A Gardnerville worker hangs one of the roughly 70 flower baskets on May 31 as part of Main Street Gardnerville’s program. Flowers were grown by China Spring, Douglas and Smith Valley students.
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.
Gardnerville not just celebrated the 15th anniversary of its Main Street Program, but the birth of the program in the Silver State.
“Main Street Nevada would not even exist without Gardnerville. It gave the push needed to the Legislature to create the program in the first place,” said Main Street Nevada lead Shari Davis on Tuesday. “Gardnerville’s vision has led to 21 different members of the Main Street organization in the state of Nevada.”
A bill to provide $700,000 to the statewide program cleared both houses of the Legislature and is expected to be signed by the governor.
The state program is part of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.
Gardnerville’s program board held its first meeting in June 2008 after Gardnerville and Douglas County provided $75,000 in seed money.
Original board member Margaret Pross said she was pleased that the Legislature has agreed to fund the program..
“I was on the founding of the Main Street Gardnerville program,” she said. “I’m very proud of what we have done and how you all have carried it forward. And this is just so great and rewarding to see it go on and finally get to the Legislature.”
Main Street sponsors a score of programs through the year, including the Third Thursday Wine Walks, Wind Down Wednesdays, the downtown flower baskets, the Just A Drop In Farmers Market in Heritage Park, to just name a few of the current projects.
They also host the July Fourth 5K, Coffin Races and last year’s first Dia De Los Muertos program.
