CITY OF LOCKPORT: Halloween is focus of Main St. marketing campaign

By Joyce Miles<br><a href="mailto:joyce.miles@lockportjournal.com">E-mail Joyce</a>

Lockport Main St. Inc. is asking downtown merchants to embrace Halloween as a time to sell themselves to the community.

The not-for-profit organization that’s charged with helping downtown grow is organizing a series of Halloween-linked events to get people thinking more about “downtown” and “Lockport” as destinations.

Events being planned include:

• A painted pumpkin display by merchants. Groups of elementary school-age youths would paint pumpkins donated by Niagara Produce Lockport and have them displayed in participating shops for four to five days ahead of Oct. 31. Parents, grandparents and others would be recruited to visit each displaying shop and vote for the best pumpkins.

• Downtown trick-or-treating from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 29. This one’s a go so long as a sufficient number of merchants sign up to participate, Main Street program manager Heather Peck said. The Main Street program will supply participating merchants with an identifying window/door sticker; the only expense for merchants is the cost of candy. “It’s a simple concept and one that works in other communities,” including Medina, she said.

• A “Main Street Masquerade” at the Palace Theatre on Oct. 30. This costume party for adults only is a Main Street Program fundraiser. Tickets will cost $10 per person; the organizing committee wanted admission kept affordable so that a wider cross-section of local residents will be encouraged to attend, Peck said. A basket raffle will be held and complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be donated by Lockport-area restaurants. With every ticket sold, coupons will be given for discounted admission to the Lockport Haunted Cave tour and the Haunted Palace tour.

• A Halloween decorating contest open to all residents of the city and town of Lockport. Prizes for best decorators will include a $100 gift certificate from Mills Jewelers, dinner-for-two at Garlock’s Restaurant and a Skateland admission package. All registered participants will receive a gift from Lockport Haunted Cave; contest entry details are still being worked out. The organizing committee is working with Haunted Cave/Lockport Underground Cave and Boat Ride principal Tom Callahan, Peck said. The cave tours are marketed to a regional audience; and Callahan suggested widespread decorating could create an additional attraction for visitors.

All of the planned events are vehicles for encouraging downtown/Lockport exploration, Peck said. For merchants, they constitute low- to no-cost advertising of their goods and services.

Peck and the Main Street board of directors rolled out the proposals in two meetings with merchants and Main Street program volunteers Wednesday. Upwards of 50 merchants heard the pitch and, according to board Chairman Charlene Seekins-Smith, they went away “excited” by both the events and the concept of cooperative measures to increase downtown foot traffic.

That’s a big part of Lockport Main Street Inc.’s mission, according to Peck. The program, modeled after the National Main Street Program managed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, follows proven formulas for helping communities turn their old assets into new business magnets.

Since the program began earlier this year, several volunteer “teams” have been surveying the downtown landscape, talking to merchants, landowners and visitors to get a sense of opportunities and needed improvements. Tim Arlington’s design team is documenting the “inventory” — the sum of buildings, business types and vacancy rates — and seeking a few business or building owners to partner with on building improvement pilot projects. Ruth Earl’s economic restructuring team is surveying merchants and visitors to find out what types of enterprises would draw more people downtown and/or encourage visitors to stay longer. Elizabeth McCullough’s promotions team is drumming up ideas for events and cooperative efforts to drive downtown exploration.

Peck is creating an online Main Street newsletter in which local businesses can publicize themselves and upcoming events for free, she said. In addition, an online business directory, www.finditinlockport.com, has been created. The site offers advertising space and a downloadable coupons option; a simple listing is free, although Peck said $5 donations are being solicited to help defray the cost of maintaining the site.

Peck also is working with Niagara Tourism & Convention Corp. to get more Lockport events listed in the tourism agency’s quarterly publications, which are distributed at visitor centers around the area and in hotels countywide.

The promotions team is looking at how to pull off a Lockport visitors guide similar to the comprehensive seasonal guide produced by Newfane Business Association. It lists every business in the town, an events calendar for the entire tourist season and information about fishing. It’s a handy guide and popular among customers of Lockport Holiday Inn, according to marketing director Terri McDonald.

“We go through cases of them; we can’t keep them in stock. People love them,” she said. “(Lockport) definitely needs one like it.”

Downtown merchants who want some promotional assistance, or more information about Main Street initiatives, may call Peck at 434-0212 or send an e-mail to her at lockportmainstreet@verizon.net.

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