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Each year, the Partnership tackles strategic initiatives to bring more residents and employees to Downtown Frederick, offers an exciting season of events and works closely with downtown businesses and partners to continue to strengthen and improve Downtown Frederick.
Why We LOVE Downtown Frederick!
With our one-of-a-kind specialty shops, restaurants and people, Downtown Frederick stands out. We have a personality all our own…friendly, vibrant, eclectic and thriving.
Downtown business owners are passionate about what they do. They spend time in their shops and restaurants to make sure you are well cared for.
Downtown residents make this community home. A neighbor’s friendly face, an afternoon happy hour with friends, an evening stroll with the family — THERE’S ONLY ONE DOWNTOWN FREDERICK.
The Latest News in Downtown Frederick
Don’t skip a beat. Read the latest about how we LIVE, WORK, STAY, PLAY & CONNECT in Downtown Frederick.
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Shop Local for the Holidays
Downtown Frederick is open 7 Days a Week this holiday season! With more than 200 independent retailers, restaurants, galleries and services – shopping local is a no brainer for our community. Frederick, MD is also just an hour drive from D.C. and Baltimore, making it the perfect weekender’s excursion. Downtown Frederick boasts a walkable shopping district filled with fashion, home decor, outdoor gear, toys and antiques – hand-picked by store owners to suit customers just like you. The local food scene features American and International specialties, casual and fine dining, indoor and outdoor dining spaces and everything from comfort food to cutting-edge cuisine. Feeling a yen for culture? Then you’ll definitely want to check out the many arts and entertainment venues in Downtown Frederick, from fine art galleries to museums and activities that entertain the whole family. Pick up a copy of our downtown map to help guide your trip or flip through the 2018 Get it Downtown magazine to see what all Downtown Frederick has in store for you. Shop Local, Shop Late! The following businesses will be open 7 days a week from Frosty Friday (November 23) through the last weekend in December. Hours may vary, but feel free to shop late ’til 8pm on Thursdays […]
Pitchcraft: Downtown Frederick’s First Placemaking Competition
Introducing Pitchcraft: a placemaking competition for Downtown Frederick YOU COULD WIN $2,500 TO MAKE YOUR CREATIVE DREAMS A REALITY! Pitchcraft, Downtown Frederick’s first-ever placemaking competition, invites creative people from every background, profession and city to pitch an idea that, if physically implemented in Downtown Frederick, will better connect the people and places of our community. Pitches must be received by September 21, 2018. A panel of judges will review all submissions and narrow it down to the final four, who will pitch their ideas in front of a live audience on Thursday, October 25. Every audience member will vote for their favorite pitch and a winner will be announced that evening. The cost of your ticket goes directly toward funding the winning idea. In addition to an award of funds, the winning person will receive guidance from Downtown Frederick Partnership and volunteer advisers to help implement their idea. THINK YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES? Learn more about placemaking, buy tickets to watch the pitches live, or submit your idea at downtownfrederick.org/pitchcraft.
Why do you <3 Downtown Frederick?
