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DSA hires downtown festival coordinator
By Stephanie Salmons
Members of the Downtown Sylva Association are beginning to prepare for this year’s Greening Up the Mountains festival, which will be held Saturday, April 26.
At the DSA’s Jan. 9 meeting, DSA board members approved Director Sarah Graham’s recommendation to hire Larissa Miller of Sylva to be the event’s coordinator.
Graham said Miller has been in charge of coordinating a number of fund-raisers for the Bridge Park Project.
Board members approved a $3,000 contract for Miller, which will be paid over three months.
According to Graham, DSA has already received a number of vendor applications and inquiries from musicians.
Also Jan. 9:
– Graham reported that the BPP has raised almost enough funds to complete the pavilion in the new Bridge Park. She said she is planning on scheduling a workshop with the Timber Frame Guild that would result in the completion of the pavilion frame. However, she said a down payment would be required when completing the contract and would need a motion that would allow her to allocate some of the funds from the Bridge Park account to the contract. None of the funds will come out of the DSA’s general operating fund, she said.
A motion to that effect was approved unanimously.
– Graham also announced that the DSA is trying to start up “Merchants Mornings” that would happen on a monthly basis and allow downtown merchants to discuss mutual interests with DSA members.
Graham said she envisioned gatherings at the same time and place each month, and each discussion would have a theme.
“The topic might be parking, and if you have ideas or if you need to vent, you can come to be around other downtown folks and talk about this issue,” she said. “I think the interest in people wanting to come to our board meetings is great, but this would provide a little less-formal atmosphere for people who might want to participate in some discussion.”
– DSA board members have tentatively scheduled their annual retreat for Wednesday, Feb. 13.
– Jackson County Arts Council President Ray Menze reported that “Art After Dark,” the monthly downtown gallery strolls that took place on the first Friday of every month during the summer and fall, will begin again in April, although he said the name may changed.
“The longer it went on, the more people came or made a point to come out and have fun,” he said.
Graham said she would like to coordinate other activities, including street music, to go along with the art-themed events.
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