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Solstice in Center, Colorado

Jun 10, 2021
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Downtown Colorado, Inc. (DCI) and the Town of Center are pleased to announce the Solstice in Center , a creative event to engage and invite makers, artists, restaurants, and community members to celebrate the changing of season, the creative spirit, and envision the future of Downtown Center.



The Solstice in Center event will kick off at 12 Noon on June 19 and will feature a dynamic lineup of San Luis Valley creatives. Some of the entertainment includes “Colorado’s Best Latin Urban Music Band” 2MX2, the Salida Circus,  an Artist and Maker Fair, Food Trucks, an interactive Collage Party, Tour of the Frontier Drive-in, as well as a storytelling tour of the Town’s History. The Solstice in Center is generously supported through the Colorado Trust with partnerships from ActionLab360, Alluvium Studios, the Center Viking Youth Club, Center Consolidated School District, Continuum Partners, Downtown Colorado, Inc., and the Town of Center.
Everyone is welcome to join the event. The event is the creative work of Krystal Anton, a new property and business owner in Center, and is geared toward community engagement and community building and will showcase musicians, artists, and the recent accomplishments of the community while celebrating the start of summer. San Luis Valley residents should join to find out more about opportunities for community building, entrepreneurship, investment, and creating fun and beautiful healthy places in Downtown Center. If you are interested in volunteering or getting involved please visit 
.
The planning committee for this event evolved out of the visioning process that the Town of Center has been establishing with Downtown Colorado, Inc. since 2017 to invite local investment. DCI utilizes placemaking to build community and economic development capacity for communities. In Downtown Center, the process identified twelve downtown buildings, a 90 Acre Parcel, and a dynamic school-led entrepreneurship efforts to build skills in young people. By connecting these assets and partners, DCI and the Town of Center have built momentum and have seen enormous progress. 
The Town of Center has completed some major improvement projects and seen investment in downtown buildings. To support local economic initiatives the Town of Center established a partnership with new building owners willing to donate a newly renovated building for the Center in Center, an Entrepreneurship and Innovation Club which will be an innovation hub for the town. The Town also developed a partnership with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to create a computer lending program that will help the Center in Center to support local entrepreneurs. 
“The Town of Center decided to shape our own future and stop kicking the can down the road,” said Brian Lujan, Town Manager. “Placemaking with DCI has helped the Town build a team of dedicated partners, consultants, and resources that keep momentum going and help us move our strategy forward.” 
The Town of Center recently installed a “parklet” for entrepreneurs to create their own placemaking activation with support from Colorado Housing and Financing Authority (CHFA).  The Town has also secured a full time Downtown Capacity Building AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer who will assist in building capacity, developing a business plan for the Center in Center, and supporting on the ground efforts to secure long-term financing mechanisms to capitalize on private investment. 
Join us to learn how the Town of Center is spurring revitalization and having fun. Media is welcome to join the Solstice in Center. To stay in touch with progress in the Town of Center, visit the 
 site where the Town will share progress and invite participation from all partners and friends!
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About the Town of Center
The Town of Center, is a 
 in 
 and 
 in the 
 of 
. The town's population was 2,230 at the 
.
About Downtown Colorado, Inc.
Established in 1982 as the Colorado Community Revitalization Association, Downtown Colorado, Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit membership organization that aims to build better communities by providing assistance to downtowns, commercial districts and town centers in Colorado. Organization members represent downtown organizations, local governments, development and improvement districts, consultants, individuals and others involved in downtown and community development.

#TownofCenterColorado #CenterColorado #DowntownColorado #sanluisvalley #mysticsanluisvalley
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