We have several new shirt designs in stock! Stop by and see the selection at 727 Commercial or shop online at emporiamainstreet.com

The Unbound Finish Line Celebration will be held in downtown Emporia on Saturday, June 4th. Registration is now open for vendors to participate in the festivities. To register, visit the Emporia Main Street office or click HERE.

Looking for a poster size of the Unbound Gravel Map? Click here for details

The Main Street Shout out for May goes to Brown's Shoe Fit Emporia! The team at Brown's does a great job in keeping their storefront looking great with clean sidewalks and attractive window displays! Thanks for all your hard work!

“KICK-OFF YOUR SUMMER WITH A BEACH-THEMED PARTY”

Nothing says summer like the library’s annual summer reading program! Join us at the library on May 31 from 3-4:30 p.m. All ages are invited to sign up online on Beanstack’s website or app and join us as we kick off a summer of reading and fun activities with a beach party at the Emporia Public Library! We will have games like limbo, beach photo opportunities, a scavenger hunt, snacks, and more! Librarians will be available at the kick-off and any time during operating hours to assist patrons with Beanstack sign-up. Log your reading, participate in activities, and earn tickets toward prize drawings. The program begins June 1 and ends July 31. Emporia Public Library is located at 110 E. 6 th Ave. For more information, please contact the library at 620-340-6462 or visit emporialibrary.org.

Emporia Main Street will be welcoming the community into their fabulous Fabrication Lab on Friday, June 10 from 5-9 pm as Presenting Venue!

 Thank you to Flint Hills Technical College for sponsoring the June Art Walk! Fab Lab Manager Jeremy Wharton is a recent graduate of FHTC and his technical knowledge is helping to advance the local economy.

For more information on the event ant to connect with your class visit: emporiamainstreet.com.

We would like to list contact information for class presidents/reunion planners on the Apella page on our website emporiamainstreet.com. If you are this person, please fill out the form HERE.

Emporia, KS – The Emporia Arts Center will host an Artist’s Opening Reception for Juan Duran’s show Perception of Light in the Trusler Gallery, 815 Commercial St., from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 9^th, 2022.

The show will be up for viewing June 2^nd – June 24^th, 2022.

Are you hiring? Are you looking for a new opportunity?. CLICK HERE to list your jobs & to view listings!

This year, local PRIDE organizers hope to create a festival feel with events ranging from a parade to a Drag Show, to a night of LIVE music. Community members are encouraged to attend these local activities and they can purchase a shirt to show their support and assist initiatives in the community. for more info on activities click: HERE

 Place and order online By Clicking Here. Shirts are $20 and range in size from Extra Small – 3XL. Shirts can also be purchased at The Emporia Main Street office 727 Commercial Street.

If you or someone you know is interested in applying, please visit https://www.newmanrh.org/scholarships/ for the application or more details.

For reserved seating contact Amanda Gerber at 620-343-6144 EXT 1602 or by e-mail at agerber@mytown-media.com

A lot of people have asked about various elements of the Unbound Gravel event over the past couple of weeks. The cycling event is one of our larger activities in the region, and several ancillary events help support the primary race day.

Here are the basics you need to know:

If you want a complete Unbound Gravel schedule CLICK HERE.

Providing information about event basics to your staff is important. There are people attending events for the first time that may not know where events are headquartered, where local bike shops are located, or what to interact with for local amenities. Remember to highlight UNIQUE local businesses and areas that can provide our visitors with a more memorable experience.

Some of your local businesses may want to appeal to riders with course maps. Emporia Main Street has the ability to produce large Unbound Gravel course maps in two different sizes for your business or home. Emporia Main Street also has a variety of different "Emporia" branded merchandise items if people are looking for something with the community name on items.

If you are a locally owned business, new visitors may not know who you are or what goods or services you provide. Your windows, signage, chalking, or other types of outreach are imperative to draw people into your business. We can "stock the pond" during the week, but your business will need to actively "fish for customers".

Weather may be an issue this week, so storefronts should be prepared for visitors that linger. What strategies will you have to convert people that are avoiding weather to active buyers? What weather specific products do you sell? How will you activate your storefront to attract people at the Finish Line party? How will you pull people into your business on Expo or packet pickup days?

Your answers to basic market questions will often note the difference between increased traffic/sales, and missed opportunities. Need some ideas? Contact Emporia Main Street!

1. "Who is responsible for cleaning up areas before and after events?" From a downtown business owner calling the office. If an event is being held in a specific area, it is generally up to the event organizer to clean up before and after events. For example, the Flatland Cruiser folks did a good job walking the area for their car show prior to the event, and cleaning things up after. My daughter and I walked the area for the Finish Line Party on Monday picking up trash and pulling weeks on Monday, and we will host another cleanup on Thursday. Event organization requires some preparatory site work, and a LOT of cleanup to ensure that we can continue to utilize public spaces.

2. "Why does it seem like a lot of the large government grant support programs aren't designed for entrepreneurs and small businesses?" From a Main Street manager from another state. Because they aren't. The Main Street America group is working with twelve other small business advocacy agencies to ensure that resources designed to enhance regional economies focus on entrepreneurs and local investment. If you would like to support the recognition of small businesses in incentive programs, CLICK HERE for information on the Revitalizing Small And Local Business Act, and consider contacting your federal elected officials.

3. "How were the Fab Lab open houses?" From a Board Member. Emporia Main Street decided to break up open houses for the Fabrication Lab into different groups to facilitate better conversations. Last week, we held the first two of four open house events. The first two activities focused on donors to the Capital Campaign and local industry partners. It is important to show the physical progress and business assistance that grew from the investment Capital Campaign donors provided Emporia Main Street, and we had some good conversations concerning how the Fabrication Lab has helped and will continue to help regional business growth. Our industrial partners often have individuals working for them with product ideas, or their company needs access to prototyping equipment. The Fabrication Lab can provide local industry a competitive advantage and enhance new product creation while partnering with local mass producers to diversify product lines. We have two additional open house events in the near future that will focus on the larger membership, and members of the general public.

4. "How has our market changed?" From a Business Enhancement discussion. Markets everywhere are changing due to competition from internet sales, changing customer psychographics/generational shifts, and evolving demographics. Periodically Emporia Main Street receives outside market data to provide a snapshot of our local area, and then we compare that snapshot to previous iterations of similar data. Lets concentrate on Unbound this week, but we will have a breakdown of market shifts in an upcoming newsletter.

5. "How important are events like Unbound Gravel and the Dynamic Discs Open to the region?" From a media member. Large events are important tools to expose outsiders to who we are and what we do. They serve as introductory mechanisms and can boost elements of our local economy. The Emporia region is diverse, with sectors that focus on education, agriculture, manufacturing, financial services, transportation, entrepreneurship, the arts, and much more. We are more than any one "thing", but we need to ensure that we convert introductory opportunities into sustainable growth enhancements. Large events help spread the word, but they are what we do, not who we are. It is our responsibility as local citizens to capitalize on the opportunities that events provide us to diversify our businesses, increase local spending, improve local institutions, and build a unique brand.

Join us, September 10th, for our annual downtown treasure market- a true community favorite. Find clothes, antiques, collectibles, food, and other unique items in downtown Emporia. Vendors can register at emporiamainstreet.com