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Health & Fitness

Disneyland, 4th of July and Downtown Matters!

Observations from Main Street Disneyland. Downtown Matters, and the 4th of July!

July, 2011

I mentioned on my last blog that I would be introducing the Main Street Board of Directors but since we are about to add a few names to that list, I thought I’d wait until then and intro them all-at-once. So stay tuned…..

Earlier this month my husband and I made our annual pilgrimage to Disneyland, where we spent three days amongst the crazy crowds at the “Happiest Place on Earth” standing in lines up to two hours long! Of course, most of us “crazy kids” don’t mind the long lines because we are once again enchanted by our favorite childhood friends and rewarded with thrilling rides and magical adventures!

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Disneyland is also known for having the “Mother of all Main Streets” and the somewhat new “Downtown Disneyland." Both successful concepts have been discussed numerous times at downtown conferences I attend. Usually, it is someone pointing out what it is that Disney does right and conversations of how a traditional downtown can emulate their format for success.

So what is it about Main Street Disneyland and Downtown Disneyland that work? There’s delightful music playing wherever you go, the colorful, inviting stores are clean, well organized, well merchandised and easy to navigate. The eye-catching window displays are vivid, imaginative and constantly changing. The cheerful employees are polite and welcoming, the streets and sidewalks are clean and picturesque and store hours are consistent.

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As Disneyland opens each day, the music is played at a higher volume than at any other time. As we walked down Main Street, we noticed the store employees were outside their doors waving and welcoming the crowds! We assumed the music was a get-ready signal to the bustling employees that the gates had opened and people were coming into “town.” If so, it worked!

Shopping malls have a similar strategy and are quite successful. Have you ever noticed as you enter and stroll the mall, music is always playing? It’s well-lit, clean, feels safe, and stores are opened and closed at the same time.  And like supermarkets who put their staple items like milk in the back of the store, the anchor stores are strategically placed at either end so when you can’t find what you are looking for, you end up cruising the mall from one end to the other in search of your wanted treasures and in between are all the other little shops, distracting you with their colorful windows and inviting display tables in the entrances, hoping you’ll come in their doors as well!  And isn't funny when it comes to parking, we are willing to park the car way out there and walk great distances at the mall and Disneyland, or even a stadium or concert!  Most of us will walk a mile or so at the mall without any complaint.  We consider parking at the mall to be free but don’t realize the cost is actually passed on to the businesses and ultimately to you through your purchase.

Parking in downtown Martinez is an ongoing and interesting topic that I’ll explore in more detail in a future blog.

So how can our downtown benefit from taking a constructive look at the Disneyland and Mall models of success? What ideas can we borrow and expand upon to make our downtown a prosperous and inviting destination? I think it’s definitely worth a review and discussion and I’m curious -- what do you think?

Don’t forget, the 4th of July is coming soon! Committee co-chairs Marty Ochoa and Steve Lesher have been seeing to it that we have a great spectacular event! There’s a couple new additions this year: the Kid’s Bike Parade and a special booth where they can decorate their bikes prior to the parade, and the 8:00 am Flag Raising Ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Building at 930 Ward St. And like last year, we’ll start off with the ever popular Pancake Breakfast, followed by our colorful and patriotic hometown Parade, followed by a Celebration in the Plaza and finally, at dusk, the City’s brilliant fireworks display over the marina!

The breakfast and lunch are sponsored by the friendly folks at Victoria’s Café, who are generously donating the proceeds back to the event. The event is brought to you by Main Street Martinez®, and is sponsored by; Shell Oil Martinez Refinery, California Pacific FCU, Allied Waste, Contra Costa Times, 92.1 KKDV, The UPS Store on Arnold Dr., Marty O’s Concessions & Catering, Ron’s Tow Service, Claycord.com, and Martinez Patch. Hope to see you there!! For more 4th of July information and to watch the 2010 parade video by Innercircle Creative, visit mainstreetmartinez.org.

And finally, don’t forget to attend as many of the Downtown Matters tours and workshops as you can. This is part of the General Plan update, and the next workshop is scheduled for tonight, Wed., June 22, and another on June 29, 7:00 to 9:00pm at the Willows Cabaret Theatre, 636 Ward St. Then Sat., June 16, we tour downtown Livermore and Downtown Lodi. You can read more about it on the city website and don’t forget to RSVP.

If you have any questions or want to be more involved in the Main Street Martinez® program, email me at director@mainstreetmartinez.org or call (925) 228-3577. You can visit our website at mainstreetmartinez.org for a complete list of downtown businesses and events. We’ll see you downtown!

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