Event celebrates Park Street businesses, culture
[Editor’s note: This event was originally set for Wednesday, Dec. 9, but heavy snows in the Madison area postponed the event to Wednesday, Dec. 16.]
Whether you call east, west or downtown Madison your home, you have probably experienced the melting pot that characterizes Park Street businesses and residents.
“A lot of people think of it as the street in Madison that has the most international flair, in the sense of representing cultures from all over the world,” says Margaret Nellis, manager of academic partnerships at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s University Health Services.
Celebrate the Park Street corridor on Wednesday, Dec. 16, as part of the first-ever “Celebrate Park Street” event from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Space Place in Villager Mall, 2300 S. Park St. The event is free and open to the public.
“Park Street is the major throughway that links the downtown to the Beltline, and it is the major gateway to the campus,” Nellis says. “It influences the whole area whether or not it thrives.”
Guests will have the opportunity to socialize with Park Street businesses and view short video clips highlighting notable local businesses, including Chiripa, Ideal Body Shop, Yue Wah and Cargo Coffee.
“This has been one of the more difficult years, and most Park Street businesses have survived it,” says Cargo Coffee owner Lindsey Lee. “It’s a good time to celebrate Park Street. A lot of store fronts have been occupied and redone this year, and there are a lot of streets that could not say that right now.”
UW-Madison students created the digital stories featuring first-person narratives using still photographs in a School of Human Ecology class taught by Nellis, an affiliate faculty member, and Division of Information Technology senior learning technology consultant Cheryl Diermyer.
“Many students do not know about the cultural assets along the Park Street corridor, and they are delighted to find a little piece of home right here on Park Street,” Nellis says.
The video presentations will begin at 6 p.m.
“This class and program are examples of increased community roles the university can take, and we look forward to more in the future,” says Lori Kay, director of campus community partnerships.
Community organizations, institutions and nonprofits will host booths to share information about initiatives to revitalize Park Street, including housing issues, development and neighborhood association projects.
The event is co-sponsored by Park Street Partners and South Metropolitan Planning Council. Park Street Partners is a coalition of stakeholders working to promote community and economic development along the Park Street corridor.
South Metropolitan Planning Council is a coalition of neighborhood and business groups that work together to increase the civic capacity on Madison’s Southside.
“This project is part of an overall marketing plan of SMPC and PSP,” says Ariel Kaufman, Park Street Partners chair and community teams coordinator in the Community Partnerships Office in the Office of the Chancellor. “There are so many wonderful attributes of South Madison neighborhoods and we welcome people from other Madison neighborhoods to see for themselves. We are also inviting those active and interested in South Madison to further our collaborative efforts.”
The event is also supported by Meriter, St. Mary’s Hospital and UW–Madison.
