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2019 Award of Merit - The Best Public-Private Partnership in Downtown Revitalization
Laurinburg, NC
‘Tis the Season was a Hallmark-inspired Holiday Season festival where the community flocked to Main Street in Laurinburg to enjoy the arts, quality entertainment, good restaurants, and a positive shopping experience; but most of all, residents went to the festival to enjoy the company of one another.
‘Tis the Season was driven by three entities: The ‘Tis the Season team, the City of Laurinburg, and Downtown Merchants and Property Owners. The purpose of the event was to reconnect a community.
‘Tis the Season relied on three strengths: a dedicated and passionate group of leaders, an inspired team of volunteers willing to go the extra mile to make it successful, and sponsors and partners who provided the necessary funding. It was not simply an event, but a movement that was supported by both the public and private sectors. Funding was provided by the City of Laurinburg, the Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, which included individuals and corporations both in and outside of the community.
More than forty partners funded the $64,000 project. Investments ranged from “Angel Level”, at $5,000 or more, to “Reindeer Level” at $250. In addition to funding the event, the ‘Tis the Season team and volunteers invested 6,700 hours, which equates to a value of $156,847 in time.
The impact of this event was outstanding. The ‘Tis the Season website experienced a 500% increase in traffic during the festival’s marketing period, and the Facebook page was able to gather over 1400 followers in the first year. In all, over 3,000 people attended the ‘Tis the Season events, and Main Street merchants experienced an 11% increase in sales during the festival period.
Congratulations to this Small Town Main Street community for its 2019 award.
The Best Public-Private Partnership in Downtown Revitalization award category recognizes a creative and positive partnership between a local government and the private sector.
Award of Merit is presented to the ‘Tis the Season Leadership Team, the City of Laurinburg, and Downtown Merchants and Property Owners for ‘Tis The Season