Fall issue of the Downtown Tabloid hits the streets!

The Fall issue of the downtown tabloid is filled with a number of interesting stories. 'A Delicious Combo' focuses on the many 'mini' galleries that are popping up throughout the downtown core - Zim's Place, Tompkins Jewellers, Sterling Mutual, The Studio, etc. New businesses such as Anna Banana, Bento Bowl and Fighter Wear are also featured in this jam-packed issue. If you haven't read the latest issue, make sure to pick one up at our office - 310 - 6 Street South.

We've included the entire 'What's Up Downtown' story by Ted Stilson, Managing Coordinator for the Downtown Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ) and Lethbridge Main Street Project.

What's Up Downtown

I'm excited! Why? Because I'm pleased to say that a lot of great things are happening in our downtown. Downtown Lethbridge is a busy place and many people are discovering that there are a lot of positive things to see and do. Whether they've stumbled upon a new restaurant, boutique or coffee shop, more and more people are experiencing a downtown that is full of life.

The transition from a struggling area to a revitalized downtown took a relatively short period of time. It's only been a decade since the BRZ, Lethbridge Main Street Project and the City of Lethbridge started to work diligently towards the common goal of making the downtown a better place to visit, shop, work, invest and do business.

I can honestly say that we're beginning to realize our vision - the creation of a strong, vibrant and economically viable downtown that our community can take great pride in. Storefronts have been filled and businesses are thriving. Do we still have a lot more to accomplish? Absolutely, however we've shown that a concerted effort by a host of players can definitely bring about positive change.

People have often asked me why it's so important to invest so much time, effort and resources into the downtown. The answer is quite simple ... a revitalized downtown is an important part of the identity of a community. A downtown is the heart and lifeblood of a community and our 'heart' has a strong beat.

Our historic buildings, businesses and institutions set us apart from other cities. In today's homogenous world, our unique architecture and diverse business community definitely set us apart. When our downtown buildings and streets are filled with people, we have a place that is truly special.

Early visionaries such as Glen Campbell and Jean Johnstone helped spark an interest with developers, members of City Council and business owners. Millions of dollars have been invested in buildings and infrastructure in the downtown core since 2000 and more is being planned for the near future.

Glen often described the downtown as a large jigsaw puzzle. If we were successful in getting others excited about the 'downtown puzzle', we could complete the picture a lot sooner and we're doing just that. The pieces are coming together and lots of people are participating in the completion of the revitalization picture.

We've attracted new visitors through events such as the Wednesday Farmer's Market, Movies in the Park and the Bright Lights Festival. Beautiful Galt Gardens Park has regained its rightful place as one of our main community gathering places as a result of the popular Rotary Centennial Plaza water feature that opened last year.

Where do we go from here? Well, we need to get the word out to more people who haven't discovered all the great things that our downtown has to offer. We also need to ensure that we continue to build on the momentum that has been created over the past decade. Although a revitalized downtown picture is starting to emerge, we still have a few pieces of the puzzle that have yet to be put in place. We encourage you to spread the news about your positive downtown experience, because word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising we can get.

Farmer's Market opens in Downtown Lethbridge for the 2009 season!

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The much-anticipated Downtown Farmer's Market opened today to huge crowds of loyal customers. The downtown market was developed through a partnership between the Downtown BRZ, Exhibition Park and the City of Lethbridge. 2009 marks the 4th year that the Farmer's Market has been in downtown Lethbridge.

The market has been a welcomed addition to the downtown experience. Business owners, employees and residents from neighbouring areas such as London Road look forward to the start of the Downtown Farmer's Market.

The market takes place every Wednesday, July 8 to August 26 from noon until 5:00 p.m. It's located on Festival Square between 3rd and 4th Avenue on 6th Street South.

For more information, call the Business Revitalization Zone office at 327-9002.

Visit the 'little downtown bake shop' that everyone is talking about ... Edible Elegance

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Mother and daughter entrepreneurs and master bakers (Jackie and Virginia) have quickly established Edible Elegance as 'the place to go' for custom cakes for all occasions. Not only can they bring your ideas to life, they can also customize your one-of-a-kind cake by utilizing a wide-variety of icings and fillings. Their amazing custom cakes are almost too lovely to cut into, however it doesn't take long to discover the moist and delicious flavors that lie just below the decorative surfaces.

The talented duo fine-tuned their baking skills at home, however the demand for their fabulous cakes, cupcakes and cookies became so strong that it prompted them to open Edible Elegance in downtown Lethbridge in 2007. Since then, the business has flourished, primarily by word-of-mouth from hundreds of satisfied customers.

