Downtown Anacortes Alliance Wins Outstanding Promotional Event Award at 2023 Excellence on Main Ceremony

Photo Credits

First 2 images: photo credit Casey Evan Media; Other images: photo credit DAA

Seattle, WA — At the Washington State Main Street Program’s annual awards ceremony, the Downtown Anacortes Alliance was honored with the Outstanding Promotional Event Award for its recent Whale of a Sale event.

Operated by the nonprofit Washington Trust for Historic Preservation in conjunction with the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, the Washington State Main Street Program helps communities across the state revitalize the economy, appearance, and image of their downtown districts. Today, the Washington State Main Street Program encompasses a network of more than 70 towns and cities across Washington, including Vancouver.

Every year, as a cornerstone event of the annual RevitalizeWA conference, the Washington State Main Street Program hosts the Excellence on Main awards ceremony, honoring projects and individuals whose hard work and innovative efforts are making a difference in their communities and beyond. This year’s 2023 Excellence on Main award winners were announced on Thursday, October 5 at the Providence Academy ballroom, during the RevitalizeWA conference held October 4-6 in Vancouver.

The Outstanding Promotional Event Award is an annual award that recognizes creative and effective promotional campaigns that attract people to the downtown or neighborhood commercial district. This year’s award goes to the Downtown Anacortes Alliance for breathing new life into and rallying community support around the local Whale of a Sale event. Whale of a Sale was a sidewalk sale event started by a local merchant in downtown Anacortes 15 years ago, but over time, participation waned and recent attempts to revive it were met with little success. In 2023, local merchants called upon the Downtown Anacortes Alliance to host the event. While a new organization, the Downtown Anacortes Alliance saw the event’s potential and decided to take it on as their first-ever event, dedicating $700 for their general fund to pull it off on a shoestring.

Through their board-led Outreach and Promotions Committee, the Downtown Anacortes Alliance recruited business to participate; planned a live band, buskers, and maritime-themed kids’ activities; and coordinated volunteers to help support the event. They set a conservative goal of recruiting 10 businesses to participate—but recruitment efforts resulted in 33 participating merchants. Partner organizations such as the Anacortes Music Project got involved, and for the first time in the event’s history, restaurants joined in the fun by offering drink specials and outdoor dining options. Merchants complemented the Downtown Anacortes Alliance’s marketing campaign by offering their own blowout sales and promotions. On the day of the event, Anacortes’ streets were filled with local folks discovering new businesses and running into friends and neighbors downtown. (A pod of orcas even gave their blessing to the event, visiting the waterfront near downtown just two days before the launch!)

“Many events are hosted in downtown Anacortes, but the Downtown Anacortes Alliance’s first event was unique…. They were very intentional about focusing this event on Fidalgo Island locals and existing businesses,” said Washington Main Street Director Breanne Durham at the Excellence on Main ceremony. “In their own words, Whale of a Sale ‘demonstrated the joy and power that we already have in our community.’” Durham personally presented the Outstanding Promotional Event Award to the Downtown Anacortes Alliance’s Jordan Hay, who was in attendance at the ceremony.

The Washington State Main Street Program applauds this year’s Excellence on Main award winners and the impacts they have made in their communities. See our award listing at PreserveWA.org, or find a full listing of winners from this year and past years.

About the Washington State Main Street Program:
Since 1984, the Washington State Main Street Program has been helping communities revitalize the economy, appearance, and image of their downtown commercial districts using the successful Main Street Approach®. For more information, visit the Washington Trust’s website at preservewa.org/mainstreet.