Patch Gets To Know Christie Thomas

MARIETTA, OH — Marietta Main Street is a local nonprofit focused on downtown. Christie Thomas is the Executive Director of Marietta Main Street, and she is definitely dedicated to her job. She says they’re committed to making sure downtown remains a place in Marietta that people love to come and enjoy life together.

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The core of their mission is bringing people together. “Whether it be tourists, residents, or businesses, that’s what we want to do. Just really be a positive light in the community and bring our assets together.” She says while their work is primarily downtown, they want to see the whole community succeed. “We want to make sure we really do right by our entire city as well as downtown.”

They focus on preservation, community, and economic development. But you might know them best from their ‘First Fridays.’ “Once a month, on the first Friday of every month we have shops open late and we have something fun downtown.” They only missed one last year and Thomas says we can expect to continue having them this year.

And you may have noticed their flowers downtown. “We are responsible for the purple petunias. The hanging flower baskets.” She says they do a lot more than that, this is just the most in-your-face thing they do.

Right now they’re actively working towards a DORA (designated outdoor refreshment area). “Essentially our proposal will allow people to grab a drink and walk around downtown between 5-10 on Friday and Saturday nights.” They’re working with the city to get that enacted.

Much like everything else in the world, COVID-19 has severely affected Marietta Main Street. “With mass gatherings being limited and our inability to have fairs, festivals, and parades, a lot of our events have had to take on a new form. And our downtown businesses obviously have taken a big hit. So we’ve been working pretty diligently to adapt by providing new ways for businesses to engage with customers and with the community.” She says they’ve had to think on their feet and get creative.

They’re planning on moving forward with their full calendar of events as they would normally. “We even have a few new events up our sleeve we’re hoping to roll out this summer once the governor lifts restrictions.” The few events that have been canceled have been because they were specifically restricted. However, Thomas is hopeful that restrictions will ease up in the coming weeks.

They host 40-50 events downtown annually. “We want to make sure everyone always knows there’s a reason to come downtown.” High on their priority list is supporting small businesses in new ways.

She says the ways they work to bring Marietta businesses together vary. “It can be something as small as a recommendation for a window cleaner to bringing them together to commit to having events.” She referenced their Stronger Together program. That’s for downtown business owners to train other downtown business owners. “We aren’t looking for outside experts to come in and tell us what we need to be doing better. We want to lean into each other. There's so much expertise and wisdom downtown.” She says that’s the bedrock of that program, bring downtown businesses together even more.

Marietta Main Street is mostly community-funded. “We rely on our donors to support us.” People can donate, those wishing to become a ‘friend of Main Street’ get a cool tote bag.

She says they’ve stayed really strong as a district. “Folks obviously have hurt, but our community just shows up, time and again.” She pointed to the last year, with lots of people spending money locally. “We just sold 200 Love Local Boxes, basically a subscription box for Valentine’s Day of just products from downtown businesses.” They sold out in four days, and wound up shipping them all over the country. “Our community is awesome, and our businesses are still hanging on.”

She says that they’re extremely busy, and plan on staying that way.

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