April 16, 2008

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Greetings:

April 13th has come and gone!  Whew, what a relief!  It's a good thing that National Peach Cobbler Day only comes once a year!  (That's true by the way!)  Actually I thought I would wait until after the 15th, the dreaded tax day, when I would have your full attention and get onto paper all the wonderful things that are happening or are about to happen in our downtown.  Mark your calendars!

April 17th:  Happy 25th Anniversary to Gene Burgad and the Rex Restaurant!  Downtown Billings is happy to be home to the Rex!  The Rex and Mr. Burgad have recently been named "beef innovator of the year" by the National Cattleman's Beef Association.  Stop by, have a beer or a bite, and wish Gene and his great crew a hearty "well done", no pun intended!

April 22nd:  Earth Day 

This Spring, the BID is “springing" into action as we welcome the rebirth of the foliage, flowers, and plants downtown and ready downtown for summer events and activity. On Earth Day, you will spot us replacing bark and decorative rocks in the tree grates, painting over “doodles” here and there, power washing street furniture and maintaining our downtown trees.  If you would like to volunteer with us on that day, please call Sherri at 294-5060.  Additionally, on Earth Day, take time to take a tour of Northern Plains Resource Council/Home on the Range.  Home on the Range, 220 S. 27th Street, is the first commercial building in the state of Montana to receive the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certification--the highest achievable standard in green building.  Northern Plains organizes Montana citizens to protect our water quality, family farms and ranches, and unique quality of life.

April 25th:  Arbor Day

Join us on Arbor Day as the Business Improvement District's Purple People plant trees at Dehler Field, our new baseball field!  And our longest running event, Downtown Night at the Mustang's, is on July 28th!  Save the date!

April 26th:  March for Babies, March of Dimes

Bravo to all the Downtown Billings members who are sponsors of the upcoming March for Babies which starts at 10:00 am at Pioneer Park.  If you would like to support the March of Dimes mission that every baby be born healthy, call our local chapter at 252-7480 to see how you can help and get involved in the march!

May 10th:  Montana Women's Run

Join thousands of women and their families on May 10th for the annual Women's Run which takes place in Downtown Billings.  The Montana Women's Run promotes women's health and fitness and proceeds benefit local services like Children's Services, Domestic Violence Program, Employment &Training Center and so much more.  If you are reading this and you are a downtown merchant, please know that A-frames, or sandwich boards, are allowed on sidewalks on event days, meaning no permit is necessary.  So draw all the people participating in the run and their families into your business with your specials, signs, and your warm fuzzies.  Remember, it is Mother's Day weekend too!  If you would like to participate in this year's run, visit the website at www.womensrun.org.

And if I thought you could take anymore I would tell you about the Fresh Aire Music of Mannheim Steamroller at the Alberta Bair Theatre on April 24th or the High Noon Lecture Series at the award-winning Western Heritage Center tomorrow the 17th and May 15th, but you will just have to click on www.albertabairtheatre.org or www.ywhc.org respectively for more information! 

If you are feeling like you need a little more information on downtown development, the improvement district, or downtown events tune into Community 7 TV, and catch our Downtown Billings show, every Thursday 5:30pm.  Additionally as a member, this space on Community 7 is open to you and we would be happy to feature you on the Downtown Billings show.

Blessings to your day...see you downtown.

Lisa K. Harmon

Lisa Harmon – Executive Director
Downtown Billings – www.downtownbillings.com – lharmon@downtownbillings.net