Managers of about 30 of the state’s Main Street organizations will descend upon downtown Washington this week for the biennial NC Main Street Managers conference.
The event, which will be held at the First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, was organized by the Washington Harbor District Alliance.
“It’s three days of meeting with other Main Street managers so we can network and find out what the others are doing,” said Beth Byrd, director of the Washington Harbor District Alliance. “The networking with other managers is really invaluable because I depend on them throughout the year. What I’ve learned is everybody is struggling to improve their downtown and the work is never done.”
The conference will include sessions about photographing downtown, assessing your downtown’s heritage and tourism assets, taking vacant downtown buildings to the next level and forming partnerships with community stakeholders.
The organization holds a conference every spring and fall. Managers will arrive this afternoon for a 1:30 p.m. meeting and a walking tour of downtown.
Director of the Washington Tourism and Development Authority Lynn Lewis and Realtor Scott Campbell will head the walking tour. Byrd said downtown restaurants and merchants pitched in to help her host the event and deserved recognition for all of their efforts.
She extended an invitation to Beaufort County residents to tonight’s reception.
“We are hosting a reception at the NC Estuarium at 5:30 after they finish their walking tour of downtown,” Byrd said. “If anyone would like to join us at the reception Wednesday night please come.”