Elmira Downtown Development
Experience Elmira
Elmira Downtown Developments vision is to create a flourishing, attractive downtown district that is a vibrant, dynamic, welcoming and attractive place to live, learn, work, shop, eat and play that continues to be a place for future growth.
Our mission is to continually enhance the environment of Elmira's downtown district through innovative programs, promotions, and partnerships that foster a sense of community while strengthening the economic vitality for our business partners.
Events that are presented by Elmira Downtown Development are:
Wisner Market: This creative weekly market that runs every Thursday June- September has been dedicated to supporting small farms, food businesses, and local entrepreneurs. The market brings the spirit of "Lunch in the Park" to our downtown.
Alive After 5: AA5 is a concert series hosted at a different bar/restaurant every other Friday from June-September. The street comes alive with live music, adult beverages, and food. Drawing an eclectic crowd, AA5 attracts 800-1000 people at each location.
Downtown Clean Up: Volunteers spend a Saturday morning each year cleaning up the winter debris from our streets and sidewalks. 250+ volunteers support this endeavor and help make Elmira a beautiful place to live, work and play.
Taste of Downtown: This ticketed event will get you "tastes" of downtown. Over 20 local food businesses present bite size servings for 350+ attendees to try. The night includes adult beverages and live music as well as raffle, silent auction and a wine pull. The event is aimed at encouraging community engagement, celebrating Elmira's diversity, and shining a spotlight on the local restaurants and businesses. Proceeds from the Taste of Downtown support the Elmira Street Painting Festival.
Elmira Street Painting Festival: This weekend festival is an outdoor gallery under the Elmira skyline, transforming the streets into artistic avenues bursting with color. Each year we host 150+ chalk artists including 50+ young artists, grades 3-12. Visitor's can enjoy live music, local food truck and eateries as well as craft vendors. Chalk it up for the Youth is an art workshop lead by local artists Saturdays in June leading up to the festival. This is a chance for the kids to brainstorm and receive assistance and guidance for their final piece that they will chalk at the Festival. The Secret Garden: The Secret Garden is a tickets event to a night of dinner and drinks at an overlooked and underappreciated location in Elmira that is not revealed until that day. The night also includes live music and a silent auction.
Trunk or Treat: This is a community Halloween event where local organizations and businesses decorate the trunk of their cars to give out candy to the youth. This is hosted in Downtown Elmira, which is accessible to our neighborhoods.
Annual Tree Lighting: At Wisner park each year we invite the community to visit with Santa, have some hot cocoa, listen to carolers and light the tree for the holiday season!
Downtown Elmira Holiday Parade: This beloved tradition attracts thousands of people to our area on Black Friday every year. The parade is a family friendly experience that brings holiday cheer to children and adults. This parade is made possible by our sponsors and amazing committee members.
Elmira Downtown Development also helps new businesses with funding for signage as well as building owners for façade repair or face lift.
Operation Green Streets is also a program that Elmira Downtown Development takes pride in. We make sure pole banners and flower pots line the streets for our downtown area.
Elmira Downtown Development is a non profit organization that is funded by the City of Elmira and our amazing event sponsors. We could not do what we do without our business sponsors.
