IDA Conference

We are excited to be taking part in the 60th annual International Downtown Association Conference and Tradeshow in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada!  As a longtime active member of the IDA, we look forward to this conference every year. It will give us the opportunity to meet with representatives from downtowns across the world.

According to IDA officials, "this year's annual IDA conference and tradeshow will focus on intensification of downtown and districts worldwide. Successful revitalization and continued urbanization across the globe has turned our city centers into dynamic places of change. With more businesses, more employees, more residents, and more visitors choosing downtowns, demand for increased services and amenities is at an all-time high."

We encourage everyone to stop by and see us at booth #402 during the tradeshow. Downtown Decorations President Ted Peterson will be available to answer any decor questions you might have. See you all next week!

Little Italy, Syracuse, New York

For the past five years, Downtown Decorations has been producing banners for Little Italy in Syracuse, New York. The thriving downtown neighborhood emerged around the year 1883, when Italian immigrants first moved to the area to help construct the West Shore Railroad, but wasn’t officially designated Little Italy until 2003. Today, the main street in the neighborhood, North Salina Street, is lined with bakeries, cafes, restaurants, bars and shops. The Little Italy neighborhood is important to Syracuse residents, because over 14% of the city’s population is of Italian descent. We’re thrilled that we got the chance to work on this project. We think the vibrant green and red banners really pop, adding even more life to the energetic neighborhood.

Sankofa: The Soul District

The South Salina Street corridor, a once thriving neightborhood on Syracuse, New York’s Southside, is now troubled with crime and economic hardship. In the past 30 years, little has been done to help revitalize this historic neighborhood. That's until now.

The City of Syracuse, the Southside Community Coalition and other neighborhood groups have come together to transform the area and bring it back to what it once was. The corridor will now go through a renovation period that will include the repaving of streets and the construction of a brand new community park. The entire project is being called Sankofa, which is a word from the Akan language of Ghana that translates to “reach back and get it.”

Officials decided that first step in rebranding the area was to add new banners with the word Sankofa and an image of a bird with its head turned backwards taking an egg off its back that is often associated with the word. Downtown Decorations was contacted to produce these banners and we couldn't have been more proud to help out with this project. Our banners now line the streets of the corridor, inviting change and rejuvenation. We hope they will help breathe new life into the area and aid in bringing this neighborhood back to the thriving community it used to be. To learn more about the Sankofa project, watch this report from WSYR-TV.

Laredo, Texas

Downtown Decorations collaborates on numerous projects each year with cities and organizations throughout the great state of Texas. Our clients in the Lone Star State go all out when it comes to decorating for the holidays. Like the saying goes, everything’s bigger in Texas, and that includes their décor projects.

Last year, we were contacted by the city of Laredo, Texas to work on their décor for the 2013 holiday season. The city is the 3rd most populated US-Mexican border city after San Diego and El Paso, so we knew we had to come up with something that would amaze the large number of visitors. We produced a stunning 34 ft. giant Christmas tree lit with warm white LED lights, adorned with a festive red and gold deluxe ornament package, and topped off with a 4 ft. snowburst tree topper. Visitors can spot the tremendous tree out front of the Laredo Energy Arena.

We’re happy to be involved with so many décor projects in Texas and we can’t wait to see everyone at the Texas Municipal League Conference next month in Houston!