Word on the

Street

If you were driving down Main Street on Valentine’s Day enjoying the big band sounds of the Sumner High School Jazz Band as part of our Sweetheart Wine Walk event, you weren’t alone. This is the second time the band has performed at our event and I love all the comments we get about how great it is to have the band downtown for folks to listen to.

And if you enjoyed the band, that means you probably enjoyed the wine walk wedding at Garden Market. We have lots of pictures of the memorable ceremony on our Web site and they are a hoot. Our 60-plus downtown volunteers and thespians had a great time hosting the event and entertaining the crowds. From the wedding party’s interacting with the crowds prior to the nuptials to the actual ceremony performed by Prosser Mayor Paul Warden, we couldn’t be happier with how the event turned out, or the visitor’s response. Now I’m not usually a nosy person, but on event nights I turn on my super hearing powers and pay close attention to the conversations of our attendees. You’d be surprised what you hear – and see. Usually talking to people at the events and getting their impressions is the volunteer’s favorite part of the evening and we use the information we gather to improve our events. I think my favorite comment that we overheard this year was from two ladies who said they knew they’d have fun downtown, but they had no idea they’d have this much fun. I love it!

This year’s Sweetheart Wine Walk was the highest attended of all our seven wine walks. We know we had more than 2,000 people in town during the four-hour event and we sold about 1,300 tickets and I’m guessing that we grossed about $18,000. What was really great was that when visitors asked what the proceeds would be used for and we told them it was to continue hosting events, historic preservation of our downtown buildings and revitalization of the downtown, they were pleased as punch. It seems the word is out about how fun downtown is and they want to keep coming back. It is not unusual to hear them tell us that our safe, friendly and unique atmosphere draws them back time after time. What I’m really enjoying is that they are now telling their friends who are telling their friends and so on. And since getting more people into Sumner is our focus, hearing these comments is like watching a football kicked dead center between the goal posts. It’s a downtown score for sure.

So to all our volunteers and the cast and production crew of Ascension Productions who endured the cold but great February weather, as well as our new friends from Prosser, thanks so much for your efforts in making this our best wine walk ever. And to all our participating businesses who hosted wine tasting sites, my hat is off to you. Successful events like our wine walks take the participation of both the businesses and community and our visitors know it.

They are drawn to the hometown friendliness both on the sidewalks and in the stores. I am truly proud to tell people that I work in Sumner and it comes from the heart when I share why it’s so great to spend some time here.