A holiday picture before Halloween???  Sorry!  We are just excited! The City of Emporia, with help from The Trusler Foundation and coordination from the Emporia Main Street Design Committee are working with Klumpe Blacksmithing from Olpe to ensure that our holiday season is merry and bright by refurbishing all of the damaged downtown pole ornaments!  We can't wait to see them up this November!

Hello Casey,

Haunted Tours, Downtown Trick or Treat, Dia de los Muertos, ESU Homecoming and Veterans Banners are on display.  There are zero excuses for boredom this week!

Ghosts and Goblins of all ages! E-town has become EEK-Town! Join us for our annual downtown trick or treat! Stop by Emporia Main Street members with your ghosts and goblins for a sweet treat!

The event will start directly after the

Dia de los Muertos parade (10:30 am)

 Take part in our photo contest! Winners will receive Emporia Main Street gift certificates - 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

For more information & for business sign up, click HERE

Snag a ticket for $10 for an opportunity to visit 6 spooky locations in Emporia (mostly downtown). Each tour is about 10-15 minutes and done in groups under 20 people. All ticket holders must meet at Emporia Main Street at 727 before the first tour starts at 9pm. The last tour starts at 11:30 pm. Tickets can be purchased online by clicking HERE! 

Flash Sale at Nex-Tech Wireless! For more info click HERE! 

Upcoming Activity Listing

Now- Veterans Banners

October 29- Downtown Trick or Treat

October 29- HOTT Dia de los Muertos

November 5- Freedom Fest

November 26- Small Business Saturday

December 1, 8, 15, & 22- Horse Drawn Carriage Rides

December 8- Moonlight Madness

April 15, 2023- The Taste

September 9, 2023- Great American Market

This weekend is one of those super busy, fun weekends in downtown Emporia. There is a TON of stuff going on, and we want to make sure you don't miss out on any of the festivities, so here is a run down of what to expect:

1. The veterans banners are on display!- It takes a while to get all the veterans banners up on lamp posts, but ESU, downtown, and south all the way to the All Veterans Memorial are full of banners featuring local men and women that have served in the armed forces. A LOT of family reunions are planned around banners, so if you are downtown don't be surprised if a family asks you to snap a photo. Mapped locations of the banners associated with the Emporia Main Street veterans banner project can be found by CLICKING HERE. This Emporia Main Street project requires help from a lot of partners, and we want to thank the City of Emporia and Emporia State University for hanging banners, IM Design Group for banner design, and all the banner sponsors for supporting the project. A special thanks to Community Development Coordinator Jessica Buchholz for all of her hard work organizing the veterans banner activity.
2. Haunted Tours are BACK!- After a two year hiatus, Haunted Tours are once again spooking up the community this Friday and Saturday night from 9:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. This year, Emporia Main Street partnered up with a few local nonprofit groups and Flint Hills Paranormal to showcase some different stops and site investigations. Tickets for each night are limited. CLICK HERE for tickets and more information.
3. The Dia de los Muertos parade is downtown this Saturday at 10:30 a.m.!- This beautiful parade, brought to you by the Hispanics of Today and Tomorrow, is an Emporia favorite that features face painting, dancers, floats, and much more! The parade starts at 7th and Commercial Street and makes its way North on Commercial to 11th Avenue at 10:30 a.m. CLICK HERE for more information.
4. Saturday is a beautiful day for downtown trick or treating!- Immediately following the parade, Emporia Main Street will host the downtown Trick or Treat until 1:00 p.m. In addition to the candy from a host of wonderful local businesses, make sure you participate in the photo contest! CLICK HERE for more information.
5. Emporia State University is holding their Homecoming Celebration this weekend!- Welcome alumni back to town and root for the black and gold at several ESU Homecoming activities. CLICK HERE for more information.
6. The HOTT Dia de los Muertos celebration runs from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. downtown on Saturday.- This is one of our very favorite family-focused activities in downtown Emporia! Food, music, dancing, face painting, art, crafts and much more are part of the Day of the Dead festivities. Proceeds go towards providing scholarships to local youth. CLICK HERE for more information.
7. MUCH MORE- There are a LOT of other events at the Zoo, Bourbon Cowboy, Rollers, and more. CLICK HERE for more Halloween events.
8. Just around the corner- Remember next week is Freedom Fest and First Friday! More good times on the way!

