Join Us for a Downtown Holiday Meet & Greet!

You are invited! Learn how creativity and the arts are helping to transform our Downtown commercial district! 

On Monday, December 11th, 2017 join us from 5:30- 7:00 PM at The Mill located within the Nemours building at 1007 North Orange Street along with Downtown Visions for an evening of conversation with Mark Fields - Executive Director of The Grand Opera House and The Playhouse on Rodney Square and Robert Herrera - Founder of the creative co-working space The Mill.
Light refreshments will be served. 

The Facebook event can be found here.

This event is proudly sponsored by Downtown Visions.

10 Places to Give this Holiday Season and Make a Difference in Wilmington!

One of the greatest things you can do to get into the holiday spirit is volunteer and make a difference in the community around you. Here are just a few incredible organizations within Downtown Wilmington, that could use your help this holiday season. Whether it is a donation of your time, or financial resources, you can be sure that your generosity will go to a good cause. 

1.  Our Youth Inc. 35th Annual Turkey Giveaway: For 35 years Nor Enterprises and Our Youth Inc. has provided food to thousands of seniors and families in our community who might otherwise have gone hungry on Thanksgiving Day. In the past 10 years alone they have fed in excess of 75,000 people. 

2. Reed's Refuge: Reeds’ Refuge Center is a community-focused non-profit organization committed to the holistic development and well-being of the children and financially afflicted families of the inner city of Delaware. 

3. Sunday Breakfast Mission: The Sunday Breakfast Mission serves the homeless, addicted and impoverished.

4. Neighborhood House: Neighborhood House provides informational programs that impact low to moderate income individuals, families and communities.

5. Ronald McDonald House: Keeping families with sick children together and near the care and resources they need.

6. Delaware Humane Association: Delaware’s premiere nonprofit no-kill animal care and adoption center, serving a four-state area. They are committed to providing for the needs of homeless and owned dogs and cats in our community.

7. The Ministry of Caring: The Ministry of Caring is a vibrant community of staff, volunteers, donors and diverse supporters united by a passion to serve the poor. 

8. St Patrick's Center: St. Patrick's Center provides emergency food, meals, respite for the homeless, clothing, transportation, and recreational activities for people in need on Wilmington's east side.

9. The Food Bank of Delaware: The Food Bank of Delaware, a member of Feeding America, formerly America’s Second Harvest, is a statewide nonprofit agency whose vision is a community free of hunger.

10. Friendship House: Based in New Castle County, Delaware, Friendship House is a non-profit, faith-based corporation serving individuals and families that are or are at risk of becoming homeless. Welcoming to all, Friendship House strives to serve as a sanctuary and stepping stone to those in need through the traditional spiritual ministries of hospitality, education, empowerment, and community.

To support Downtown Visions fiscally or through volunteering, click here. 

Post by Julia Mason of Enthusiasm Lab

Meet Wayne A Downtown Visions Safety Ambassador for Over 7 Years!

Wayne is devoted to making Wilmington a better place for all to enjoy. Since he was a young child, Wayne was brought to the City of Wilmington by his father. Watching Wilmington progress and grow over the years has made the job even more meaningful! 

Interested in making a difference and becoming an ambassador or joining the Downtown Visions team? Click here for current opportunities! Curious about Downtown Visions and all of their incredible initiatives? Click here to learn more! 

Post by Julia Mason of Enthusiasm Lab

Mayor Purzycki Announces Open Streets Wilmington

Post provided by The City of Wilmington

The series transforms city streets to walk ways to promote
recreation and building community spirits

Get your sneakers ready for Saturday! Mayor Mike Purzycki and Cultural Affairs Director Tina Betz today announced a new pilot program entitled Open Streets Wilmington. The first of these events, which encourage citizens to walk, socialize and enjoy the beautiful Brandywine Park, will happen this Saturday morning.

The free and open to the public event will temporarily restrict vehicle access each Saturday morning through the end of November along North Park Drive and South Park Drive between Market Street Bridge and Van Buren Street Bridge. Open Streets Wilmington will, in effect, transform 1.5 miles of streets into an extension of the park.

Betz said the simplicity of the Open Streets Wilmington pilot series is central to the experience – it is not a race, there is no start or finish line, and there is no wrong place to enter. She said people of all ages and abilities are welcome to walk, bike, skate, run, play, or just people-watch in a safe and beautiful setting, free from concern about vehicular traffic.

The Open Streets Wilmington pilot series will take place on Saturday mornings from 7 a.m. to noon beginning this Saturday, October 28 through Saturday, November 25, for a total of five consecutive Saturdays.

"We hope that Open Streets Wilmington will connect multiple neighborhoods and provide a wonderful opportunity for communities to get outside and be active in one of our city's most scenic places as the leaves are producing bright fall colors," said Mayor Purzycki. “This is a way for the public to creatively self-invest in our public places. Open Streets enables citizens to fully appreciate how special and majestic this part of the city is – and with that appreciation comes the hope that people will fall in love with Wilmington all over again.”
 
Open Streets Wilmington is inspired by the global open streets movement which uses city streets to promote healthy outdoor activity and community engagement. Wilmington now joins more than 100 cities in North America and over 400 cities globally that are staging open streets events.

Brandywine Zoo and other sections of Brandywine Park will remain accessible by car. The parking lot near the Brandywine Zoo and Jasper Crane Rose Garden can be accessed by 18th Street and Van Buren Street (Monkey Hill), and visitors on the south side of the park can access the municipal parking lot at Lovering Avenue and Van Buren Street, underneath the I-95 overpass.

For more information, including a map and FAQs, visit www.openstreetswilmington.com.

Improving Market Street One Facade at a Time! The Effort Continues!

Chicky’s Pizza Pub, 201 N. Market Street

Through grants, Downtown Visions’ Main Street Wilmington façade improvement program not only provides funding to remove security gates but also provides grants for new signage! This most recently occurred at Wilmington Optical, 719 N. Market Street, Greenhill Pharmacy, 824 N. Market Street and Chicky’s Pizza Pub, 201 N. Market Street.

Interested in all of the Downtown Visions business assistance programs? Click here to learn more. 

Greenhill Pharmacy, 824 N. Market Street

Wilmington Optical, 719 N. Market Street

Post by Julia Mason of Enthusiasm Lab