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| Partnership News | February 2011
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Dear Partnership Member, Together, Downtown Bellingham Partnership members continue to make downtown what it is: a prime business location, the county's cultural center, a favored visitor destination and an important source of community identity. Thanks to your support, as well as City of Bellingham funding, the Partnership was able to promote a clean, safe, friendly and vibrant downtown for businesses, residents and visitors in 2010. We continued to clean and beautify downtown public-right-of-ways, promote downtown businesses through events and marketing campaigns, host local and out of town visitors at the Downtown Info Center and advocate for downtown-friendly public policy. Our 2010 successes included: - A strong Maintenance & Beautification program:
- Partnership staff spent over 2,750 hours cleaning downtown, including litter and spill pick up, graffiti removal, leaf removal, street furniture cleaning, posted literature and sticker removal and more.
- Staff also expanded the beautification district up Holly to Ellis, with new plantings in all the Holly Street beds and continued to maintain planters, beds and hanging baskets in the rest of the Maintenance & Beautification area.
- Successful promotion of downtown and our members, including attracting thousands of year-round visitors to downtown through:
- Hosting over 2,500 visitors at the downtown Information Center on Cornwall Ave.
- Attracting over 15,000 attendees to our popular events: monthly Art Walks, Ladies Night Out, Downtown Sounds summer concert series, Bite of Bellingham and Downtown Trick or Treat.
- The Bellingham Escapes advertising campaign that attracted visitors and generated articles on downtown Bellingham in papers across the U.S. and Canada right before the Winter Olympics.
- A strong web presence with 38,000 visitors to DowntownBelligham.com and over 3,500 friends and followers on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
- Distribution of 10,000 copies of the Downtown Bellingham Map and Business Directory throughout Bellingham and from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C.
- Providing a voice for a safe, friendly, clean and vibrant downtown through:
- Participation in the waterfront planning process.
- Participation on the Bellingham Transportation Commission.
- Communication with the City of Bellingham and other stakeholders on public safety issues.
- Art in windows program on Cornwall Ave.
- Participation on the Mayor's Neighborhood Advisory Commission.
Sincerely,
Kirsten Walker
Executive Director
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Partnership
Community Partners and Patrons
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Baron & Company
City of Bellingham
Daylight Properties
Banner Bank Champion St Center Five Star Development Greenhouse Port of Bellingham
Thank you for your support! |
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Clean@Downtown
Bellingham.com |
Please spread the word: the Partnership operates an e-mail dedicated to providing responsive, efficient service to all our members in the Maintenance & Beautification District.
If you notice a mess, a missing plant, graffiti or anything else in the Maintenance & Beautification District that needs attention from our staff, e-mail clean@downtownbellingham.com or call Peter Gunn at (360) 961-8574. Messages are checked frequently every day and we will respond as promptly as possible to your report.
Thank you for helping us continue to keep downtown clean and attractive!
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PBIA Information
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If you are interested in the information regarding our discussion with the community about a Parking and Business Improvement Area, please visit our PBIA webpage for the latest updates or e-mail us with your thoughts, concerns, and questions at pbia@downtownbellingham.com.
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 Downtown Bellingham's Third Annual Ladies' Night The Downtown Bellingham Partnership presents Downtown Bellingham's Ladies' Night Out, a great opportunity for you to promote your business, show appreciation for your loyal customers, and have some fun... all while benefiting a good cause! WHAT DOES THE EVENT ENTAIL? Downtown Ladies' Night Out will take place on Friday, April 29th, with shopping, sales, and promotions at downtown businesses from 5-8pm. At 8pm everyone will kick back at an after party benefiting Womencare Shelter (location TBA). After party attendees will learn about Womencare, enjoy live music, drink specials, entertainment, a fashion show, raffle and more. The first three hundred ticket buyers will receive a goody bag at the door, packed with giveaways and deals from participating businesses and sponsors. Last year brought in over $4,000 for Womencare, over 400 attendees, and we're expecting it to be even bigger and better this year! HOW CAN I BE INVOLVED?
From 5-8pm, retail businesses can host a special sale, trunk show, or other promotion at their location. Food-related businesses can do a dinner or drink special. Salons and service-related businesses can do product specials, free sample services, or class demonstrations. Feel free to get creative! HOW WILL IT BE PROMOTED?
Ladies' Night Out will be advertised in the Cascadia Weekly, the Bellingham Herald, through postcards, radio spots, online via Twitter and Facebook, and on posters displayed all over town. Maps listing each participating business will also distributed the week of the event. All participating businesses will receive web graphics to include on websites and emails. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO PARTICIPATE?
