As 2021 comes to a close, it’s tradition for us to reflect on some of our favorite accomplishments from the past year and plan for even bigger and better projects in 2022! Check out some of our favorites from this year:

Students line up to get their free Cowboy Cash and Farmers Market Tokens!

1 | Cowboy Cash - One unique and fun program we were able to do this year was handing out free cowboy cash gift certificates and farmers market tokens to the University of Wyoming community! Students, Faculty, and Staff made their way down to the farmers market this summer to pick up their free spending money. By the end of September $13,700 was spent at downtown businesses!

2 | Revive the WYO - we kicked off fundraising for the WYO Theater - the historic venue located at 309 S 5th St. Gifted to Laramie Main Street in 2019. Since then, we’ve been exploring the feasibility of what it would take to rehabilitate the building, including a new roof, upgrading the electrical, installing a fire suppression system, and making the building ADA accessible. LMSA Director Trey Sherwood says, “We want to revive this landmark for the benefit of the greater Laramie community. There are so many happy memories associated with this space, from first dates to showings of iconic movies and quality time with friends. This building deserves to be preserved for future generations”. You can learn more and donate here: https://laramiemainstreet.org/thewyo

flowers downtown — Flowers for Downtown Laramie!

3 | Design Standards for Downtown - Earlier this spring our Design Committee worked with the City of Laramie to pass some design standards for downtown! These are a big step to ensuring our downtown gets used to its fullest. New design standards included the following amendments - new construction must fill 80% of the lot, new buildings have a 30 foot minimum height, and removing parking requirements for new construction.

Making changes to your downtown building? Access property improvement tools here: https://laramiemainstreet.org/improvements

4 | Flowers for Downtown - Thanks to an endowment from Paul Etchepare, we were able to purchase 45+ flower pots to brighten our sidewalks this summer! Wind Mill Hill Greenhouse curated the flowers and helped us deliver a bit more color and joy to downtown. Join our Design Team to help with projects like these flowers! Reach out to Ray at design@laramiemainstreet.org for the next meeting information.

5 | Farmers Market fun - our annual summer farmers market was back this summer bigger and better than ever! It even made Eat This, Not That’s best farmers market in Wyoming - and we couldn’t agree more. Each market saw at least 50 vendors present from local businesses, non-profits, and regional growers and makers! Music was also back this year to entertain the community. Thank you all for showing up each week to support our amazing vendors!

Want to help us plan the 2022 Farmers Market? Join our Farmers Market Committee by emailing Bailey at coordinator@laramiemainstreet.org

6 | Laramie’s First Parklet! - this year brought about laramie’s first parklet - a creative use of a parking spot to make a multi use park for people! Designed and crafted by Kayla Clark - the parklet was located at Ivinson and second street and provided comfy hammock seating along with table seating and shade from the summer sun. The parklet is modular and can be moved - it will come back downtown in the summer of 2022. To learn more about public art projects in Laramie, visit: www.laramiepublicart.org

7 | Internship program - Laramie Main Street loves working with the next generation of community leaders. So, in 2021 we expanded our internship program to provide paid positions for the farmers market communications, brewfest marketing, business outreach, and sustainability. We have more interns lined up for 2022! Email your resume or questions to downtownlaramie@gmail.com

8 | New & expanded events - 2021 brought along many new events including Pedalpalooza (a fun bike parade and costume contest), Trick or Trot fun run (a halloween themed 5k or 1k walk) and Crazy Days (summer closeout sales at businesses). Plus some of our classic events were back including the 15th annual Brewfest (which sold out tickets before the event and had an expanded VIP hour) , the Train Lighting (which saw more lights go up on the trains, a record turn out, and a special visit from Santa), and the Holiday Parade had more entires than ever before - making our longest parade yet!

Want to join in the fun? Help our Marketing and Promotions committee plan events downtown by reaching out to Deb at promotions@laramiemainstreet.org

9 | New Businesses - Although it’s been another trying year with new twists and turns, we are excited that downtown saw even more new businesses open - 12 to be exact! From party supplies to boutiques, law firms and game rooms, each business is a welcome addition to our downtown community. If you haven’t said hello yet, stop by these new businesses: Paddle House, The Accelerated Dragon & Phoenix Rising, Archie’s Parties, Sears Hometown Store, Devine Eats, Rustic Cowgirl Edge, Range Leather, Laramie Orthodontics, Evie & Kay boutique, Concordant, The Advocates, and Legacy Planning, LLC.

Are you interested in opening a business downtown? Reach out! Email downtownlaramie@gmail.com or check out our free business resources here: https://laramiemainstreet.org/resources

Downtown Laramie at Grand Ave. and Second St.

10 | Expanded Businesses - Not only were there new businesses but many of the existing businesses we know and love expanded or officially became a part of our downtown district. Sugar Mouse moved into a larger space. Hits 106 moved into the district. Alibi continued their renovations. Hot Power Yoga petitioned for the expansion of the district boundaries. Night Heron added boozie coffee cocktails while Range Leather and Rooted in Laramie added jobs. Let’s keep supporting our local businesses so they can all grow and expand!

Working on growing your business? Take advantage of the many FREE local and statewide businesses resources summarized here: https://laramiemainstreet.org/resources