Elves Night Out 2025 transformed downtown Anacortes into a bright, laughter-filled holiday scene. Families, friends, and full squads of elves filled Commercial Avenue, visiting shops, sipping cocoa, and soaking up the magic. And at the center of it all were the businesses whose creativity and care made the night truly shine. This year’s Holiday Cheer … Continue reading Holiday Cheer Contest Results: Celebrating the Businesses at the Heart of Elves Night Out
Students + Sensors: Tracking Foot Traffic in Downtown
This summer, the Downtown Anacortes Alliance partnered with Black Box Robotics — a team of talented Anacortes High School students — to explore a big question: when and how do people actually come downtown? The students designed and built custom door-mounted devices that track entries in and out of shops. Six downtown businesses volunteered to … Continue reading Students + Sensors: Tracking Foot Traffic in Downtown
A Fresher, Cleaner Downtown
If you’ve strolled down Commercial Avenue lately, you may have noticed something missing — those old, abandoned newspaper boxes that had been sitting empty for years. Thanks to a recent cleanup effort, our sidewalks look better than ever! Before-and-after photos tell the story best, but the difference is night and day. Where there used to … Continue reading A Fresher, Cleaner Downtown
What We Learned from the 2025 Downtown Consumer Survey
This summer, we asked you—our community—to share your thoughts about downtown Anacortes. More than 158 people responded, giving us valuable insights into what you love, what you’d like to see more of, and how we can keep downtown thriving. Here are a few highlights: We’re on the right track. The majority of respondents feel downtown … Continue reading What We Learned from the 2025 Downtown Consumer Survey
Lessons from Bellingham: How Historic Buildings Can Shape a Thriving Downtown
What if our beautiful historic buildings weren’t just reminders of the past, but catalysts for the future? That was the spirit behind our field trip to Bellingham on June 7th, where a group from the Downtown Anacortes Alliance spent the day with Bob and Jovan Hall and their team at Daylight Properties—a force behind some … Continue reading Lessons from Bellingham: How Historic Buildings Can Shape a Thriving Downtown