Triangle Garden, while volunteers have contributed 13,776 hours of service for MSL events and programs.
Main Street Lexington is a volunteer-based, non-profit organization established in 2013 that works to create a prosperous and welcoming downtown while preserving Lexington’s unique and historic character.
For more information, visit www.mainstreetlexington. org.
