Here at Main Street Skowhegan, we're passionate about our community. We take pride in sharing Skowhegan's story and promoting our town and local businesses in a variety of ways -- including encouraging people to #ShopSmall on Small Business Saturday through our Passport to Savings program, hosting events such as the family-friendly Holiday Stroll and the tourist-drawing Skowhegan Craft Brew Fest, and spreading the word far and wide via a 44-page visitors' guide we created that highlights all that's special about our town and region.

As a nonprofit focused on the ongoing revitalization of Skowhegan, we believe in collaborating with other organizations to do even more to make this place we love an even better, brighter version of itself for the future.

To that end, we joined the Maine Grain Alliance (MGA). With a mission to preserve and promote grain traditions, MGA is bolstering Skowhegan's reputation as an agricultural food hub and helping position the area for agritourism such as farm-to-table meals, brewery and farm tours, and more.

That ties in with the Skowhegan Strategic Plan for Community Transformation -- an effort Main Street led in 2015-16 -- which has an ultimate goal of making Skowhegan a thriving economic, cultural, and recreational destination where residents enjoy a high quality of life.

Photo by Jonathan Wheaton

We are now facilitating strategic plan implementation and tackling many of the plan's action steps. These include continuing to highlight Skowhegan as a local-food hub by promoting local-food producers, creating agritourism activities, and working with the agricultural community to increase consumption of locally grown foods among all residents. We plan to collaborate with a number of organizations -- including the Maine Grain Alliance, Wesserunsett Arts Council, and Somerset Public Health -- on those particular action steps in 2018.

As we continue to implement the strategic plan, take on new initiatives, and act boldly for Skowhegan, we will also continue to forge connections and embark on partnerships to ensure this place we love achieves its full potential and best future.

Founded in 2005 by a group of citizens with the goal of reinvigorating downtown Skowhegan, Main Street Skowhegan is now driven by three staff members and dozens of volunteers working to make their town a better place. In 2015 we expanded our purview to include the entire town -- not just the downtown -- enabling us to serve all Skowhegan businesses and implement town-wide projects. Our mission is to grow a vibrant and inviting historic town by encouraging innovation and economic development. We spearhead collaborative efforts to support businesses and diversify the economy, stimulate tourism, and tell Skowhegan's story.