Titillating the taste buds with free give-aways
Free – the word is music to college students’ ears and free is exactly what they’ll get when attending “A Taste of Downtown Logan” this Friday.
Gary Saxton, downtown manager of the downtown alliance got the idea from USU Connections.
“They take the freshmen downtown and all the shops have samples and free stuff for them and I thought it would be a good idea to open it up to all the students instead of just the freshmen,” Saxton said.
Saxton said they wanted to do something for the students who enroll in the spring and give them an opportunity to experience downtown.
Noelle Call, director of USU Connections, said they have been doing this for seven years. She said the reason they started incorporating the trip downtown was to connect students to the Logan community. Usually Connections goes at the end of August, so Call isn’t sure how the turnout will be.
“They will have a completely different audience, but I hope it is successful,” Call said.
Call said this will be a great way to familiarize the students with downtown and to show them all the things Logan has to offer.
Saxton said the Downtown Alliance wanted to do something that would involve the students with the downtown community. Saxton said the mission of the Alliance is to build and sustain an environment for business growth in historic downtown Logan by restoring the landscape, building design, and their use and positively positions historic downtown in a changing marketplace.
“We are trying to create a downtown that is vibrant and active and attract college students downtown,” Saxton said.
The Alliance has done things such as changing downtown’s logo to something more colorful to appeal to a younger audience. They want the college community to know that downtown Logan can be a place to go on the weekend and hang out with friends.
Members of the Alliance have also been taking a course at USU to learn how to re-brand downtown.
Saxton said the business owners are excited to participate in the event.
“Many will be having samples of their food, giving out merchandise and there will also be live bands playing as well,” Saxton said.
The main focus of the event, Saxton said, is to help the business market to the consumer group up on campus and it is a way for them to communicate to the campus community.
The Factory Pizzeria and Gia’s Italian Restaurant will be having samples of their pizza and Italian food.
“We have been here for 37 years and we want to remind the students we are here,” said owner Tuesday Catalano.
Catalano said she remembers when USU students would come to Gia’s all the time. She talked about how students would get engaged and even have their wedding receptions there. She said there is a lot of USU history in downtown and she feels it is important for students to re-connect with that history.
“We are trying to revamp downtown to make it a cooler place,” Catalano said.
Saxton said that all the businesses downtown will be offering something to the students. Whether it is free food, live music or merchandise from their store, there will be something for everyone to enjoy.
“Ultimately, we want students to have an experience downtown,” Saxton said.
One of the biggest obstacles the Alliance has been facing is students tend to hang out more on the North side of Logan by Lee’s Marketplace. Saxton said they want to bring the students back to the real downtown and show them there are things for them to do there.
Another challenge for the Alliance, Saxton said, is letting the students know what is going on and getting the word out. Also, when Connections does it they provide transportation, where they won’t be doing that this time. Saxton is also worried about the turnout because of the January weather.
“But I hope students will be interested to see what the town they live in has to offer and decide to come to the event,” Saxton said.
The event will take place on Main Street from 200 North to 300 South on Friday night. Remember to wear your Aggie blue!
– chelsee.niebergall@aggiemail.usu.edu