Van Ness Main Street intends to start the new year “with a flourish.”
In her year-end letter to the community, Barbara Lardy, the president of Van Ness Main Street, revealed new street light banners that will be installed along Connecticut Avenue in January.
“[T]hese beautiful banners will be our brand statement markers as people walk and drive through our corridor,” Lardy wrote.
If the banner reminds you of a walk through Soapstone or Rock Creek Park, that’s by design. The creator, Wendy Bogart is a resident artist and designer who used the VNMS brand colors to evoke the parks that are practically at our doorsteps.
Read on for Lardy’s description of what Van Ness Main Street and its executive director, Gloria Garcia, have accomplished over the past year. And remember that our donations aid their efforts to support and sustain local businesses, and host popular community events such as the “Movie Night in the Park” series last summer.
Dear Friends of the Van Ness Main Street Community,
On behalf of our Van Ness Main Street (VNMS) Board, I wish you and yours a peaceful and joyful end to 2021 and a healthy 2022. We have been through unprecedented times that have presented new challenges to us all. However, these times have also brought out the best in us, our businesses, our institutions, and our residents throughout Van Ness, Forest Hills, and Wakefield. VNMS has worked diligently and passionately led by our Executive Director, Gloria Garcia, to help our businesses thrive, create community through new events such as Movie Night in the Park, Art All Night and beloved events such as our Holiday Pop Up Market, integrate our institutional partners into this programming, improve safety in the corridor working with MPD and the Department of Behavioral Health, and strengthen our sustainability and aesthetic with our plantings up and down the avenue.
And we welcomed four new businesses during our pandemic lockdown last year, opened another this year, and have three more slated to open [Mom’s Organic Market, AllCare Family Medicine, Italian Bar]. VNMS is now thriving not just surviving and as we enter 2022, please consider getting involved in our programming either through our committees or volunteering!
Today, I am thrilled to unveil our VNMS branded street light banners that will be installed next month to start off 2022 with a flourish. Designed by our resident artist-designer, Wendy Bogart, carefully curated by our Design Committee, approved by the board and made possible by our generous ANC grant last year, these beautiful banners will be our brand statement markers as people walk and drive through our corridor. We hope you fall in love with the modern design in our VNMS brand colors that speaks to our vibrant community surrounded by our treasured Soapstone Trail and Rock Creek Park.
We have accomplished all of our programming thanks to you, our generous donors. In fiscal 2021, we raised more than $70,000 to fund our critical mission. As we close out 2021, I ask that you consider an end-of-year donation to VNMS. You can easily donate here and to further help us carry out our programming, please consider a monthly or annual recurring donation. Thank you for making our community one of the best in DC!
Warmly,
Barbara Lardy
President, Van Ness Main Street
Serving Van Ness, Forest Hills, and Wakefield
Forest Hills Connection is a program of Van Ness Main Street.
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