The downtown area of Ravenna will be flourishing with social events in the coming months, as Main Street Ravenna will host a series of ‘Fourth Friday’ gatherings, taking place on the fourth Friday of each month from May through October.
“Once a month, we are giving people a reason to come down to downtown Ravenna and have fun down here and to remember what there is to shop with, to dine with, to eat with and all of that good stuff,” Books A Go Go owner and Main Street Ravenna Board Member Cathy Klein told The Weekly Villager. “So, we hope to have some form of entertainment for each of those fourth Fridays.”
According to Klein, Main Street Ravenna is once again bringing excitement to the downtown area by enlisting the help of local businesses to host special social gatherings on the fourth Friday of each month from 5 p.m.-8 p.m.
“I think that we have a lot to offer,” Klein said. “I think that everybody in business here is excited about it, and I think we are just excited to showcase everybody and let them see who we are.”
Main Street Ravenna will host a planning meeting for interested parties on March 31 at 6 p.m. and Klein will serve as the co-Chairwoman of the Fourth Friday gatherings with fellow Board Member Sara Pastor.
Klein said that it will be another initiative by Main Street Ravenna to bring awareness to how much the downtown area is flourishing.
“Main Street Ravenna has always wanted to bring more people downtown,” she added. “Much like the Chamber of Commerce, I think that they have the same goals as far as making people aware of the businesses that we have here, highlighting businesses and making sure that people want to come downtown again.”
Although Main Street Ravenna is still in the planning stages, it has already received commitments from several local businesses. The Horseshoe Diner will be hosting a matinee film screening in Buckeye Hall underneath the diner, the Portage County Parks & Recreation Department plans to hold a special children’s event for the fourth Friday of July and Books A Go Go has also committed to the cause.
Klein said that the on the inaugural Fourth Friday in May, which will initially serve as a ‘Getting to Know You’ mixer for several businesses, her bookstore Books A Go Go will welcome independent scholar and author Nancy Christie as a special guest that evening and also will allow Ryerson Valley Rescue, a non-profit cat rescue organization based in Akron, to set up outside of the store.
“I like to offer these different events and it gives me another opportunity to showcase another local author or somebody else that I believe in,” Klein said.
Klein added that other local businesses are invited to open their doors for special gatherings after regular business hours.
“I know that we have a lot of new businesses, and we are really actually working together to try to let people know that we are here now,” she noted. “In the past I know that this was a hopping place as far as downtown Ravenna, there were clothing stores, shoe stores, and anything you could need.”
Klein acknowledged that although downtown Ravenna is not the same social hub that it once was, the series of Fourth Friday events allows Main Street Ravenna to promote how the area is once again thriving both socially and economically.
She also said that as much of an opportunity it is for the local businesses to promote themselves, it also allows the city to demonstrate its pride in how things are trending in a positive direction for the area.
“We all believe in downtown Ravenna and want to see it thrive. If we are able to offer something that people want to come downtown to see, that lets them all see us. It just brings everybody together,” she said.
While all local businesses are invited to participate in this new initiative, Klein noted that the Fourth Friday gatherings also present opportunities for residents and volunteers to show their community spirit.
“Anybody is welcome to come to our planning meetings and offer suggestions and be part of the event somehow,” she said. “If they have an idea, we are always open to different ideas.”