The Partnership member price to sign up before March 11th is $150. The non-member price to sign up before March 11th is $250. Anyone who has not paid will not be listed on the event map. Payment should be made out to DBP and sent to Downtown Bellingham Partnership, PO Box 1201, Bellingham WA 98227 or dropped off at 1304 Cornwall Ave. Once you have submitted your payment, please send your promotion via email to jess@downtownbellingham.com. Promotions should be no longer then 30 words. Postcard mailers are also available to purchase for $50 for 500. WHAT DOES MY PARTICIPATION INCLUDE?
All businesses will have their name, address and brief description of their promotion listed on the Ladies' Night Out map. Participating businesses will also receive posters for the event in early May and be listed on the Downtown Bellingham website. All participating businesses will also be able to donate giveaway items to the 300 goody bags and prizes to the raffle. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. If you would like information on how to sponsor this event, or have any questions regarding the event, please feel free to contact Jessie Hammond via telephone: (360) 527-8710, or email: jess@downtownbellingham.com. Let's work together to create yet another wonderful Downtown Ladies' Night Out! |
In Case of Snow...and Ice
Winter weather may still visit us over the next few months. As the City of Bellingham does not provide sidewalk clearing of snow and ice, it is important that downtown businesses keep the space in front of their building clear and safe for customers and employees.
Please have a shovel and salt ready for the winter months. If you are caught without a shovel or de-icer after a winter storm, the Partnership has purchased several snow shovels and buckets of de-icer for use by our members. Contact Maintenance Supervisor Peter Gunn at 961-8574 if you need to borrow snow and ice removal supplies. Also, if you notice snow and ice in front of an empty storefront adjacent to you please consider clearing that area as well. |
 Art Walk 2011
The Partnership would like to thank all participating venues and artists, as well as our 2010 sponsors, for making 2010 Art Walk series such a success. The season exhibited the high quality of artists and remarkable variety of venues present in Downtown Bellingham. The events attracted hundreds of visitors to downtown each month and experienced an increase in participants, including new businesses and artists. The Bellingham Herald and Bay Business Printing provided the sponsorships necessary to continue the Art Walk success throughout the year. In 2011, the Downtown Bellingham Partnership will coordinate a total of eleven monthly walks from 6-10 pm. Events will occur on the first Friday of each month except for May. The Children's Art Walk in May will be planned and administered by Allied Arts of Whatcom County. If you are interested in participating in Art Walk as a venue or a sponsor, or if you would like to be involved with planning the events, please contact Lindsey Payne at lindsey@downtownbellingham.com. We look forward to an exciting 2011 Art Walk season.
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Mom & Pop Business Owners Celebrated
The Small Business Development Center at Western Washington University invites husband and wife business owner teams to participate in "National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day" on Tuesday, March 29. Maps featuring all husband wife, "mom & pop" owned businesses of Whatcom County who have registered will be distributed by the Small Business Development Center, Sustainable Connections and the Downtown Bellingham Partnership to thank local business owners for their contribution to the community and economy. All participants must register their businesses by Monday, Feb. 21 to be listed on the Whatcom County map.Those who register are eligible to be one of the 12 couples drawn to be invited to a celebration dinner on Tuesday, March 29. Dinner catered by Fools Onion, drinks by The North Fork, and entertainment by The Upfront Theatre will be provided at the Amadeus Project, 1209 Cornwall Ave. Child care will be available for any couples with children. This event is made possible by the Washington Small Business Development Center Network, providing no fee advising and assistance for over 30 years, and sponsored by Bellingham's Interconnect Systems and Jonathon Rands, Attorney at law. To learn more about becoming an event sponsor, contact Jacob Newton-Gladstein, WWU business student, at newtonj9@students.wwu.edu. For more information on the event or to register your business, contact Jennifer Shelton, director of WWU's Small Business Development Center, at (360) 778-1762 or Jennifer.Shelton@wwu.edu. |
Whatcom Daily Deals
Whatcom Daily Deals is a new marketing opportunity modeled after the Groupon sales model, but with an emphasis on a sustainable local economy in Bellingham. The website is in a soft launch. There's no cost to run a deal, and if a deal doesn't reach the minimum, it doesn't cost business owners a dime. If interested in finding out more, visit whatcomdailydeals.com or contact info@whatcomdailydeals.com or 360.303.5247. |
 Summer Events
Downtown Sounds & Bite of Bellingham
