This is a column that almost wrote itself, in the light of these turbulent, uncertain times. What can we do locally to help bring a sense of peace to The Ave and to our community?
One thing that we decided to do was to roll out the theme of peace in our Main Street Vineland Christmas Parade early this year. Even though we’re in the midst of summer heat and social distancing, the idea was to bring some calm and reflection to our troubled times.
The parade will take place on Saturday, November 28 (rain date: Sunday, November 29), at 5 p.m., on Landis Avenue. Its major sponsor this year will be Century Savings Bank and will again feature a contest for the best floats. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available.
To promote the theme of peace and calm, floats are to be decorated to honor persons in history who have worked toward the spread of peace in our world, such as Jesus, Moses, Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, or any other choice, past or present.
Registration for participants and vendor applications will be through the Main Street Vineland website—TheAve.biz—and we posted on a future date to be announced. Watch for more information.
So, let’s take a lead from the title of one of former President Dwight Eisenhower’s books and work to “wage peace.”
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• Don’t forget to show your love and support of our front-line workers in the field, and of our small businesses on The Ave, by making a donation to help and thank those workers. Members 1st of NJ Federal Credit Union has generously agreed to match all donations up to a total of $1,000. The Main Street Vineland office will make all purchases, which will come from downtown businesses on The Ave. To give, go to the home page of Main Street Vineland’s website.
• “Shop Local—Shop Safe” is an initiative in partnership with the Greater Vineland Chamber of Commerce to emphasize shopping our local businesses, whether it’s at the retail or supplier level, and doing so in a safe and responsible way, following the proper social distancing guidelines.
• Take Out Thursdays is Main Street Vineland’s way of helping restaurants on The Ave, many of which are open, but only doing takeout and delivery. This week’s restaurant is Landis Pig Roast, at 623 E. Landis Avenue. Sample authentic ethnic cuisine; keep our business climate healthy.
A further reminder to go to the home page of our website—The Ave.biz—for links to initiatives to help our local businesses during these hard economic times.
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Remember that Main Street Vineland is here to help. In the spirit of social distancing and respecting the safety of our staff, our office is currently closed to walk-in public though we are still working every day.
We pass this information along to our businesses every Thursday on POP 99.9 FM, Channel 22, and on Facebook Live on facebook.com/pop999fm, as well as TheAve.biz and facebook.com/mainstreetvineland.
For more information on Main Street Vineland, call our office at 856-794-8653, visit our exciting website—TheAve.biz—or check us out on Facebook. You can also e-mail me at [email protected].
