The 2nd annual Stroll on State holiday event takes place this Saturday, Nov. 29, in downtown Rockford. Organizers are hoping to build on last year’s event, and the impact it had on the downtown.
The Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Tana Vettore is leading this year’s effort. Vettore says no one knew what the community’s reaction would be before the first Stroll last year, and their projections that maybe five thousand people would show up proved to be wildly off base. Instead, thirty thousand people descended on the downtown.
“We were shocked, and we were pleasantly, pleasantly surprised.”
And people didn’t just check out the many street activities, like the ice sculpture, the horse-drawn wagon rides, or the Holiday Markets. The Bureau says many of the stores, bars and restaurants that participated reported it was the busiest they’d ever been.
That was certainly true for Jarrod Hennis. He co-owns the Rockford Art Deli, a design studio, custom printing shop and shirt boutique on State a few blocks east of the river. He says the place was packed.
“Last year was amazing. There were a totally new crowd. Many of the people had never even been downtown, or knew there were businesses, restaurants downtown.”
And Hennis says a number of people who discovered him that night have come back as repeat customers.
The restaurant Vintage @501 just up the street was also packed. Owner Matthew Idzikowski says that was great for his business. But he also says the most important thing was, and is, that people came downtown and discovered all that was there.
“It was great for the community as a self, it was great for a Christmas celebration, and it was great for business. So it’s a win all around.”
Rockford 3rd Ward Alderman Tom McNamara couldn’t agree more. He’s been high on the area he represents for a while now. McNamara says many people still have an image of the downtown as a place filled with vacant buildings. He says he tells people constantly that’s not the case nowadays. But he still had plenty of co-workers at his day job who never ventured downtown – until last year’s Stroll on State.
“I had a number of folks in my office come up to me the Monday after and say, ‘oh my gosh I hadn’t been downtown in years, and it’s really awesome. I really loved it. I’m going back there this weekend.’ And they had plans for it already.”
Vettore says everyone hopes even more people will come to this year’s event. She says they’ll be better prepared, with more food vendors and more outdoor entertainment. The Stroll’s footprint has expanded, with venues on both sides of the Rock River and side streets. There will be more shuttle buses, too. But Vettore says it remains a community effort.
“All the musicians donate, and all the lighting is donated, and all the technical support is donated. And the list just goes on and on.”
And that get to why McNamara thinks Stroll on State is so important, not just for the downtown businesses in his ward, but for all the people of Rockford.
“I think one of the things our community struggles with oftentimes is, almost, a lack of self-confidence, a lack of self-appreciation, and I think events like this help build that positive feeling, that you enjoy where you’re living at.”
The 2014 Stroll on State runs, or rather walks, along State Street in downtown Rockford, this Saturday from 4-9 P.M.
You can find a complete schedule, along with more pictures from last year’s Stroll, at strollonstate.com.
