Cycle NC Descends on Lincolnton

The streets of downtown Lincolnton were filled with the sounds of The Ocean Blvd. Band as a special Alive After Five concert was held on Monday night in coordination with Cycle North Carolina. More than a thousand bicyclists descended on Lincolnton for a respite on their annual ride "from the mountains to the coast."

The cyclists began to arrive in town late Monday morning, as was evident by the scores of bicycles parked outside local restaurants and cafes. Many of the cyclists camped at Betty Ross Park, while a few others rested their heads at local hotels.

The cyclists enjoyed shuttle service to the specially scheduled Alive After Five concert, where vendors and local businesses set up tents to welcome the visitors to Lincolnton. The tour left Lincolnton early Tuesday morning for its next stop in Concord. The cyclists are scheduled to reach Oak Island, the final stop of the tour, Saturday.

For more information about Cycle North Carolina, visit
http://www.ncsports.org/nccyclemain.php.

VIP FISH FRY POSTPONED

Due to the threat of bad weather Thursday the Downtown Development Association has postponed its VIP Fish Fry until a later date. DDA plans to have a stand alone recognition in the next few weeks to thank all our supporters. More information will be forthcoming.

Singing and Dancing in the rain = FUN

Frying Fish in hot oil in the rain = NOT FUN ;-)

Come Out and Shag with the The Ocean Blvd. Band

Come out for great entertainment from The Ocean Blvd. Band on Monday, September 29, 2008 at the Griffin Insurance Agency/ Nationwide Insurance Alive After Five concert series.

In coordination with Cycle North Carolina, Ocean Blvd. will be in town to deliver the soulful sounds that captured the hearts of east coast beach goers. Ocean Blvd. is a variety band that offers beach, funk, retro, disco, and motown music. Their exciting playlist includes “Let's Go Shaggin' Tonight”, “Up on the Roof”, “Ladies Night”, “Margaritaville”, “Myrtle Beach Days”, and “Twist/Twist Again”. For more information on The Ocean Blvd. Band, check them out online at http://www.oceanblvdband.com/.

Come out and enjoy great music and dancing! Several downtown restaurants will be open for the show as well. Watch downtown Lincolnton come alive as concert-goers gather at East Main Street and Court Square for the free show, which starts at 6:00 p.m. Lawn chairs are encouraged, but no coolers will be allowed. For information regarding the event or to reserve handicap parking for the show, please call Lincolnton Business & Community Development at (704) 736-8915.

Also, don't forget about Alive After Five with the Extraordinaires on Thursday, September 25.

Great Weather Brings Crowd for the Annual Apple Festival

This past weekend the streets of downtown were crowded with people enjoying the annual Lincolnton Apple Festival. This years Apple Festival was a huge success with fall-like weather, and lots of great food, crafts, and activities.

Attendees shopped various apparel, craft, and merchandise booths set up along Main Street and enjoyed lots of food vendors ranging from great Bar-B-Que to Mexican cuisine. The highlight of the festival was the great NC Apples! Apple pies and fritters were gone within a few hours of the event and there was a shortage of apples toward the end.

During the event kids enjoyed Limbo and Hula-Hoop contests at the Downtown Development Association booth. Hula-Hoop was the most popular contest. There were great hula-hoppers with hula-hooping times over 10 minutes! A special thanks to Melamoose and 36^th Street Bakery for donating prizes for the winning contestants. Another big demand at the DDA booth was free balloons!

Pictures of the Apple Festival can be viewed on the right side of the blog.

Melamoose Scoops & Java presents...

On Friday, September 19, 2008 "The Bob Carroll Band"

The show will start at 6:30pm until 8:00pm so, come bring a chair and enjoy a great night of Bluegrass and Gospel Music.

While you are relaxing to the tunes of "The Bob Carroll Band" enjoy Melamoose Scoops & Java's fantastic menu that includes: Pizza, Subs, Hotdogs, Ice Cream, and Espresso Bar!

Lincoln County Apple Festival

The 2008 Lincoln County Apple Festival will be held in downtown Lincolnton on Saturday, September 20 from 9:00 a.m to 4:00 p.m.

The annual festival features arts and crafts, local business booths, music entertainment, food vendors, special children’s area, and lots of APPLES.

Lincoln County’s first Apple Festival was held on September of 1972 at the Boger City Methodist Church. Approximately 300 folks attended.

The next two festivals were held in the National Guard Armory that included entertainment and exhibits. With attendance and related activities increasing, the need for larger facilities prompted a move to West Lincoln High School in 1975 where food and craft vendors participated. In 1978, the Lincoln County Apple Festival was moved to downtown Lincolnton with approximately 30 booths and an approximate crowd of 8,000.

