The Downtown Advantage Weekly Newsletter
 
Nov 28, 2016  
Have You Signed Up Yet?  Dec 8 - 11
Thanksgiving has come and gone.  Now all the focus will be on the Winter Holidays.  Plan to join us in Downtown, with several days of Frosty fun!  JOIN THE FORCE! 

Monday - Saturday, December 5th - 10th
Yoda Gingerbread Contest Display at Courtyard by Marriott.  Register to enter. 

Thursday, December 8th
5-9 pm    St. Cloud Weihnachtsmarkt at 55 5th Ave N, River's Edge 
              Plaza under the new parking ramp.  Brats, Sauerkraut, Beaver 
              Island Brewing beer, Gluhwein, Lekkuchen, music, crafts and 
              more.  

Friday, December 9th
5 pm registration   Liberty Bank Empire Pub Run & Plunge.   
Fun Run to/around Lake George, Plunge & post-race/plunge gathering at Beaver Island Brewing.  Register to enter.  

Saturday, December 10th
1-4 pm  Winter Wonderland (arts, crafts, Touch-A-Truck, Santa, cookies
            decorating and more at Lake George)

2-5 pm  Capital One Winter Blast on 7th Avenue, presenting the Teddy 
            Bear Band, indoor and outdoor games, food vendors, fishing 
            house, caricatures and plenty more.  

5 pm     Capital One Skywalker Parade (along West St. Germain). 
            Register to enter.

6 pm     Capital One Jedi Tree Lighting 
            (corner of 10th Avenue & Germain Street).
            Join in some caroling with the St. Cloud Symphony and Apollo 
            H.S. Choir as we count down to the lighting of the tree.  

Sunday, December 11th
10 am   Dashing Through the Snow Softball Tourney at Whitney 
           Recreation Center.  Also new this year.  
           $100/team.  Co-ed.  Dress warm.  Limited space.
           Register online or call 320.650.3051.  

If you've participated in the Parade in the past, we're hoping to welcome you back again this year.  If not, consider joining the force and becoming a part of this holiday tradition. 
In This Issue
Register TODAY!
Announcements/News
Events
Holiday Shopping
Announcing 2nd Streetscape Open House
The City of St. Cloud is holding a public charette for the 5th Avenue and W. St. Germain Street projects.  The public is invited to provide input and comment on conceptual designs completed by Stantec.  
Thank You Sponsors!   
Planning a festival is a great deal of work, with so many volunteers and partners.  We are so very fortunate to receive financial support from so many businesses in our community.  They step up year after year which allows our organization the resources to entertain approximately 20,000+ during the Winter Nights & Lights Festival.  When you are out and about this Holiday Season, keep these generous businesses in mind. 

Announcements, News
New River's Edge Parking Ramp OPEN FREE through Wednesday, November 30th.  Check it out!

St. Cloud Technical & Community College to Host Chamber Business After Hours, Dec 1, 4:30 - 6:30 pm

Jeanne Crain Appointed New CEO of Bremer Financial Corp. 
Crain will assume responsibilities immediately and succeeds Pat Donovan.  Crain has been part of Bremer's senior leadership team for 4 years, more recently serving as region CEO of Bremer Bank Twin Cities, as well as group president for BFC overseeing the company's financial services businesses.   
 
Big Brothers Big Sisters Job Posting
BBBS is now taking applications for a School/Site-Based Coordinator position. Be part of a dynamic team, dedicated to making our communities better and stronger through mentoring our youth.  
 
Regency Plaza for your Events
Regency Plaza would be honored to host your event.  With multiple event spaces and personalized catering options, they've got you covered!  Email Katelyn Kelly or call (320) 428-5463.   
Downtown, Culture Without the Commute!
  Monday Night Jazz
  Check out the entire schedule!...

Paramount Center for the Arts
 
Check out the entire schedule!...

Holly Ball, Dec 2
Granite City Kennel Club, Dec 16-18
Pleasure land RV Giant Pre-Owned Sale, Dec 29 - Jan 1
Lite 99.9 New Year's Eve Party, Dec 31

Santa Stops at Stearns History Museum, Dec 3, 1:00 - 3:00 pm
KringleFest is with Santa, arts and crafts.  

Jolly Trolley Food Drive, Dec 5-10
The "Fill the Flyer" Food Drive has a new name.  Metro Bus partnered with Townsquare Media and Royal Tire to collect cash donations and non-perishable items for the food shelves in the area.  The mobile food drive will travel to a different grocery store to collect each weeknight from 4-7 pm, and on Saturday from 11am - 1pm.  

St. Cloud Weihnachtmarkt, Dec 8, 5 - 9pm
Bratwurst, sauerkraut, beer from Beaver Island Brewing Co, Gluhwein (hot spiced wine), Lebkuchen (gingerbread), sugar cookies, music, craftsYou'll find all this under the new ramp on 5th Avenue North. 


Great River Chorale presents "A Mosaic of Joy", Dec 2 & 4
This concert features new arrangements of traditional carols from the home countries of Central MN's early immigrants -- music from Austria, Germany, Bohemia, Sweden, Norway and Ukraine, as well as audience sing-along carols and narrations. Concert partners include the St. Cloud String Quartet, Cantabile Girls' Concert Choir, organist Charles Echols, and narrator Br. Paul-Vincent Niebauer, OSB. The  December 2 concert will be presented at St. Mary's Cathedral, and the December 4 concert at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. 
Could you live in Downtown St. Cloud?
Ever think about living in downtown? 

For some, the thought would never cross their mind but there's an undeniable push bringing more living spaces to the Downtown area. 

Loud construction with drills and hammering is not necessarily music to the ears but it's definitely the sound of something big happening.  They're aggressively trying to get the Lofts Condominiums ready for potential buyers.  Get the facts directly from Noel Johnson, at Premier Real Estate.  LEARN MORE   
St. Cloud's Downtown
Working on behalf of our members for the betterment of Downtown, the heart of the region.

 RENEW or BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!
 
"Downtown is our face
to the world."

We don't network,
 we connect.
We don't lobby,
 we influence.
We don't hold events for the sake of it, they all have a purpose.
Most importantly, all Downtown Council members get a
return on investment. 



Like us on Facebook

Our Members
Check out our web site for the full list of our members and partners. 
 
Our Board
Check out our web site for the full list of our Board of Directors. 
Our Board

2016 Executive Comm:
Jeff Peterson, Chair
Gail Ruhland, Treasurer
Sonja Gidlow, Secretary
Penny White, At-Large
Tami DeLand, Past Chair
 
Members - Share Your News
DTC members should remember that this newsletter is a FREE way to share your news, announcements, events, etc.  Simply send an email to Pegg by the end of week.  

River's Edge Convention Center
Click to view the
 River's Edge Convention Center calendar of events

Our Organization
St. Cloud Downtown Council
& Alliance Foundation
501 W. St. Germain Street
St. Cloud, MN  56301
320.257.8600



Proud member of the

Downtown Is...
...the heart and soul of every city.  It is the gathering place for its people  and the physical and aesthetic expression of its collective visions.  A downtown is the manifestation of the diversity of the intellectual, cultural, social, business and political consciousness of its people.