'Beverly Is A Destination': Executive Director Erin Truex Talks Main Streets Mission 2024

BEVERLY, MA — As the weather warms and anticipation springs to life around an outdoor season that hopefully includes far fewer washout weekends than a year ago, Erin Truex is looking to convince those thinking about day trips to the North Shore that there is far more to the region than the witches of her hometown Salem.

The new executive director of Beverly Main Streets spoke with Patch on Wednesday about the renewed mission for the nonprofit organization that looks to support small downtown businesses through events, festivals, and promotion of the abundance of food, entertainment, shopping, and fun that is available just one stop up the coastline from the Witch City.

"The biggest thing for us is that the messaging gets out there that Beverly is a destination," said Truex, a career fundraising and development professional who took over as Beverly Main Streets executive director in January. "So many people think of the North Shore and they think of Salem and Halloween and supporting that city. But Beverly does have a lot to offer too. So it's shifting the mentality to that, while there is a lot going on in Salem, there is a lot to do in Beverly as well.

"There is a great restaurant scene and some great theaters here downtown."

Truex takes the lead of Beverly Main Streets following a bit of a trying year that included the annual Summer Block Party being rained out both on its original date and its rain date, and the annual New Year's Eve family parade being canceled because of lack of funding and volunteers.

But Truex said she is excited to bring some stability back to the organization looking to highlight the events, arts and culture, history and economic successes of the city. With the help of municipal support, Beverly Main Streets is organizing two block parties to make up for the lack of one last year — with a July 27 event centering around the traditional Cabot Street area and an added Sept. 21 event shifting focus to the emerging Rantoul Street food and nightlife scene.

"We do a lot for Cabot," she said. "There is a lot of excitement that Cabot has to offer. But there are a lot of businesses popping up on Rantoul and we really wanted to highlight those businesses, and that Rantoul has its own identity, in a way that doesn't seem secondary to Cabot. We wanted to give it its own billing."

This year's calendar also includes a "Mom Crawl" on May 11 billed as a "treat yourself" event supporting small businesses ahead of Mother's Day and the traditional Art Fest on June 15.

"Art Fest is one piece that is really untapped for us in a lot of ways," she said. "We have more than 150 vendors coming on June 15. There is a really strong arts community in Beverly and that event is a really a driver to get people into the community."

While she said the future of the New Year's Eve event remains uncertain, Beverly Main Streets is also looking toward major showcases for the Beverly 400 campaign coming in 2026.

"We want to hear from local businesses and from folks about what they want to see downtown," she said. "We want to build a downtown Beverly for everyone."

Truex comes to Beverly Main Streets after working in development and management at the Mabel Center for Immigrant Justice, LEAP for Education, Trinity Boston Connects, The Boston Foundation and EdVestors.

She earned her Master's Degree at Boston University and her Bachelor's Degree in Social Work from Pacific Union College. She also serves on the Board of Healing Abuse Working for Change, a domestic violence prevention organization on the North Shore.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)