Although their cupcakes, sugar cookies and custom designed cakes are not quite 'world famous' yet, the word about their seriously scrumptious treats has spread quickly throughout Lethbridge and southern Alberta.

It doesn't take long for your senses to erupt once you've entered their bright and colorful bake shop on 4th Avenue South. The window and interior displays showcase a wide variety of baked goods and accessories - all designed to make special occasions even more special. The aroma of fresh-baked goods wafts through the air and you are immediately drawn to the displays where it's difficult to leave the store without at least one sugar cookie or cupcake.

If you haven't already discovered Edible Elegance, we urge you to check it out and find out why their 'little bake shop' is quickly becoming a favorite downtown destination location.

Edible Elegance is located at 513 - 4th Avenue South (just around the corner from the Penny Coffee House and down the street from the Red Dog Diner).

For more information, call 403 - 394-2553.

Classique ... Dancewear and a whole lot more!

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Searching for the best dancewear around? From dance shoes, to jazz runners, to tights, to giftwear ... Classique Dancewear has what you're looking for!

Judy takes us on a tour of her bright and colorful boutique on 7th Street in downtown Lethbridge. For over 30 years, Classique Dancewear has been 'the place' for dance fashionista's in southern Alberta and beyond. Her full-service store has grown to include the finest quality bodywear, tights, dance shoes and related giftware that caters to figure skaters, gymnasts theatre, yoga/exercise, ballroom, tap and ethnic dancing.

Selling quality body and dancewear is only part of what Judy and her staff pride themselves on. At Classique Dancewear they take the time to ensure an expert fit for each product they sell and pride themselves on providing exceptional customer service and product knowledge.

Whether you know someone that is heading to the Royal Academy of Dance or their first dance class, Classique has everything that they will need.

Classique Dancewear is located at 322 - 7th Street South. For more information, call 403 329-8778 or email Judy at dancers@telus.net.

Rotary Centennial Plaza set to open on May 15th

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After a long winter, the opening of the Rotary Centennial Plaza in beautiful Galt Gardens park is welcomed news.

The plaza opened last year and was an immediate hit with the public. It brought vibrancy and life back to our underutilized downtown landmark park.

The project was conceived by the Rotary Clubs of Lethbridge as a way to celebrate the centennials of the Province of Alberta, the City of Lethbridge and Rotary International.

The water feature will operate from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily with one musical show playing every 15 minutes.

So, if you're in downtown Lethbridge, make sure to check-out the Rotary Centennial Plaza. It's located on the southeast corner (3rd Avenue and 7th Street South) of Galt Gardens Park. It's a great place to enjoy lunch on a hot spring or summer day.

Downtown Graffiti Busters

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The war against unwanted graffiti and tags on our downtown Lethbridge buildings and infrastructure is probably never going to be won, however we are successfully winning the battles. The most effective deterent is to remove tags as quickly as they appear. If they are left up too long, other vandals add their tags ... and so on, and so on. Downtown Montreal is an excellent example of a tagging problem that was left unchecked and is now so far out-of-control that it would take millions of dollars to remove it. Almost every square inch of public infrastructure has been hit with random tags and graffiti.

The City of Lethbridge is fully aware of the consequences of unchecked vandalism and have stepped up their commitment to removing tags from vandalized public property. They have also expanded the initiative to clean up buildings in the downtown core as part of the 'Heart of Our City' Master Plan implementation.

The process to remove unwanted graffiti and tags from our downtown buildings is quite simple. The area that has been hit is treated with a biodegradable 'Graffiti Remover' solution - www.graffitisolutions.com. The solution is left on for approximately 10-20 minutes and then is washed off using a pressure washer. On the other hand, the cost of removal can be significant. Regardless of the cost, it's an important program that needs to built into the budget of the municipality and business revitalization zone (BRZ).

This removal process is used on a variety of surfaces (stucco, brick, metal, etc.). We consult with our Main Street Project architect, Robert Hirano, when dealing with certain types of historic, low-fired, brick surfaces. In those cases, hand-scrubbing techniques are employed in order to minimize any damage to the surface of the bricks.

For the past three years, the Downtown Lethbridge BRZ has partnered with Streets Alive to identify and remove graffiti and tags from vandalized downtown buildings. The BRZ supplies Streets Alive with funding for paint, solvent, brushes, etc. Streets Alive volunteers take regular tours of the downtown core and remove tags and graffiti throughout the year.

Together with the help of Streets Alive, City of Lethbridge and the Lethbridge Regional Police Downtown Lethbridge Beat Patrol, we have been able to keep a tight lid on the issue.

We've sent a strong message to vandals that we care about our downtown and community and we're not going to tolerate unwanted graffiti and tags.