Vision Statement: Where stock-car racing and moonshine were born, North Wilkesboro resides at the confluence of the Yadkin and Reddies rivers. Downtown North Wilkesboro boasts the largest collection of thriving locally-owned businesses in Wilkes County, where culture and community converge as a hub for artisans, entertainers, and craftsmen.
Mission Statement: The Downtown North Wilkesboro Partnership promotes local talent, commerce, and innovation to enhance the quality of life and to support a new birth of civic energy.
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Implementation Strategy: North Wilkesboro is a designated NC Main Street community. The Town of North Wilkesboro has charged the Downtown North Wilkesboro Partnership with the administration of the Main Street program at the local level. The agency uses the Main Street America ™ model of establishing economic development strategies and applying the Main Street Four-Point Approach® to downtown revitalization: Economic Vitality, Design, Promotion, and Organization to implement a plan that achieves measurable results.
The DNWP receives funds through grants, donations, and fundraising projects like our annual Light Up Downtown holiday festival. It is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. Some of these board members are not residents of North Wilkesboro, but are county residents that understand the importance of an attractive and thriving downtown area to the overall economic health of the county.
Since becoming a N.C. Main Street Community, our primary goal has been to revitalize the downtown area of North Wilkesboro. We will accomplish this by making Downtown North Wilkesboro a vibrant and attractive center of activity for the citizens of Wilkes County, as well as helping the area to become a tool for economic development to attract tourism to the downtown area.
We follow the four points of the Main Street approach that, used together, build a sustainable and complete community revitalization effort.
Main Street Approach
As a Main Street America™ Accredited program, the Downtown North Wilkesboro Partnership is a recognized leading program among the national network of more than 1,200 neighborhoods and communities that share both a commitment to creating high-quality places and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development. All Main Street America™ Accredited programs meet a set of National Accreditation Standards of Performance as outlined by Main Street America.
North Wilkesboro is a North Carolina Main Street community, designated by the N.C. Department of Commerce Main Street & Rural Planning Center. The Downtown North Wilkesboro Partnership is charged with administering the program at the local level and building public-private partnerships to spur economic development that achieves measurable results such as investment, business growth, and job creation.