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Farmville Downtown Partnership (FDP) has been designated as an accredited Main Street program. Each year, Main Street America and its partners announce the list of accredited programs to recognize their a commitment to preservation-based economic development and community revitalization through the Main Street approach.

The Farmville Downtown Partnership’s performance is annually evaluated by Virginia Main Street Program which works in partnership with Main Street America to identify the local programs that meet 10 national performance standards. Evaluation criteria determines the communities that are building meaningful and sustainable revitalization programs and include standards such as, fostering strong public-private partnerships, documenting programmatic progress, and actively preserving historic buildings.

FDP submitted and was approved for a grant worth $10,000 of technical support to help facilitate a Small-Scale Manufacturing Pilot Program for Farmville and Prince Edward County. FDP hosted the first ever Hard Hat Happy Hour on Main Street and hopes to continue the program in the future.

FDP created and distributed three newsletters that were sent by mail in the Town of Farmville water bill. FDP was selected to receive a $15,000 grant to fund the Farmville Downtown Economic Relief Program from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and Virginia Main Street. FDP also partnered with the Farmville Area Chamber of Commerce who became managing partners of FDP in August 2020.

FDP Partnered with the Town of Farmville to host a surprise Holiday Tree Lighting Event with the first live tree as the focal point of the event. FDP also purchased and offered all downtown merchants battery operated candles to unify and enhance holiday decorations on Main Street. FDP updated and ordered 2,500 rack cards to distribute to visitors. The rack cards feature a map of downtown and highlight merchants.

Finally, FDP was also instrumental in updating the Civil Rights Walking Trail which features an online trail guide and hard copy guides.

“The FDP board was eager to find ways to support our merchants in 2020, such as providing grants to merchants in the early months of the pandemic,” Jen Cox, board president, said. “While it was difficult for our merchants, I applaud how they handled the multitude of obstacles and changing guidance throughout the year. We are pleased to once again be an accredited Main Street Community this year.”