Your favorite business? That beautiful building you’ve admired for years? Everything?! Whatever reason you love Downtown Frederick, shout it from the rooftops with us this First Saturday by participating in our community heart bombing project! Find more First Saturday fun here. Making your heart bomb is as easy as 1, 2, 3… Stop by 30 N Market St between 5-9pm. Make a heart and write why you LOVE DOWNTOWN FREDERICK. Take your heart and stick it anywhere you want in Downtown Frederick! We want to fill downtown with all the love and good vibes that make our city so special. Why heart bombing? Heart bombing is a social movement started by historic preservationists to send Valentines to the places we hold nearest to our heart. Our cities give us so much to love, so why not take a few minutes to give a little love back to them? Downtown Frederick Partnership has partnered with the Maryland Historical Trust and Preservation Maryland to bring this fun heart bombing activity to Downtown Frederick. <3
Dino Alley in Downtown Frederick
When we announced a call for artists to paint a mural in Downtown Frederick and Goodloe Byron suggested a 3-story dinosaur… we said, “When can you get started?!” Born out of an initiative to connect some of downtown’s underutilized pedestrian spaces, Dino Alley is now a must-see tourist attraction in the heart of Downtown Frederick. Standing more than 30-feet-tall, it’s a little hard to miss the astrodon johnstoni (Maryland’s state dinosaur… for any of you wondering) who’s now proudly standing on the side of the Church Street Public Parking Garage. In addition to the colorful mural that stretches from end to end of the garage’s western face, the Partnership also contracted the team at Rick Jones Electric to brighten up the pedestrian alleyway with overhead string lights, which come on every evening to make the popular walkway a more welcoming cut-through in downtown’s busy nightlife district. Without question, Dino Alley is a favorite photo opp for tourists, a hidden gem for locals and the most perfect backdrop to a roof-top happy hour at Brewer’s Alley. Stomp through and see for yourself! Downtown Frederick Partnership’s Dino Alley project was made possible by support from Brewer’s Alley, the City of Frederick‘s Parking Department and […]
Tipsy Tour of Downtown Frederick: Margarita Edition
It’s that time of year again…Cinco de Mayo! As arguably the first day drinking event of the summer season, we have taken it upon ourselves to locate some of Downtown Frederick’s best margaritas. And who knew downtown was such a hub for these marvelous drinks? From yuzu flavors to prickly pear, Downtown Frederick offers some of the most unique and scrumptious margs in the area! Just remember to drink responsibly… there’s a serious risk of brain freeze from these muchachos. North Market Street Margs Start your Tipsy Tour of Downtown Frederick on N Market St at Volt! For Cinco de Mayo they are featuring a smokey and sultry Grapefruit Mezcalita Margarita (pictured bottom left). This classic cocktail with a twist will be sure to impress and throws in exotic flavors of strega, lime, ginger and Hellfire Bitters. Then work your way to Bushwaller’s for more of a classic margarita with a kick! Their Jameson Margarita contains Jameson Irish Whiskey AND Grand Marnier — a drink that will be sure to really set in the party vibes (pictured top right)! Just like tacos come in twos, so do the margaritas at Taco Daddy (pictured top center)! Their Limecocorita will transport you to the beaches of […]
Scavenger Hunt with Surelocked In Escape Games
Help us reveal the hidden treasures of Downtown Frederick by participating in this year’s April First Saturday scavenger hunt! For our first clue, we interviewed the mastermind behind the scavenger hunt, Chris Sparks. Sparks owns Surelocked In Escape Games on 220 N Market St in Downtown Frederick and they have just opened up a second location at 5 N Market St! Chris, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you’ve ended up in Frederick, Maryland? I was born and raised in Frederick! I graduated from Urbana High School, where I spent all of my free time on the stage. I attended Carnegie Mellon University from 2009 – 2013, and then became a youth minister here in Frederick in 2014. How did you jump from being a youth minister, to running Surelocked In Escape Games? Of the events I hosted at the Church, I noticed that puzzle or scavenger hunt games had the highest turnout. I had been planning to open an escape room for years, so we listened to the community and did just that! So who is the mastermind behind Surelocked In Escape Games? Did you bring in a consultant? Everything at Surelocked In is made in-house! […]
Kids in the City: Susan and Jeremy Kelley
