Every month is a great month to show a little bit of love for our local small businesses, but Summerville Main Street is declaring the month of February “Live, Love, Local Month” for Downtown Summerville. The public is encouraged to participate in this month-long celebration by showing your love for small businesses, individuals, schools, churches, clubs, or organizations.
During 2021 The Summerville Main Street organization had a vision to not only decorate the downtown to spread some local love, but to also bring awareness of National Heart Month.Phase 1 of the “Love Local” project was put into place by volunteers working diligently to construct, paint, and erect large hearts in the downtown Summerville Historic District.
New for 2022, the project will expand by offering the opportunity to place positive messages or sentiments on the large hearts to be displayed throughout the month of February.The message options could be, but not limited to in honor of, in memory of, or a message of love or encouragement. The cost to display a personalized message is $30 for one side or $50 for both sides of a heart. Heart message spaces are available nowand may be purchased at Summerville City Hall through January 24. Spaces are limited for the 2022 year.
The “Live, Love, Local” project will also encourage local shopping throughout the month, by calling on the community to show their love for local through a Valentine’s Day classic: love letters. The Love Letters for Local initiative will encouragecommunity members to write letters/notes of appreciation and support to small businesses. Love Letters for Local is also new for 2022 and will run February 1-28. It is meant to encouragecommunity members to write letters of appreciation and support to small businesses as they persevere into the New Year.
To make engagement as easy as possible, there will be “Love Letter Stations” in participating downtown businesses to decorate your own heart shaped love letter to be dropped inSummerville Main Street’s special Live, Love, Local mailbox. This festive mailbox will be located across from the Chattooga County Courthouse at the old First Loans building beside Merle Norman/GaGa’s Boutique in the final days of January. Beginning February 1, the community will be able to drop their love letters into the festive mailbox postage-free, and Summerville Main Street will deliver the cards to the small businesses.
To incentivize shoppers and residents to participate in the program, the Summerville Main Street organization will randomly draw one letter writer per week to win a $50 gift card/certificate to their favorite Historic DowntownSummerville business. For more information on this project visit www.summervillega.org
