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WDI Selects New President | |
At the Annual Board of Directors Meeting on June 30th, David Spetrino, from Plantation Building Corporation, was elected as WDI's new President. Other officers are as follows: David Hardin - Vice President and Chair of CBD Services Committee, Donna Ray Mitchell - Vice President and Chair of Planning Committee, Andrew Cooke - Vice President and Chair of Economic Development Committee, Cathey Luna - Vice President and Chair of Marketing Committee, and Lee Hill - Treasurer.
Board members for the 2010-2011 fiscal year consist of: Rhonda Bellamy, Charles Boney, Frank Braxton, Nancy Bullock, Larry Clark, Andrew Cooke, Trip Coyne, Ted Davis, Bud Dealey George Edwards, Andrew Gray, Kaye Graybeal, Bobby Hamelburg, David Hardin, Don Harley, Randy Harmon, Lee Hill, Clark Hipp, Teresa Huffmon, Michael Keeler, Billy King, Cathey Luna, Bob McKoy, Worth Merritt, Donna Ray Mitchell, Tara Murphy, Edward Murray, Kevin O'Grady, Chris O'Keefe, Emily Parker, Charlie Rivenbark, Robert Rosenberg, Gordon Singletary, David Spetrino, Hal Wells, Cassie Williamson, and Ray Worrell. |
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FIND Entrepreneurs | |
 Buenaspace, located on the second floor of 27 North Front Street, hosted its grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting on Thursday, June 10th. Mayor Bill Saffo attended, and a networking session followed the event. Downtown is quickly becoming a hotbed of what author Richard Florida calls the creative class.
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FIND Yourself on the Water |
 Wilmington Water Tours provides a wide breath of services including eco and history tours, sunset cruises, full-moon cruises, and custom charters. They offer scheduled cruises from downtown Wilmington to Carolina Beach, Southport and Bald Head Island. The Wilmington, the first and finest state-of-the-art catamaran to serve greater Wilmington, is fully handicap accessible with a flexible layout. Wilmington Water Tours provides sit-down dining and passenger seating. Click here to learn more. |
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FIND Front Street |
 After months of construction and renovation, the Front Street Improvement Project is now 95% complete. One of the many changes that have occurred in the area is the addition of computerized pay stations to replace the old parking meters. Click here to learn how easy and effective the new pay stations are to use. |
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FIND FREEdom | |
Cape Fear Museum of History and Science has announced free admission to active-duty military families throughout the summer. Military families may tour the museum for free through September 6, 2010 in association with the blue star family network. Museum director Ruth Haas noted that being a Blue Star museum allowed Cape Fear to show appreciation for military members as well as their families.
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FIND this Month's Featured Property |
Historic Bulluck Hospital Building
221 North Front Street  Wilmington, NC 28401
Property Size: 13500 total sq. ft.; 4500 sq. ft. per floor Lease Price: Call for Price Listing Contact: J. Clark Hipp Contact Telephone: 910-231-7946
To view other available properties, click here!
As a free service, WDI allows REALTORS and landlords to post their listings on our website for free. Please click here to do so. |
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FIND this Month's Featured Business |
 Finkelstein's6 South Front Street Wilmington, NC 28401 (Corner of Front and Market)
Phone: (910) 762-5662 or 910-763-7377
Monday through Sunday from 9:30 to 6:00.
Musical instruments, jewelry, and more!
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FIND Hospitality |
Downtown Wilmington has been recognized as one of the top ten places to celebrate July 4th by Coastal Living magazine this year. Editors noted an appreciation of activities, restaurants and fireworks located around the waterfront.
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FIND Tips | WDI understands that the fourth of July can be a challenging day for those who plan to visit the downtown area. WDI Executive Director John Hinnant has composed a list of tips to help visitors combat the crowds, heat and frustration. Among the tips are reminders to remain patient, leave pets secured at home and to take advantage of the parking decks. Remember to back into parking spaces as this gives the driver a better view when pulling out to leave.
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Find Ambassadors |
WDI's volunteer Downtown Ambassadors are continuing their efforts to make downtown Wilmington a friendly and safer environment. Volunteers are always welcomed! For more information on the program or to fill out an application, visit http://downtownambassador.com. |
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WDI was formed in 1977 as a public/private partnership between New Hanover County and the City of Wilmington, with the remainder of the organization's funding coming from private donations. Less than 1/3 of our funds come from the city and county combined. Our total budget is $300,000 and office salary stays below 1/3 of the overall budget. We remain good stewards of the public trust and we do not operate in the red. For the upcoming year, we plan to concentrate our efforts on the following initiatives:
- Developing Incentives for Historic Preservation
- Improving Management of Nightlife Issues
- Implementing a Downtown Ambassador Program
- Establishing new park space in the CBD
- Retail & Office Recruitment
- Business Retention
- Better collaboration with our Economic Development partners in the region
Sincerely,
John Hinnant Executive Director Wilmington Downtown, Inc. P.O. Box 2235 Wilmington, NC 28402 Phone: 910.763.7349 Fax: 910.343.6950 Email: john@wilmingtondowntown.comMobile App: m.wilmingtondowntown.com |
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Battleship Blast
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Date: Sunday, July 4 Time: 9:05pm
The Battleship NC presents the 14th Annual Battleship Blast. Bring the entire family to enjoy this explosive evening. Click here for more information. |
Ride the Balloon
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Date: Saturday, July 10
The RE/MAX balloon will be flying on the riverfront while guests enjoy food, music, and entertainment in an effort to raise money for SaveAGeneration.com. Click here for more information. |
| Annual Downtown Sundown | |
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July Concerts:
July 2 - Girlz, Girlz, Girlz
July 9 - Adam D. Tucker
July 16 - Machine Gun
July 23 - UV
July 30 - Frontiers
For a full list of shows and dates, click here. Volunteers needed; contact John Hinnant at (910) 763-7349 for more information. |
| Coast Guard City Celebration | |
US Coast Guard Eagle Visits Downtown Wilmington
Date: August 6-8
The Eagle is the only active (operational) commissioned sailing vessel in the U.S. maritime services. (One of five such Training Barques in world.) It was built in 1936 by the Blohm & Voss Shipyard, Hamburg, Germany, as a training vessel for German Naval Cadets. It was commissioned Horst Wessel and following World War II was taken as a war prize by the United States. On May 15, 1946, the barque was commissioned into U.S. Coast Guard service as the Eagle and sailed from Bremerhaven, Germany to New London, Connecticut. |
| 11th Annual CFCC Boat Show | |
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Date: Saturday, July 24
Time: 9:30am - 4:30pm
Location: Cape Fear Community College
Every July, dozens of boats from all over the region pour into downtown Wilmington for the annual Cape Fear Community College Boat Show. Presented by the CFCC's two boat building programs, the show serves as an annual celebration of the craft of boat building. The boat show also features the "CFCC Build-A-Boat" event, where members of the general public can sign up to build a small wooden row boat from a pre-built kit with help from a CFCC student advisor. The cost of building a boat is $450 per team. All teams get to keep the boat they build and proceeds benefit student scholarships. For more details, visit http://cfcc.edu/boatshow. |
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Riverfront Farmers' Market |  | |
Saturdays through December 18
Located along the Cape Fear River in Historic Downtown Wilmington in Riverfront Park
Curbside market featuring local farmers, producers, artists and crafters
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Ann Street Bicycle
Boulevard Festival | | |
Date: Saturday, July 17
Time: 10:00am - 1:00pm
This festival will include games, activities, a bicycle raffle, bicycle helmet raffle, free health screening and bicycle safety instruction. |
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