GREENFIELD — If the folks behind Greenfield Main Street get their way, downtown Greenfield will become a hub of activity as Hancock County residents gradually emerge from their cocoons of isolation this year.
The nonprofit tasked with promoting the historic downtown has a long list of activities lined up to welcome folks back. Some events are new, while others are recurring community favorites.
“We are over the moon excited to get back to a place where we can begin to have more social events, obviously keeping within the guidelines of the state, county and city, and making sure everybody is going to have a safe and healthy experience,” said Jeff Clark, a local Realtor and Greenfield Main Street board member.
“We have a full lineup of events planned for 2021,” added executive director Debra Cochran Smith, who is planning a fun year, no matter what the pandemic may hold.
“We have worked hard to create not only family-friendly events, but ones that could go on even if COVID is still a factor, with enhanced sanitary and safety practices,” she said.
All activities will take place outdoors.
About 2,500 people turned out for Greenfield Main Street’s first event of the year, a new Touch-A-Truck event held on March 13, when kids of all ages could get up close and personal with a variety of commercial and industrial trucks and equipment.
Smith said that based on outstanding community feedback, it will likely become an annual event.
“It was great to see the community come together to make that outdoor event possible for kids and families. It’s great to be able to help people get back in that mode again, where they can get out and about and experience fun events in the community,” said Clark, whose own 5-year-old son, Levi, loved the Touch A Truck experience.
The next upcoming Main Street event is April 24, when shoppers are invited to pursue a number of sidewalk sales taking place in downtown Greenfield outside local businesses. Smith said it’s a great opportunity to get outside and support local merchants.
“We encourage folks to come downtown and support those small businesses. They have weathered the storm of COVID, and we need to make sure we continue to support them,” she said.
As for other upcoming events, the month of May will be all about two-wheeled bikes and four legged friends.
The annual Bikes in Bloom event returns May 9 through June 20, when local businesses and nonprofits will decorate the downtown landscape with a variety of colorful bicycles featuring spring blooms.
The public can stroll the downtown streets to check out the bikes up close and learn a bit about each of the nonprofits that decorated them.
Registration to decorate a bike is available online through April 26 on Greenfield Main Street’s website, www.greenfieldmainstreet.org
The winner of Bikes in Bloom will be announced May 15 at the new Mutts on Main event, a costume dog parade and pet expo. The event is a fundraiser for Greenfield Main Street, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Hancock County Humane Society.
The event includes a variety of pet-friendly vendors, food trucks and live music by Craig Moore and the band Dawg Daze.
Registration for the dog parade is $15 if pre-registered, and $20 the day of the event. Vendors can register through May 1.
In June, the annual National Road Yard Sale comes to town, enticing bargain hunters to shop the many sales set up right on Main Street. The event takes place June 5-6.
Greenfield Main Street will be selling 10-by-10-foot vendor spaces on the courthouse lawn and Courthouse Plaza for $20. The Cajun Boiler food truck will also be on hand.
On Aug. 14, the nonprofit will play host to an Ice Cream Festival and Car Show at the new Depot Street Park in downtown Greenfield, right along the Pennsy Trail.
A variety of ice cream and frozen treat vendors will be on site, as well as food trucks, live music, an ice cream eating contest and carnival-style games for kids.
Local foodies can mark their calendars for Food Truck Fridays, a new event this year, which will bring a variety of food trucks to the Courthouse Plaza on the second Friday of May, July and September from 11 a.m to 8 p.m.
Live music or other entertainment will take place on the plaza from 6 to 8 p.m. on those dates: May 14, July 9 and Sept. 10.
Smith said she’s excited about both the recurring and new events lined up for this year, which she hopes will provide some great entertainment after a year marked by social isolation.
Clark said Greenfield Main Street has worked to maintain open lines of communication with local merchants throughout the pandemic, offering support and guidance in any way possible.
“We’re maintaining a level of communication with our merchants as well as our community to make sure they know that we’re here when they need us, and to help provide them with the resources necessary to help aid them through the pandemic and beyond,” he said.
To give small businesses or local crafters a helping hand, Greenfield Main Street is allowing business owners to sell their products through a Pop Up Shop in the nonprofit’s office space — on the first floor of the Bradley Hall Grand Ballroom & Events Venue at 2 W. Main St.
Two local businesses — Mandala Clay and Gettin Crafty with Cindy Carver — have both done so with success, Smith said.
To apply for the Pop Up Shop space, visit forms.gle/s5KEe3hBU5MGkxFi8.
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For more information or to register for any of Greenfield Main Street’s upcoming events, visit greenfieldmainstreet.org/events or contact executive director Debra Cochran Smith at 317-649-0890 or [email protected].
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