Monrovia Old Town Report (9/28/17 Issue)

Old Town Monrovia – Photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News

By Pam Fitzpatrick

OK, now I’m ready for the fair to go bye-bye. By the end of September, Old Town Monrovia is the long-time friend you take for granted because you know they’ll always be there. But, seriously, though the fair is a bushel of fun for folks, and I do love seeing people have a good time, the fair is a killer for small business here in Monrovia, retail and restaurants alike. Those of us who have been around for a while try to plan for the down time, but now let’s get on with some activity here in town!

A huge part of our problem in Old Town has been our lack of advertising. MOTAB, the city commission that oversees our business improvement assessment funds, is working on a new logo, a new website and related social media advertising, which is great. But our print advertising – the stuff that visitors to town can pick up here, or see in their own cities, is lacking. Bottom line, we do a decent job promoting Old Town as a whole, but a not-so-good job when it comes to the promotion of individual businesses. That type of promotion is the responsibility of the business owner, but here’s the dilemma: slow business, no advertising dollars — no advertising dollars, slow business. We need some public input here: what do you all think?

At least we’re almost into the season of events, which is a big boost for Old Town. Next week, on Oct. 7th and 8th the hayrides will return to Old Town from 2:00 – 6:00 p.m., and – the same weekend, Saturday and Sunday, “Celebrate the Arts,” sponsored by the Monrovia Association of Fine Arts (MAFA) will be in Library Park (Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 4 p.m.). The featured artist is Michael Herdering (www.mcherdering.com) who chose the theme for the event, “Art Takes Flight.”

There will be fine art displays, sales and demonstrations as well as Monrovia’s third ChalkFest. The following weekend, Sunday Oct. 15th Old Town will host the popular “Taste of Old Town.” If you’ve never been to this event, this year is a must-go – there will be over 50 booths serving tastes of your favorite beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, and every kind of delicious food imaginable. Tickets are available at The Dollmakers’ Kattywompus, Monrovia Community Center and online at www.tastemonrovia.com. Kelly Milliken at Center Stage also has some for sale as do the members of Monrovia Kiwanis, the hosts of the event. If you buy the tickets in advance, they’re cheaper….

Good news: the old 4th Dimension site in the 300 block of S. Myrtle is going to get a face-job, so the frontage is boarded up and the fencing will go up shortly, but it will leave plenty of sidewalk space. I’m still not hearing if there is a tenant for the front retail area. Also, the owners of the building at 50-100 W. Lemon, which also includes the corner facing Myrtle, are still trying to come up with a plan acceptable to the City for development. I’ll keep you posted…

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