We often say "only the boring are bored in Emporia", and this week proves our point. Get out and enjoy your community with all the wonderful activities, and invite your out-of-town friends and family to join the fun!

#Promotion

1. "So, is the Haunted Tour like a haunted house?" From a few calls to the office. No. The Haunted Tours tell spooky historical stories and real life experiences through the exploration of historic buildings. There aren't creepy clowns and blood spatter around every corner. It's spooky and fun, but not a haunted house. If you are interested in tickets, CLICK HERE.

2. "What all will be at the Day of the Dead event?" From a stop in at the office. Hispanics of Today and Tomorrow (HOTT) have a parade at 10:30 a.m. and the Dia de los Muertos event runs until 5:00 p.m. downtown. Food, music, artwork, stuff for the kiddos and more will be part of the event, and proceeds help fund scholarships for local youth! CLICK HERE for more information.

3. "What percentage of vacancies downtown are the result of owners just not willing to rent or sell?" From a state official. Most of them. We have prospective buyers inquire about properties fairly consistently, and those properties that are actively marketed don't generally stay on the market long. Property owners that refuse to rent or sell properties often put the community in a difficult spot, where properties dilapidate and can't be redeveloped (impacting the tax base, housing, jobs, employment, traffic to the area, and other revenue generators). For an example of how vacant buildings can negatively impact their surroundings, CLICK HERE.

4. "What's the most difficult part about advising businesses (in this particular situation)?" From a local banker. My job often requires me to be the "realist" in the room. I want every business, entrepreneur, event, or organization that walks through our doors to succeed, and that sometimes means telling people things they don't want to hear. It's not the most fun thing in the world (and often people react really badly whenever they hear anything that resembles criticism or the word "no"), but the goal is to put people in a place where they can be more successful. Most of the time that requires telling people what they need to hear as opposed to what they want to hear.

5. "What are everyone's thoughts from Rural Rise?" From a Rural Rise wrap up meeting. We got a pretty positive review from attendees at the recent conference. Downtown received high marks, and a lot of the local programming was deemed innovative. People were happy to host a rural innovation conference in a rural community, and the walking tour inspired a lot of chatter. On the downside, it was really clear that a significant number of attendees from outside the area were surprised to find a welcoming, diverse, and adaptive population. Some groups were afraid with "how they would be received" until they actually experienced the town. When we talk about marketing our community we often focus on events or catch phrases, but it is pretty clear that we need to do a better job of telling the story of who we are to welcome more folks into Emporia.

Registration is open for the 2022 Freedom Fest!

Click HERE for more info.

Emporia Farmers Market Soup-a-Palooza fundraiser on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Enjoy soup and dessert at the Anderson building from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the suggested donation of $6, or carry out a pint of soup for $6 and add dessert for $2 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.. All donations benefit the Emporia Farmers Market. Exercise your right to vote and then support your local farmers and artisans. 

Care Package Items for Soldiers

Each year Emporia Main Street works with members of the Freedom Fest committee to send care packages overseas to our service men and women. If we have a local unit deployed, we will send items to these soldiers. If this is not an option we reach out to individuals from Kansas. This year, items are being sent to Kuwait and Jordan.

If you would like to contribute to our cause, you can drop items or financial donations to the Emporia Main Street office starting NOW - November 30th.

You can also donate online by clicking HERE

Funds raised will be used to purchase gift items from local businesses and for shipping costs.

Please see our website for a list of ideas. Please have all items and donations made by November 30th. We like to send packages before Christmas. Please note that if you are sending food items, we do ask that they have a shelf life that extends into 2023.

We are also partnering with our local Shoe Sensation located at the Flint Hills Mall for a sock drive to include into packages. People are allowed to donate any pair of new socks. They will also offer 20% off any item that will be donated for the cause!