SCROLL TO SEE OUR TOP 5 HIGHLIGHTS OF 2022
HOSTING COMMUNITY EVENTS
Our second annual Fireworks on the Riverfront event was a smashing success. We saw large crowds (both residents and visitors) spend their evening in Downtown Lynchburg, enjoying live performers, food from local restaurants, and of course, the fireworks display. This event allowed families and friends to experience the spectacle from a variety of vantage points throughout the city. As with all of our events, this night was an important economic driver, generating foot traffic for our retail, restaurant, and arts & culture businesses in the district.
Movies in the Park has become a beloved summer tradition that brings in hundreds of visitors to Downtown Lynchburg. Last spring, after a series of polls on our social media channels, we landed on the top five most requested movies: In The Heights, Back to the Future, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Tangled, and The Incredibles. And although two of our originally scheduled movie dates were rescheduled due to weather, we were fortunate to be able to show all five movies.
NEW PUBLIC ART INSTALLATIONS
The Creating Our Culture Mural came out of a desire to elevate Lynchburg's many artists of color, to provide exposure for their work, and to raise awareness for the wealth of talent we have in our community. A QR code is prominently displayed on the mural, which directs viewers to a webpage that features eight local artists of color, their work, and their stories.
The Midtown Parking Deck proved to be the perfect location to add vibrant murals as it served as a double initiative: to bring more awareness to an underutilized public parking garage and to add color and vibrancy to an unattractive structure. The Midtown Parking Deck Murals have enlivened the corner of Commerce and 10th Streets, and have helped hundreds to discover a previously overlooked public parking location for their downtown visits.
The City Auditorium Murals, executed by the wonderfully talented illustrator and cartoonist Stephen Kissel, add a fun and playful pop of color to the once-beautiful City Auditorium building that was condemned and negatively impacted the block.
PUBLISHING HILL CITY EATS
Hill City Eats: A Downtown Lynchburg Cookbook was published in November 2022 after months of preparation and coordination with downtown business owners and chefs. This book features 35 of our fantastic downtown restaurants, showcasing the places, the food, and the people behind them. It became a celebration of Downtown Lynchburg's renaissance, and of the food that has been central to that story. Hill City Eats is a symbol of progress, born out of a deep appreciation and love for our city.
PROMOTING & MARKETING DOWNTOWN
DLA uses a variety of tools to market and promote the many businesses, attractions, amenities, and events in Downtown Lynchburg. With creative blogs, engaging webpages, exciting videos, and informative newsletters, we highlight a downtown experience that entices the community to come and support our local businesses. Thanks to our community that engages with our content, we are able to continue providing helpful information that highlights the downtown experience.
WELCOMING NEW BUSINESSES
Following a consistent trend in recent years, we welcomed a variety of new businesses to Downtown Lynchburg in 2022. Over a dozen new storefront businesses (retail shops, restaurants, attractions, and services) joined our growing environment, providing more opportunities for residents and visitors to experience Downtown Lynchburg in new and exciting ways.
