For the last three months, Kate Knaul has been in the midst of a whirlwind, getting her feet wet as executive director of MainStreet Greencastle and doing what she can to draw residents and guests downtown to play, work and live.
"It has been a whirlwind of three months. My role is to help connect people and make sure MainStreet is focused on ensuring we have a thriving downtown. We have business leaders and business owners who are supported with the resources and information they need to succeed. We also want to make sure we have a city center that people want to come to, spend time in and enjoy the space," Knaul told The Putnam County Post.
The whirlwind will continue through the summer months with First Friday, which kicks off on May 2.
"It is exciting and a little bit overwhelming to take this on. This has been going on for 11 years and this is the 12th year of First Friday's. Blink of an eye, it feels like it started yesterday and it has only grown since its beginning. There's a lot of weight on my shoulders to make sure this event continues to go off well," Knaul admitted.
Knaul said First Friday events feature something for everyone.
"We have over 50 vendors coming, food trucks coming, in addition to Almost Home, Lost Hollow and Moore's providing those anchor points of food and music. It is tremendous and several blocks are shut down for people to come out. Typically, there's couple thousand people who come out and we have a good time. We will have a kids zone with activities oriented to kids and families. There is something for everyone and it is a few fun hours downtown, and an opportunity for our businesses to capitalize on people knowing they are there," she said.
The festivities will occur in a time when downtown merchants continue to rebound from several years plagued by Covid-19 and then U.S. 231 construction.
"We did a survey of downtown business owners to see what the challenges are, what's going on, what's working and there are a lot of different types of businesses. There are close to 100 businesses right in the MainStreet area. It is a variety, but a lot of them are struggling with construction and rising costs, as well as a lot of uncertainty for consumers. They are challenged. One of the exciting things is we can offer a cohort of workshops that we can offer to business owners. My hope is to bring folks together and see how we can be creative and direct people to one another's businesses," Knaul said.
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