Written by Adam Swift Thu, Sep 18, 2008 10:43
Shortly before Halloween, business owners in South Hanson are looking to celebrate the economic revitalization of the stretch of town along Main Street near the commuter rail station.
Originally, Cranberry Square Plaza owner Bob Walsh and The Whole Scoop owner, Donna Landis, were looking to hold a revitalization walk along a stretch of Main Street this weekend.
In an effort to get more of the local businesses involved in the event, Walsh and Landis decided to postpone the festivities until the weekend before Halloween and rejigger the focus.
“What we want to do is to hold a South Hanson fall festival,” Walsh said. One of the goals of the festival, Walsh said, is to highlight the growth of small businesses in the area in the past few years.
“We really want to try to get everyone involved, from Hanson Hobby all the way up to Sam’s restaurant,” he said.
Given the Landis’s penchant for decorating their Main Street home, which also doubles as The Whole Scoop, Walsh said setting the event near Halloween was a natural choice.
The original thought to hold a revitalization walk would have been a good kickoff to the fall, Walsh said, but waiting until later in October should give more businesses an opportunity to participate.
“A couple of the businesses were not quite ready for this weekend,” Walsh said.
By reimagining the event as a fall festival, he said, people will be able to park at his plaza and enjoy events during the weekend at more than a dozen businesses along Main Street.
“We want to do this as an annual event to get people to see what’s going on on this end of town,” Walsh said.
In the past few weeks alone, Sam’s restaurant and Cranberry Country Gifts have opened up along Main Street. Walsh said he is ready to open a new antiques store at his plaza in the coming weeks.
“This has really become a more viable area of town,” Walsh said. “There’s still some open space down here, and the festival will show the opportunities other small businesses have to open up.”
Bringing more business into South Hanson is good for the town’s residents and increases the town’s tax base, Walsh said.
Walsh and Landis are planning to meet again soon to hash out the final plans for the fall festival.
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