Last December, neighborhood nonprofit Georgia Avenue Thrive put on an awesome Winter Fest with local vendors, food, music, arts and a lot more, drawing 1,200 attendees to the former Murry’s Grocery space. The event went really well, and now they’re putting together a Summer Fest — and you can help!
They’re hosting a planning meeting Monday, April 25th and 7 pm at Walls of Books, 3325 Georgia Avenue next to the Post Office.
The group, recently renamed from the Georgia Avenue/Lamont Street Public Safety Task Force is getting active in the neighborhood, planning events, working with local businesses, organizing beautification like cleanups and planting trees and flowers, and working with local residents.
Here’s more on the event and about the group itself and a few photos from the Georgia Avenue Winter Fest.
After a successful Georgia Ave Winter Fest in December 2015 that drew dozens of local vendors, performers, service provides and over 1200 attendees, Georgia Avenue Thrive will host the Georgia Ave Summer Fest on July 23, 2016. This family-friendly event will include local performers, vendors, city and NGO services, and kids activities.
The purpose of these Georgia Ave Festivals is to:
- Support local businesses, artists, performers, and makers by highlighting their good work while providing a fun and direct connection between them and the neighbors and visitors of lower Georgia Avenue.
- Ensure members of the lower Georgia Avenue community are aware of and can access relevant city and NGO services.
- Create a vibrant and beautiful space for all residents, businesses and visitors of lower Georgia Avenue to connect, have fun, and support each other.
We need help from people like you to make this event a success. If you’d like help plan the Georgia Avenue Summer Fest, join us for our first planning meeting on Monday, April 25th at 7pm at Walls of Books (3325 Georgia Avenue NW).
Georgia Avenue Thrive (formerly the Georgia Avenue/Lamont Street Public Safety Task Force initially was created by neighbors and business owners in the summer of 2015 in response to increased crime in the area. After helping the community address immediate public safety concerns, the Task Force evolved into an organization focused on building an inclusive, connected, and vibrant community for the neighbors, businesses, and visitors of lower Georgia Avenue. To this end, Georgia Avenue Thrive works on four main issue areas:
- Placemaking activities, which rely on community assets, inspiration and potential to use public and vacant spaces to promote community engagement, happiness, and well-being. Most recently the Placemaking Committee, with the support of numerous other individuals and organizations, organized the Georgia Avenue Winter Festival.
- Beautification efforts to create inspiring public spaces. These efforts include monthly clean-ups (the first Saturday morning of each month), support to local businesses for graffiti removal; tree and flower planting, and public art projects.
- Support to Local Businesses
- Family and Community Services, in partnership with the non-profit Collaborative Solutions for Communities, to ensure residents and business owners are aware of and can access relevant government and NGO services.
Georgia Avenue Thrive also continues to liaise with the police department and other city officials on issues of public safety along lower Georgia Avenue.
