by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Grassroots promotion and the combined efforts of several downtown stakeholders may result in the Riverwalk getting a decent chunk of tourist activity this summer.
Tony Allegretti, who was hired by the Mayor’s Office earlier this year to help market downtown to the rest of the city, said weekend events have been planned that should attract more people to the area.
“The focus of what we’re trying to do is getting people down here and on the riverwalk on a Saturday afternoon,” Allegretti said, adding that on every Saturday, beginning on the weekend following Memorial Day up until Labor Day, something will be happening downtown. “It’s basically a ‘12 weeks of summer’ campaign.”
That campaign, officially known as “Take Me to the River,” will be bolstered by the efforts of such notable downtown presences as residential highrise The Plaza, The Jacksonville Landing, the Cummer Museum and Downtown Vision, Inc.
The latter intends to launch a weekend extension of the Hemming Plaza Farmer’s Market, known as City Market.
DVI marketing director Lyn Briggs said much of the details surrounding the market and its June 4 launch are still being finalized but will be announced soon.
“But I can say that we envision the market to place more emphasis on artists and their work than our weekday events do,” Briggs said. “And what’s really nice is that, in the past, we’ve received several calls from people who would like to visit the Farmer’s Market but were unable to because they don’t work nearby. The City Market gives those people the opportunity to experience downtown on their own time.”
Briggs said the market will be stationed between Hogan and Pearl streets the near the Riverwalk.
Allegretti said a similar venture to be located further west along the Riverwalk near the Fuller Warren Bridge may also be in the works. Meetings have been planned with City Council member Michael Corrigan to further discuss the details of that project, though in the past Corrigan has said he supported having an Artist Market there.
“This is a really exciting time for downtown Jacksonville,” Allegretti said. “There’s a lot of energy here and we’re going to have a great time showing it off.
“Ultimately, by promoting events like these down here and especially along the river, we want people to feel like downtown is a place where they can come experience Jacksonville in an entirely new way.”
Allegretti helped DVI reach a similar goal last year while working as an art consultant and creative force behind the First Wednesday Art Walk.
Briggs credited Allegretti with establishing the monthly event as one of downtown’s most popular crowd pleasers. Briggs said Allegretti helped take the Art Walk from being an eight-stop site to today where it boasts more than 30 venues and a draw of up to 10,000 people.