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!

Morrisville State College

Each year, Downtown Decorations collaborates with colleges and universities across the country. Typically, we produce collegiate light pole banners for the schools, but we have also worked on other unique custom décor projects. A great example of this is the large commencement banners we designed for Morrisville State College in Morrisville, New York.

The small upstate college is part of the State University of New York and is home to over 3,500 students. Morrisville State College has been considered one of the most technologically advanced colleges in the nation and The New York Times once called it “a college at the forefront of a technological revolution.”

We began working with the school back in 2010. Since then, we have produced many different light pole banners for them, including the “In Motion” and the “Welcome to Morrisville” designs pictured in this post. In addition to the light pole banners, we also produced large commencement banners for the school in 2012. The elegant crisp white commencement banners feature gold frayed trimming and the college’s seal printed in forest green. We love the way they turned out and we are happy the school will be able to use them for years to come.

Mount Holly, New Jersey

In 2013, we had the opportunity to work on an exciting banner project with Mount Holly, New Jersey. The township, which is located in Burlington County, is a short 35 minute drive from Philadelphia. This unique project gave us the chance to create banners that were not only striking and colorful, but honored the men and women in our armed forces. The crisp blue banners that were designed for this project feature the logo for the nearby Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. The base, which was established in October 2009, combines the United States Air Force’s McGuire Air Force Base, the United States Army’s Fort Dix, and the United States Navy’s Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst. We’re extremely proud to have been a part of this project and we think the banners look superb lining the streets of Mount Holly.

The Bulletin: July 18

Source:: Life

• CityLove: Explore Seattle by Instagram (NTHP)
• Dubai to build world's biggest mall with 100 hotels, climate-control (Chicago Tribune)
• World's Best Cities 2014 (Travel and Leisure)
• Campaign launched to raise $50,000 for downtown seasonal decorations  (The Post-Star)
• July Downtown of the Month: Downtown Partnership of Baltimore (IDA)

- Follow Downtown Decorations on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram -

Washington College

We’re about a month away from the start of the fall semester at colleges around the world. Schools are preparing for the return of old students and the arrival of new ones. One of the best ways that a campus can provide a warm welcome is with collegiate banners. Downtown Decorations has worked with schools from across the country on these type of projects. Recently, we collaborated with Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland to update their banners. We started working with independent liberal arts college in 2012 and have produced banners for them every year since. This year, the college went with a crisp maroon colored banner featuring the school’s logo, George Washington’s signature. We think the new banners look great and can’t wait to work with Washington College again in the future.

Got Holiday Decorations? Start Planning Now!

The 2014 holiday season is quickly approaching. By the time we know it, buildings and streets across the globe will be adorned with holiday decor.  Now is the time to start planning your program.

Downtown Decorations can add holiday excitement to your municipality, downtown, shopping center, casino, event center, commercial building or campus. We offer custom wreaths, garland, bows, lights, ornaments, banners, pole decorations, giant trees and many other décor items. All of our products are manufactured to the highest standards of construction while maintaining an upscale look.

We have worked with clients of all sizes from across North and South America. We pride ourselves on the ability maximize value while creating the most visually impressive environments imaginable. Our design team can create any vision that a client might have.

For more information on both interior and exterior holiday décor programs, visit the Downtown Decorations website or call 877.369.6332 to speak with a representative.

Trinity University

Downtown Decorations recently completed this unique and exciting banner project for Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. These colorful and creative banners are now on display outside of the stunning Northrup Hall, which was designed by renowned architect Robert A.M. Stern. Half of the custom banners feature inspirational words like Discover, Grow and Become. The other half showcase some outstanding photos of student athletes, student musicians and students in the classroom. We are thrilled with the way this project turned out. We think the banners add even more pop to this lively and energetic campus.

Wegmans Veggie Welcome Banners

At Downtown Decorations, we pride ourselves on having strong relationships with our clients. Oftentimes, we work with companies, downtowns, casinos, colleges, shopping centers, etc. throughout the year on multiple projects. One of the clients we work with in this capacity is Wegmans Food Markets. We collaborate with the popular supermarket chain on lighting projects, holiday projects, and banner projects like the one featured in this post.

