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Organization wants to improve downtown Milton

Main Street Milton is a nonprofit organization created in 2001 with a dedication to uphold and improve downtown Milton and bring more social activity to the area and its businesses.
"We focus on downtown revitalization and historic preservation and we educate the public on important local issues, like transportation and those kinds of things that would really affect the downtown," Main Street Milton president Kim Macarthy said. "One of the main issues downtown is transportation. We're always studying the alternative route, trying to get traffic to go around instead of though the middle of downtown, just to keep it a walk-about family kind of place."

Main Street Milton is a certified National Main Street program, accredited by The National Trust for Historic Preservation, and also is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Each year, Main Street Milton usually receives three to five awards from the Florida Secretary of State.

The organization offers memberships to local businesses and also presents fundraisers throughout the year to generate income for development and revitalization projects. Anyone involved in Main Street Milton is a volunteer, with the exception of one part-time paid program manager.

"Everybody has got jobs, businesses, whatever, but they all believe in downtown Milton, and they love it," Macarthy said. "And, we all feel like all of Milton takes flavor from the charm of downtown. You have to have people who are looking to protect it and keep it alive."

The first Friday of every month, except January and December, Main Street Milton puts on an evening of art, live entertainment and a free vintage car cruise-in on North Willing Street from 5 to 8 p.m. Downtown merchants stay open later and the restaurants get "packed out."

"Our phrase is shop, dine and stroll," Macarthy said. "(These events) are so important because it brings a lot of people downtown for the event or activity and then they realize what all is there."

Main Street Milton also organizes a free summer concert series from 6 to 8 p.m. the third Saturday of each month from May through October in the South Gazebo along the Blackwater River. They are still finalizing the entertainment schedule for this summer.

Every year, Main Street Milton organizes the Milton Mardi Gras parade, but they have the parade on a Thursday so it doesn't compete with any other local Mardi Gras parades.

"Ours is much different than other area parades as we promote ours as family-oriented," Macarthy said. "The parade route is filled with families and lots of children."

The organization's biggest fundraiser is the haunted house in October, which Main Street Milton has done the past few years and plans to keep doing so long as there is an empty building they can lease during Halloween time.

"We had them lined up halfway across the bridge over the Blackwater River trying to get into that," Macarthy said.

Main Street Milton meetings are free and open to the public, and the meeting information is on the Web site, www.mainstreetmilton.org.

Last year, a fire blazed through downtown Milton, destroying many retail businesses and offices, including the Main Street Milton office "but we didn't miss a beat." Now, there isn't anything where the previous office was located and they are currently looking for a new office downtown "that will provide us with some nice visibility."

Pensacola News Journal, Maegan Outzen • Pelican correspondent • April 21, 2010

http://www.pnj.com/article/20100421/NEWS05/4210302/Organization-wants-to-improve-downtown-Milton