Holiday Update
Well here we are in November and it is time for the Holiday Season to go into full swing. We have some great activities ahead and Holiday decorations will be up soon. If you have some great decorations, store windows and restaurant themes, we would like to know. We will come by and take a picture and share it on social media.
- November all month- Holiday Open Houses begin
- November 6th- Christmas decorations go up
- November 7th- OK Ale Trail
- November 7th- Mural Festival
- November 11- Veterans Appreciation Day
- November 28- Horse Drawn Wagon Rides begin
- November 28- Small Business Saturday
Small Business Saturday is going to be more important than ever this year with everything we have all been through. We would like to come together as a community and really promote everyone. We also ask that you share our posts that last week of November. When we help each other we become stronger together.
If you plan on doing something special on Small Business Saturday, we want to know so we can promote you with additional social media coverage. Please contact Stephanie at info@downtownedmondok.com
We would also like to know if you have any events coming up in December as well, such as Santa visits, charity events, shopping or restaurant events, etc. We would like to get those on our calendars now so we don’t double book.
Scarecrow Winners Announced
This years scarecrows were the best we have ever had and the public loved them. We got so many comments, shares and posts about the contest. Many people have now said this is one of their holiday traditions- coming to Downtown Edmond to see our scarecrows. We saw so many families down here taking photos with them.
For the month of October, we had 53,617 Facebook views and a similiar Instagram response. This brought more people to Downtown and it brought more attention to all of your businesses. We thank everyone who participated.
The winners for 2020 are:
- Sherri & Co: 1st place and winner of a $75 DEBA gift certificate and an ad in Edmond Life & Leisure
- Urban Forestry: 2nd Place and winner of a $50 DEBA gift certificate
- Edmond Fire Department: 3rd Place and winner of a $25 DEBA gift certificate
Honorable mention
- Fine Arts Institute
- Edmond Tag Agency
- Edmond Police Department
- Hilton Garden Inn.
Tree Damage
The City of Edmond began tree damage clean up in Downtown Edmond today. This will be a difficult job and may take a few days. Please tell them thank you if you see them or send a thank you email.
Time to Nominate or Volunteer
It is that time again please send in your nominations for the
DEBA 2021 Board:
President
Vice-President
Secretary
Treasurer
We are also looking for chairpersons for the following:
- Streetscape– 3 decorating or planting projects a year
- Historian– helping to gather and compile publications and information
- Community Relations– charitable projects 3-4 times a year
- Sponsorship– communicating with potential sponsors for the arts festival and other events
- Signage- managing signage before and during the arts festival
- Stage Entertainment- Managing the stage entertainment before and during the arts festival. This includes scheduling acts and being here during the arts festival.
All of these positions require a monthly 1 hour meeting. If you would like more information or would like to volunteer, please email Stephanie at info@downtownedmondok.com
Veteran appreciation
We would like to recognize all of our Veteran family on November 11th with some special social media posts. If you are a Veteran, you have a veteran in your family, or have an employee who is a veteran. Please email Stephanie at info@downtownedmondok.com or text 405-471-2348 so we can recognize them.
Please welcome our newest Associate Member –
The Edmond Way
From the Edmond Chamber of Commerce
It is with heavy hearts we inform you that Ken Moore passed away this morning. Ken was our President and CEO for 9.5 years and had a massive impact on our chamber and Edmond as a whole. Ken was highly respected in the community, and known as a “chamber legend” around the country after leading chambers in five different states for 47 years of his life. After he retired in 2016, Ken remained active in Edmond, the community he loved and served well. He will be missed dearly by many. We offer our condolence’s to Ken’s family and his many friends.
We will notify our members when funeral arrangements have been made. In the meantime, please share your photos of Ken in the comments below so that we may share with his family the happy chamber memories made.
DEBA will miss him!
The Edmond-based Artist
When Edmond’s largest interactive art piece was installed at the Festival Marketplace on October 15, it not only marked the city’s 235th public art installation, but also a new business trend. Interactive art is engaging visitors and citizens to stay downtown longer, and it’s working with Edmond businesses to do so.