We produced these "Veggie" welcome banners for the Wegmans store in East Syracuse, New York. The banners feature a variety of vegetables, creating a colorful and fresh vibe that leads customers from the parking lot into the store. We think this project turned out great and really exemplifies a vibrant summer atmosphere.

Collegiate Banners

It may seem like the school year just ended but it’s already time to start planning for the fall semester. In just a few months, students from across the globe will be leaving home and moving to their new campuses. And what better way to welcome them than with some colorful collegiate banners.

Downtown Decorations has worked with over 30 different universities and colleges on banner projects in the past. We have collaborated with schools like Cornell, Texas State, Syracuse, UC San Diego, Virginia, and Texas Tech. Banners like these can help promote, brand and define a school and its campus. They can be designed to promote celebrations, organizations, sports teams, wayfinding, campus recognition, commencement, etc.

Below is an example of a collegiate banner project we worked on with the University of South Dakota just a few weeks ago. We joined forces with the Coyotes back in 2012 and have been producing banners for them since. As you can see in the picture, the simple design mixed with the vibrant color makes for an attractive banner with a ton of pop, adding even more energy to the campus.

Visit our website to check out some more collegiate banner options and click here to see what some of the schools we've collaborated with had to say about working with us.

Wegmans - Cicero, New York

Summertime is here and it is finally nice outside in Upstate New York. One of the many perks of having this warm weather is outdoor dining. Wegmans, the popular supermarket, wanted to offer this dining option to their customers at their Cicero, New York location, so they created an outdoor patio area with tables and chairs. They installed a canopy above the patio but they needed a decor item that would really create an intimate and unique cafe dining experience. This is where we came in. We produced these elegant light lines made up of Edison light bulbs that hang from the bars of the canopy. These marquee style lights create a warm and friendly fine dining type of atmosphere that customers will be able to enjoy throughout the summer.

Albany Housing Authority

At Downtown Decorations, we work with many of our clients year-round. Our design team creates different seasonal décor items that a property, campus or downtown can easily switch out once a season changes. One client that we work with in this capacity is the Albany Housing Authority in Albany, New York.

Since 2009, we have designed banners for the Albany Housing Authority that feature fall, spring, summer, patriotic, and holiday themes. In addition to the banners, we also produce pole wraps, bows, signs, lightlines and a Santa sleigh and reindeer display that are featured during the holiday season. Take a look at the recently featured spring banners that we designed in the pictures above and below. 

Wild Waves Theme Park

In 2012, Downtown Decorations began working with Wild Waves Theme Park in Federal Way, Washington. Wild Waves, which originally opened as The Enchanted Village in 1977, is the largest combination water park and amusement park in the entire Pacific Northwest. Thousands flock to the theme park each year to enjoy thrill rides, water slides and entertainment. In addition to all of the summer fun, the park stays open in December and January for the Wild Waves Theme Park Holiday with Lights. During this time, the park transforms into a glowing wonderland, featuring over 1 million lights. In the center of all of the holiday décor stands a giant tree from Downtown Decorations. In 2012, we designed the huge 24 ft. tree lit with almost 10,000 cool white lights. On top of that, we produced a 4 ft. snowburst topper to add some additional pop. Officials at Wild Waves loved the tree so much that they wanted to add more of it in 2013. Since all of Downtown Decorations' trees are completely customizable, we were able to create a 6 ft. extension, bringing the tree to 30 ft. in height. 

Mashpee Commons

For the past four years, Downtown Decorations has been working with Mashpee Commons, a 278,946 sq. ft. open-air shopping center located on Cape Cod in the city of Mashpee, Massachusetts. The unique outdoor complex has over 95 stores that include both national retailers and local mom-and-pops. Mashpee Commons is also well known for its New England style design, which has won many awards and recognitions over the years.

Downtown Decorations first designed banners for the commons back in 2010 and then again in 2012. We think the simple yet stylish design of the banners adds a nice touch to the world renowned shopping center.