Our Programming
We are community advocates for growing, bettering, promoting & making Kent an amazing place to live, visit & do business!
At Main Street Kent, we do more than host great events. We support our downtown businesses through year-round marketing efforts, promote historic preservation, and keep our downtown beautiful through these and other programs: Adopt-A-Spot, Clean Up Kent Days, Holiday Lights, Graffiti Removal, & Public Art Projects.
Adopt-A-Spot
Main Street Kent is proud to help beautify our downtown through the Adopt-A-Spot program. Each flowerbed is sponsored by a company, organization, individual or family, and many great groups of Kent people volunteer their time to plant flowers in late May each year. We also hang gorgeous flower baskets around town, thanks to the generous support of Smithers-Oasis. The Davey Tree Expert Company will on the responsibility of watering and caring for the flowers all season long this year!
Clean Up Kent Days / Graffiti Removal
With the support of many community volunteers and Kent State University students, we dedicate a few Saturdays each year to cleaning up litter and graffiti around the downtown. It’s a great opportunity for all ages to contribute to our beautiful downtown; it garners a sense of community pride!
Holiday Lights
Illuminating downtown Kent for the holidays is a collective effort of many downtown companies, organizations, and the city of Kent. In 2013, we raised $50,000 to purchase skylines for our intersections, wreaths and snowflakes for our light posts, and other lights to decorate the downtown district for the holidays. City staff installs the lights at the start of the season, then takes them down after the holidays — a great group effort, greatly appreciated by our community!
Public Art Projects
Main Street Kent has facilitated many public art projects, including the Joe Walsh mural at the Water Street Tavern, the Lakes Cities Trains mural on Burbick Way, and the Traveling Stanzas utility box art project in downtown Kent. We are committed to cultivating the arts in downtown Kent through partnerships with Kent State University, the arts community, and local business owners.
