The Partnership cultivates community – through events, experiences, and the work we do each day, to bring an opportunity for all to connect, engage, make memories and celebrate what makes us each unique. Community engagement and the momentum generated by placemaking is essential in generating longer-term positive economic outcomes and the Partnership is committed to making Downtown Frederick a continually successful place.
Downtown Frederick Partnership’s Alive @ Five event is not only our organization’s largest fundraising event, it also provides an opportunity for our business and resident communities to intermingle, while listening to bands they may have never heard before. Music brings the community together and, with 21 events each year, the Partnership is able to offer a variety of bands from different genres and backgrounds. Bands are selected by an Alive @ Five selection committee, representing a wide variety of backgrounds and people who all love music.
Continuing to activate the creek, Movie Night on Carroll Creek is a free, family-friendly event the Partnership launched in 2014. Keeping this event free and open to the public was a priority of the organization, and each year the event has been supported by great community partners who believe in offering programming in public spaces, that is easily accessible to a wide range of socioeconomic groups. Each year, the movies are selected by our Movie Night committee, who is focused on offering a variety of cult-classics in varying genres bringing the very best to attendees.
As the development of Carroll Creek Park took place, the Partnership remained involved in imagining the public space. Since the park’s completion, the organization has been committed to activation of the park. Each year, the Partnership offers programming in both the amphitheater and the trellis. The amphitheater is home to events like Alive @ Five, Movie Night on Carroll Creek, public art projects that take place during First Saturday, and more. The Partnership has used the trellis in a variety of ways – a pop up Takeout Tuesday event, allowing restaurants to bring lunch options to the space for visitors to pick up as well as First Saturday activities like drag shows, parades and other activities. When a space is underutilized, negative behavior can creep in. In the summer of 2019, the Partnership heard concerns from the community about the area around the trellis in Carroll Creek Park and decided to test an activation of the underutilized space. The Partnership launched Tuesday at the Trellis, an afternoon of ice cold treats and fun games located at the Trellis. The event brought all walks of the Downtown Frederick community together, fostering conversation and friendly competition. The Partnership hopes to continue similar activities in the future when health regulations allow.
Thanks for following along this week. Tomorrow is our last day of our big celebration week! Stay tuned to the Partnership’s social media today to catch our socially distanced party with our partners.
