Downtown Buildings Will Be Lit Friday for Photo Contest

Innovation Comes in Small Packages: JavaJig

February 8, 2013 by Megan Cooper

I love this city. Just when I get frustrated or bored or feel that I've seen it all, something happens to remind me about the cool people in our community. Walking back to my office after lunch, I cut down St. Clair Street by the CADC art gallery, H. David Clay Studio and American Pi (three great shops!). But on the East side of the street - not so much. Until a sign caught my eye. A new coffee shop? In the Lofts on St. Clair (not to be confused with the St. Clair Lofts...). Can't be; I kept walking. But my confusion must have been on my face because a guy popped out of the little … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Downtown Dayton Tagged With: coffee, Downtown Dayton, JavaJig, St. Clair

Holiday Gift Shopping, Activated Spaces Tour Featured During Downtown Dayton’s First Friday

December 3, 2012 by Downtown Dayton Partnership

Shoppers browse the Dayton Visual Arts Center's ARTtoBUY holiday gift gallery during December 2011's First Friday.

Downtown’s next free First Friday art hop will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7. Downtown’s specialty retail stores and art galleries will be open late for shoppers who want to pick up one-of-a-kind holiday gifts, including vintage clothing and housewares, handmade gifts and art, gift certificates, and much more. Here is a sampling of downtown’s holiday gift galleries: • CADC, 35 S. St. Clair St.: The gift gallery, “Art Box,” will be open and CADC will feature “Mobiles and Lights,” an exhibit featuring artists’ interpretations of mistletoe and twinkle for the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arts & Entertainment, Downtown Dayton Tagged With: Activated Spaces, Dayton, Downtown Dayton, First Friday, holiday gift galleries, Shopping, Things to Do, Visual Arts

Day of the Dead Celebration, Mural Unveiling, Holiday Gift Buying at November First Friday

October 29, 2012 by Downtown Dayton Partnership

Downtown’s next free First Friday art hop will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2. Cityfolk’s Culture Builds Community program will host a Day of the Dead Community Ofrenda Celebration beginning at 6 p.m. with a parade in the Oregon District. The parade will begin on Wyandot Avenue, near Hauer Music, and will continue down East Fifth Street. The community is invited to participate in the parade, led by artist and musician Michael Bashaw and students from Chaminade-Julienne High School and Stivers School for the Arts. The parade will end around 6:30 p.m. at Missing Peace Art Space, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arts & Entertainment, Downtown Dayton, The Featured Articles Tagged With: Cityfolk, day of the dead, Downtown Dayton, First Friday, halloween, holidays, peace on fifth

Entries Sought for Eighth Annual “Gingerbread Homes for the Holidays” Contest

October 23, 2012 by Downtown Dayton Partnership

The Dayton Holiday Festival is looking for the area’s most creative confectionary decorators to compete in the eighth annual Gingerbread Homes for the Holidays contest on Friday, Nov. 23. Located inside the Old Court House at Third and Main streets in downtown Dayton, entries will be judged and displayed for public viewing that day only, during the Grande Illumination and Dayton Children’s Parade Spectacular in Lights from 4-9 p.m. Stir up your icing and your imagination! All ages and skill levels are invited to participate in this free contest by entering a gingerbread house in the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Downtown Dayton, Getting Involved, The Featured Articles Tagged With: Dayton Holiday Festival, Downtown Dayton, Gingerbread Homes for the Holidays

Patterson Canal Parkway: Connecting Downtown Culture

October 4, 2012 by Kate Ervin

The Winters monument is currently being re-installed after many decades in storage.

For years, Dayton city planners and downtown advocates have heard the same remark over and over: downtown has many individual assets, but they need to be better connected physically. If one parks for a Dragons game and then walks to bars in the Oregon District, or watches a movie at the Neon and goes for a stroll to Riverscape, the pedestrian experience tends to leave something to be desired. That will soon change with the completion of the Patterson Boulevard Canal Parkway Project, a half-mile, $2 million complete overhaul of the pedestrian amenities between Second and Sixth Streets. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Downtown Dayton, The Featured Articles Tagged With: City of Dayton, Downtown Dayton, Greater Downtown Dayton Plan

PARK(ing) Day 2012 – Dayton Edition

September 20, 2012 by Dayton Most Metro

In cities around the globe today, artists, activists and citizens will temporarily transform metered parking spaces into public parks and other social spaces, as part of an annual event called "PARK(ing) Day." Originally invented in 2005 by Rebar, a San Francisco-based art and design studio, PARK(ing) Daychallenges people to rethink the way streets are used and reinforces the need for broad-based changes to urban infrastructure. “In urban centers around the world, inexpensive curbside parking results in increased traffic, wasted fuel and more pollution,” says Rebar’s Matthew … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Downtown Dayton, The Featured Articles

Urban Nights, Downtown’s Biggest Street Party, Returns This Friday

September 13, 2012 by Downtown Dayton Partnership

Musicians perform on stage in the Wright-Dunbar Business Village. The area will have different performers on several stages from 5 to 10 p.m.

Fall Urban Nights will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. this Friday, Sept. 14, in downtown Dayton, the Oregon Arts District and Wright-Dunbar Business Village. An estimated 30,000 people attend Urban Nights, which is held in downtown Dayton, the Oregon Arts District and Wright-Dunbar Business Village, and there are more than 100 activities planned during the event — including live music on outdoor stages, art exhibit openings, tours of downtown housing, discounts at restaurants and retail shops, and much more. A full list of events is available online. Highlights include: • Dancing in the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arts & Entertainment, Downtown Dayton Tagged With: Dayton, Dayton Music, DaytonDining, Downtown Dayton, Events, Oregon District, Things to Do, Urban Nights

Explore a Block Party & Urban Nights Previews During September First Friday

September 4, 2012 by Downtown Dayton Partnership

Folk musicians Todd the Fox will provide roving entertainment during September First Friday.

Downtown’s next free First Friday art hop will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7. The United Way of the Greater Dayton Area will host the Live United Block Party in the Oregon District from 4 to 7 p.m., when 19 partner agencies of the organization will set up booths along Fifth Street, including Goodwill, a Special Wish Foundation, the Girl Scouts and Catholic Social Services. Guests who visit more than 10 of the booths will be entered into a raffle to win several prizes, including a diamond tennis bracelet and a pair of tickets to a Cincinnati Bengals football game. Select … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Arts & Entertainment, Downtown Dayton Tagged With: downtown, Downtown Dayton, First Friday, Things to Do, Urban Nights

New Pop-Up Shop “Sew Dayton” to Open in Downtown Dayton

August 27, 2012 by Downtown Dayton Partnership

Tracy McElfresh, left, and Jesy Anderson are opening Sew Dayton, a new Pop-Up Shop operated through Activiated Spaces. The store, which will host a soft opening during the Sept. 7 First Friday, will offer sewing classes, custom clothing items and accessories.

A new business will open downtown on Friday, Sept. 7, as part of the third phase of the Pop-Up Project, part of an initiative to fill downtown storefronts called Activated Spaces. Sew Dayton, owned by two seamstresses, will offer fabric and patterns, custom party dresses, bags, and a variety of accessories, as well as offer classes. Sew Dayton will pop up for an initial six months at 16 Brown St. in the Oregon District. The store will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Hours will be extended to 9 p.m. during First Fridays and Urban Nights. The store’s number is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Downtown Dayton, The Featured Articles Tagged With: activiated spaces, downtown, Downtown Dayton, First Friday, Greater Downtown Dayton Plan, Pop-Up Shops, Sew Dayton, updayton