The presence of art pieces in Edmond enhances our overall economic vitality. Interactive art brings Edmond citizens and people from outside the area to our downtown to eat in our restaurants, shop in our stores, and create experiences that make them want to return again and again. While it may be hard to put a number on that, the impact is tremendous.
Zonly Looman, an Edmond-based artist, created “Key to My Heart” as his sixth piece in the Edmond Public Art inventory.
“I designed this piece for more than visual attraction,” he said. “It will encourage people to touch and interact with the art, but also engage with local businesses. Most importantly, everyone needs a little more L-O-V-E in their life.” Looman plans to create a new art piece with the keys that are collected from the locks.
How it works
- Visit “Key to My Heart” on the north end of the Festival Marketplace at 30 West First Street.
- Scope out where you’d like to add a lock on the seven-foot-tall and 32-foot-long steel L-O-V-E letters.
- Visit a downtown Edmond business selling locks.
- Write a message on the lock.
- Walk back to “Key to My Heart” and attach your lock.
- Drop the key in one of the slots in the base of a letter.
Personally, I officially joined the lovers’ tradition of adding locks to art like the famous “Love Lock Bridge” in Paris, France, and “SkyDance Bridge” in Oklahoma City. I attached a lock with a birthday message to my son.
Business selling locks
Several businesses already have locks available for purchase, including The Edmond Historical Society & Museum, Edmond Tag Agency, Frenzy Brewing Company, Hello Love Salon, Office Depot, and Silver Leaf Gems.
Downtown Edmond business leaders expressed excitement about attracting new customers with interactive art.
Ashton Stovall, co-owner of Urban Okie, said, “I am a huge fan of Zonly Looman. This is a creative way to motivate people to spend more time in downtown Edmond.”
Evan Small, co-owner of Blocworks, said, “Art installation takes lots of cooperation and the collaborative spirit is contagious. I love the blooming creativity in our downtown.”
Kristy Woodson, general manager of Around the Corner, is also supportive of this concept. “I’ve seen this concept in other cities and we are really supportive of fresh ideas that bring new customers,” she said.
Private funding partners
The private funding partners for “Key to My Heart” are Matthew & Kim Myers, Chris Dingess, David Maschino, Ashley and Casey Massegee, Kyle and Lex Copeland, and Chris and Anabelle Anderson.
You can read more information about Edmond’s Public Art on the Visit Edmond website.
Edmond Chamber Women’s Summit
Synchronicity: Connecting your Team for Optimal Results!
Session Description:
In 2020 we have a plethora of artificial intelligence, data, and analytics yet still feel phenomenally disconnected in the workplace. Let’s create better interoffice relationships where each team member feels supported, encouraged and valued, where it’s more likely that interoffice relationships will improve, client connections will grow stronger, and your team’s productivity and performance will reach new heights!
Meet our Keynote Speaker, Shannon McKain:
For more than a decade, workplace culture expert, Shannon McKain, has motivated audiences to make changes for the better in their professional and personal lives. A gifted speaker, McKain’s authenticity and her ability to intimately connect with an auditorium filled with employees and executives aren’t performance art — she’s the real deal.
Before traveling the country to influence others, McKain was in her audience’s shoes, working in the corporate world where she saw, and even experienced herself, how The Great Divide impacted growth and success among her peers.
Calling on that past, she openly shares personal stories and her own encounters with culture issues in ways that not only build trust and empathy with her audience, they result in dramatic mindset shifts that help drive dynamic transformations within an organization.
When:
Thursday, November 19, 2020 9:30 AM thru 02:00 PM
Where:
At: Gaillardia Country Club
5300 Gaillardia Blvd
Registration:
RSVP Required; Cost: $75 for members; $90 for Non-members & Late Registrations
*only 75 participants will be able to attend in person – first come, first serve
$400 for a sponsored table of 4, $500 for a booth sponsorship (comes with 2 tickets and display space for your business )
$25 for virtual Zoom option – this option is listen only and participants will not be able to be seen
Registration: 9:30-10:00am
Welcome: 10:00am
Spread the news about these self-guided art tour brochures that were recently completed by UCO students from a grant that Visit Edmond received. Digital versions are showcased here: https://visitedmondok.com/public-art.php