The Partnership is proud to once again present a fantastic lineup of summer events including the Downtown Sounds Summer Concert Series and the Bite of Bellingham! Also, don't miss the Sidewalk Sale scheduled for July 8-10. These annual events undoubtedly rank among Bellingham's favorites, as they continue to grow each year, highlighting exceptional businesses, local and regional artists and performers, educating about local organizations and initiatives and creating a lively hub of activity and commerce in downtown Bellingham. Sounds and Bite Sponsorship OpportunitiesIt is not too late to get involved with this summer's festivities! Whether you are a new business wanting exposure in the community or an established business seeking fresh ways to spend your marketing dollars, Downtown Sounds and Bite of Bellingham are high impact and creative ways to reach large, diverse crowds of people. Sponsorship benefits include access to approximately 1,500 attendees per night at Downtown Sounds and 4,000 attendees at Bite of Bellingham. The 7th Annual Downtown Sounds will occur every Wednesday starting July 13th through August 10th, 2011, and the 6th Annual Bite of Bellingham will take place on Saturday, August 20th. Both events feature comprehensive marketing campaigns that include on-site promotion, advertisements in local media and exposure in social media sites. Both events have seen returning sponsors and vendors every year: "We have sponsored the Bite of Bellingham for four years. What a great event for employee participation, getting to know our community, and to showcase our products!" - Marilyn Morrissey, HR/Organizational Development Manager, Portionables, Inc., 2010 Bite of Bellingham Presenting Sponsor "The exposure, revenue and good-will we received from these five Wednesday night events (Downtown Sounds) was all we had hoped for, and more! This is a terrific community, win-win event, we're looking forward to an even bigger and better year." - Tana Granack, Operations Manager, American Museum of Radio & Electricity, 2010 Downtown Sounds Leading Sponsor "Supporting Downtown Sounds is a no-brainer for us. It's a positive, high energy, fun event, one we wish could go all summer!" - Steve Crosier, Owner, Bayou on Bay, 2010 Downtown Sounds Concert Sponsor For more information on the events and available sponsorships for Downtown Sounds or Bite of Bellingham, please visit the event pages at DowntownBellingham.com or contact Lindsey Payne at 360-527-8710. |
St. Patrick's Day Parade
Downtown March 12th
Get ready for the Downtown Bellingham St. Patrick's Day Parade. The parade, established in honor of fire firefighters and law enforcement officers, begins at noon on Saturday, March 12th. It begins in the parking lot of Cool Beans Espresso, Woodsmiths, Mobile Music & Two Thimbles at the corner of Cornwall Ave. and Ohio street, then heads south on Cornwall Ave., turning left at Chestnut St., and right on Railroad Ave and ends at the parking lot on the northeast corner of E. Maple and Cornwall Ave. Link to Google Maps. This is a great opportunity to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with events or promotions before, during, and after the festivities. The parade is organized by a volunteer group, for more information visit http://www.stpatsbham.com/index.php.
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 Downtown Dollars
Program Discontinued
As of 1/1/11, the Downtown Dollars sales have been discontinued. Merchants will still accept Downtown Dollars and the Partnership will still honor Downtown Dollar reimbursements. No additional Downtown Dollars will be sold from any location. Since the program started in 2004, over $30,000 in Downtown Dollars gift cetificates have been redeemed at member businesses.
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Partnership Programs & Deadlines
As a member, you not only support our ongoing advocacy on behalf of downtown, you have the opportunity to benefit from a variety of programs and member discounts the Partnership offers throughout the year. Please be aware of the following programs and deadlines in order to realize maximum value from your membership.
Downtown Info Center:
Each member receives a free brochure slot at the center and a free listing and link on our interactive online map at DowntownBellingham.com. We accept brochures for the center year round. Additional business advertising is available for a low fee at the center and on our website.
Map & Business Directory:
We publish this popular publication annually. The 2010 downtown Directory is available and has been distributed throughout the region from Seattle to Vancouver. All participating businesses have received their maps and more are available at the center.
Cooperative Marketing Promotions:
The Partnership organizes cooperative advertising campaigns to help leverage your advertising dollars. Our 2010 campaigns will include the Bellingham Escapes marketing campaign, Ladies Night Out, the Sidewalk Sale and Shop Where Your Heart Is.
Downtown Dollars:
Participation in the program is free with a small fee when Dollars are spent in your business. We accept new participants anytime.
Promotional Events:
The Partnership organizes events throughout the year that attract thousands of people to downtown. These include Art Walks, Downtown Sounds, the Bite of Bellingham and Trick or Treat. |
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