Like a lot of new parents, the birth of their first child meant it was time for Susan and Jeremy Kelley to trade their small starter home in on a bigger house. But the couple, who’d spent the past decade living in a turn of the century row house across Patrick Street from the fairgrounds and a few doors down from the house Patsy Cline once called home, didn’t head to the suburbs. Instead, they bought a three-story detached townhouse on E. Second Street. “We’d always wanted to be closer into downtown,” says Susan. And the fact that they had a toddler didn’t discourage them. “So many people feel like they need to disengage when they have kids and I felt like we need to engage more,” says Jeremy. Once a boarding house, the home is currently divided into three units. The largest apartment, which meanders over all three levels, is home to the couple and their two children – Jack and his little sister Jane, who was born after the move. “What I like about this house is that it’s a house we can grow into,” says Jeremy. But in the meantime, the home’s other two units house rental tenants and provide a welcome income […]
How to be a Tourist in Downtown Frederick
When was the last time you took a few days to just get out of town and explore somewhere new? Yeah, that’s what we thought. Stop adding things to your “Vacations (someday)” Pinterest board and just hop in the car and drive. If you live in D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, or even Pittsburgh or Richmond, your weekend destination isn’t as far away as you think. Just an hour from D.C., Frederick, MD is surrounded by mountain views, wineries, orchards and the state’s largest brewery. And because planning a vacation is the least fun part of actually taking a vacation, we partnered up with Visit Frederick to give us the inside scoop on how to take on Downtown Frederick like you know what you’re doing. Melissa Muntz, Marketing and Communications Coordinator for Visit Frederick, starts us off at (where else) the Frederick Visitor Center. Located at 151 S East St, the Visitor Center is a great place to drop your car and catch your breath before heading into the rest of downtown. You can leave your car in the E All Saints Street Public Parking Garage and spend the weekend on foot for a care-free experience, or park out back at one of their temporary Visitor spaces if you’re just […]
What it’s Like to Work in Downtown Frederick: Clark Briggs
Ever wondered what’s happening behind the scenes for Downtown Frederick’s most recognizable faces? Take a peek behind the curtain with the Partnership’s “tell-all” blog series. If you’ve spent more than five minutes in Downtown Frederick, you’ve likely seen (or met) Clark Briggs, Relationship Manager for Frederick County Bank. One of five local branches, FCB’s downtown offices are located at 2 N Market St. We took five minutes to ask five questions, and have published his answers as they were originally provided. Take it away, Clark! NAME: Clark Briggs BORN: Corpus Christi, TX RESIDENT OF: Frederick, MD (18 years) FAMILY: My wife of 34 years (Lynette), my daughter (Lana), and my granddaughter (Georgia) make my soul smile… WORK: Frederick County Bank (6 years) TITLE: Relationship Manager FAVORITE PART OF JOB: Making connections, Building trust, Providing solutions, Serving our community LOVE MOST ABOUT DOWNTOWN FREDERICK: Seeing and interacting with friends and clients, the architecture, restaurants and food, and the overall sense of community WHAT IT’S LIKE TO WORK IN DOWNTOWN FREDERICK… What three things do you love most about working downtown? The thriving community and the fact that there is a very good mix of businesses. What do you do on your day off? I spend time with family and […]
Shop Pets of Downtown Frederick
Downtown Frederick welcomes your four legged friends! In honor of this year’s “Bring Your Dog to Work Day” (June 23), we put together an album highlighting the many shop pets of Downtown Frederick. So get ready to meet the many furry faces that are waiting to greet you and fido, as you shop, dine and play throughout downtown! Head up to N Market St and meet Bailey (of Bailey’s Treasures fame). When she’s not busy restoring furniture, you can find her lounging behind the counter with mom and grandma. Joplin is the designated belly rub receiver of Baltimore Gold of Frederick. It’s a ruff job… but somebody’s gotta do it! Say hello to Rudie, the official mascot of Classic Electric Tattoo & Body Piercing and a gentle giant who will melt your heart. Clue Master Cora is waiting for you to visit Clue IQ. Don’t ask her about the rooms though, she’ll surely never divulge her secrets! Just the sweetest guard dog you ever did meet! Stop in at Douglas Zaruba Gallery and Jackie Brown will be there wagging her tail. He may not be a real dog, but Charity will forever hold a place in our hearts! Find him on the front stoop of Federated […]