The festival continues to grow each year with booth numbers increasing and with crowds seemingly getting larger. Attendance estimates range around 80,000. Currently the booth number total is approximately 175.

For more information visit:

http://lincoln.ces.ncsu.edu/content/lincolncountyapplefestival

Volunteer Recognition Fish Fry September 25th

The Downtown Development Association of Lincolnton will be holding its Volunteer Recognition Fish Fry in conjunction with the September 25, 2008 Alive After Five concert. A VIP area will be located in the 100 Block of East Main Street, where food will be served from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm. Entertainment will be provided by The Extraordinaires.

If you have volunteered with or donated to the Downtown Development Association of Lincolnton within the past 12 months and plan on attending the Volunteer Recognition Fish Fry, please RSVP by September 22, 2008, by calling (704) 736-8915 or emailing lynnbrinson@ci.lincolnton.nc.us.

The Extraordinaires Are Coming To Town!

Come out and boogie to the tunes of The Extraordinaires on Thursday, September 25, 2008 at the Griffin Insurance Agency/ Nationwide Insurance Alive After Five concert series.

Tindall's Professional Photography & Apple Realty are proud to present one of the greatest up and coming bands in the area! The Extraordinaires are known for being one of the best bands in the Carolinas, “Brown Eyed Girl”, “R-E-S-P-E-C-T”, “My Girl”, “When A Man Loves A Woman”, and “Carolina Girls” are just a few songs from their extraordinary playlist! For more information on The Extraordinaires, check them out online at http://www.theextraordinaires.com/index.asp.

Additionally, a drawing for two $50 Downtown Dollars gift certificates will be held during the concert. Entries must be submitted to participating downtown businesses by the day of the show, and those who enter must be present when their names are selected to claim their prizes.

Come out and enjoy great music, dancing, and food vendors! Several downtown restaurants will be open for the show as well. Watch downtown Lincolnton come alive as concert-goers gather at East Main Street and Court Square for the free show, which starts at 6:00 p.m. Lawn chairs are encouraged, but no coolers will be allowed. For information regarding the event or to reserve handicap parking for the show, please call Lincolnton Business & Community Development at (704) 736-8915.

Book of the Month!

Find our Book of the Month on the right side of the blog.

Go to the Charles R. Jonas Library and order the book through inter-library loan http://catalog.glrl.lib.nc.us/polaris/Search/default.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.1
or for your own copy call North State Books 704-732-8562

October's Book of the Month is:
The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global Competition by Michael Shuman

September's Book of the Month is:
Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age by Michael Shuman

Here at the DDA, we hope you enjoy reading these books as much as we have. Please share with us some of your favorite books that you think would be helpful to Downtown Lincolnton and we will post them to our booklist!

Helpful Business Resources

Located under the Useful Links section at the upper right hand side of the blog, are now several helpful resources for local businesses. The first eight links offer marketing, financial, and other helpful information that can guide a business into future success!

Virgin Money, is a website organization that helps facilitate small business loans from friends & family.

Shopify, is a website designed to provide eCommerce for businesses. The website takes care of hosting, bandwidth, and security, so you can focus on your business

Risk Management Association, allows a business owner to look at RMA’s statement surveys and compare their financials to other businesses' financials in their category.

Angel Capital Association, is a true peer-to-peer organization. ACA is already starting to change the nature of early-stage investments for entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists. This website provides thought-provoking discussions and valuable information.

The other websites offer valuable marketing tips including: small business marketing articles, marketing strategies, and some of the best marketing tools available.

Let Us Help You!

Businesses in downtown Lincolnton will soon have a special opportunity to be heard!

Business and Community Development is unveiling their new business owner survey. The survey is one part of a comprehensive market analysis that will help downtown businesses be more successful and improve the quality of retail and service opportunities available to area residents.

*SURVEY LINK COMING SOON*

Alive After 5 Drawing Winners Announced

On Thursday, August 28, 2008 two names were picked for the Alive After 5 Drawing during the Griffin Insurance Agency/ Nationwide Insurance Alive After Five concert series. The lucky winners were Emily F. Edwards, who entered her drawing entry form at Kate McCall. Also a winner, Bill Heafner, shown left. The winners received two $50 Downtown Dollar Gift Certificates. The event featured music from Coast to Coast, dancing, food vendors, and lots of fun! Drawing entry forms can be found at participating downtown businesses and submitted during the Alive After Five event. The next Alive After Five is scheduled to be September, 25 2008.