Our “Forward to Better, Not Back to Normal” campaign focuses on bringing back popular events and giving more opportunities for community and volunteer engagement. A part of this will include planning for a mural in Downtown.

Community and Volunteer Engagement: Plans for a Mural

We applied for a Virginia Main Street Downtown Investment Grant in May of 2020 and will be re-tooling this grant. Our plan is to solicit the community to list three favorite things about Wytheville. We will then put out a request for proposal to local and regional muralists and will ask them to provide renderings based on the words chosen with the hopes to create a mural in Downtown Wytheville that will directly represent our community. Once we receive renderings, we will once again engage the community to vote on their favorite design. This will all be community driven and steered by our design team for the final decision.

We plan to do a crowdfunding campaign to raise money as additional matching funds. Downtown Wytheville will also match funds that are raised locally through the crowdfunding campaign. Our goal with the mural is to create a community art piece that directly reflects who we are while creating another experience piece right here in the heart of our community.

Also, we will create an opportunity for the local elementary school art programs to create and showcase an art piece. We will also facilitate smaller art projects in and around Downtown Wytheville. For this phase, we will solicit local artists to create various sculptures and smaller murals or public art displays that the community has been requesting. These efforts will create a space where locals and travelers will gain an experience that they can only get by coming to Downtown Wytheville.

Here are some pictures of murals found in other towns. Murals promote tourism to be enjoyed by locals and visitors alike. Who wouldn’t want their picture taken next to something like this?

Bringing Back Popular Events and Becoming Even Better

Another important part of our “Forward to Better, Not Back to Normal” campaign is to bring back our popular events and to make them even better. Some of these events are pictured below:

July 4th Celebration:

Our July 4th event draws people from our town and outside the region for a time of celebration with a Cruise-In, craft and food vendors, and of course a fantastic fireworks demonstration!

Zombie Bash and 5K: 

Winner of the Best of the Blue Ridge 2020, our Zombie Bash and 5K has gained quite the recognition. Taking place in October, this 5K is combined with a Zombie costume contest for fun for the entire family.

Christmas Celebration: 

Town events are never complete without a Christmas celebration. Our Main Street is wider than many other towns. Combined with this and the display of lights, line-up of floats, and Christmas spirit, this is a must-see event. Nearby at Wither’s Park on the same weekend, carriage rides are given as well to add to the enjoyment of the festivities.

Downtown Cruise-In: 

During the summer, including the Fourth of July event, Cruise-ins are a regular part of Downtown Wytheville. This is a great event to go out, socialize, and get lost in time. If you ever looking for a way to explore Main Street on foot, our Cruise-ins are the way to go. Streets are blocked off for walking and there are so many different cars lined up to see.