July Board Meeting

Downtown Milford, Inc. will hold their monthly Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, July 5th at 7:00 p.m. at the Milford Public Library Meeting Room. Items on the agenda for that night include reports from Facade & Structural Improvements, Farmers' Market, and Street Beautification committee chairs. Also, up for discussion is DMI's participation in the 2007 Chamber of Commerce Riverwalk Freedom Festival and 2008 Downtown Milford, Inc. House Tour.

The Downtown Milford, Inc. board meetings are open to the public.

Milford Published in "101 Best Outdoor Towns"

Milford, Delaware is one of 101 cities listed in a new book written and prepared by Sarah Tuff and Greg Melville. The book, published by The Countryman Press of Woodstock, Vermont, is titled "101 Best Outdoor Towns, Unspoiled Places to Visit, Live & Play". Downtown Milford Inc.'s own consultant, Dan Bond assisted Melville by submitting information and photographs for his review.

The book touts itself as "a unique guide for the millions of American urban dwellers and suburbanites seeking quick getaways to small, breathtaking locales where there are pulse-quickening activities but a slower pace of life." We are thrilled not only for Milford to be included in this list, but to have many of our downtown businesses noted as well.

The book is already getting top reviews on Amazon and is selling well in bookstores. Remember, if you purchase books from Amazon, go to the Downtown Milford Inc. website and click on the Amazon tool bar before purchasing and DMI will get a commission on your purchase. (at no additional cost to you, of course)

Victorian Lady Announces Special Events

The Victorian Lady Tearoom, located in Downtown Milford Delaware's Marshall House, has just announced their special events for the summer. The Victorian Lady is the premier tearoom in Kent County offering 65 types of loose teas.

On June 30th, The Victorian Lady will host a Bridal Tea at 2:00 p.m. where customers are invited to wear a bridal dress to tea. The ever popular Teddy Bear Tea for children 4 and up will be held on July 13th at 11:30 a.m. For children and adults alike the fun continues on July 21st at 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. with the Princess Tea. In addition to these special themed teas, the Victorian Lady Tearoom is open Wednesday-Friday from 10:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Saturdays for Queen's Tea from 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Visit the Victorian Lady for a cup of great tea served in true Victorian elegance. Contact them via phone at 302-424-8272 or visit them online at www.victorianladytea.net.

Group Advertising Campaign

For over six months, Downtown Milford, Inc. business members have been working together to advertise as a group on a weekly basis. This most recent group advertising campaign is run through two local newspapers: Milford Chronicle and Harrington News Journal. Business members of Downtown Milford, Inc. are eligible for a special rate when advertising in these papers. Each individual ad is 4" x 2" and printed in full process color.

Anyone wishing to advertise in this or future group campaigns should contact the Downtown Milford, Inc. office.

Music in the Park Dates Released

Downtown Milford, Inc. is pleased to embark upon a new partnership with Milford Public Library. MPL approached DMI concerning their summer concert series titled “Music in the Park”. This partnership will allow for “Music in the Park” to be held the second and fourth Wednesdays of June, July, and August; thereby doubling the number of performances offered in 2006. DMI is responsible for the sponsorship of the two concerts in August and marketing endeavors.

While DMI has worked with local and regional live entertainment performances through our Annual Bug & Bud Festival and Holiday Stroll events, this is our first venture into an ongoing event that is truly focused only on the arts. In addition to bringing quality entertainment to the racially and socio-economically diverse Milford population, the “Music in the Park” series will also allow us to showcase downtown’s attributes which include a picturesque amphitheatre, Riverwalk and park areas, and a variety of unique shopping and dining options.

Each concert will begin at 7:00 p.m. and last for the duration of one hour without an intermission. They are held just outside of the Milford Public Library which is centrally located in downtown along the Mispillion Riverwalk. The library’s amphitheatre is the perfect setting for individuals to bring chairs or blankets and truly enjoy an evening of quality entertainment. Local businesses are invited to participate by staying open during the later hours on concert days and offering specials to attendees. In case of inclement weather, the concerts can be held inside the Library’s Meeting Room which easily accommodates 100-150 people.

June will feature Andrus Family Singers on the 20th and Downtown Dixieland Band on the 27th. Performances in July will feature a steel band duo playing calypso, reggae, and soca music on the 11th and lyric soprano and guitarist duo on the 25th.

This August, we have invited jazz and gospel saxophonist, Mark Mitchell to perform on the 8th. Mark is originally from Philadelphia and is currently a saxophone instructor and administrator at the Mount Airy Culture Center. We are thrilled to welcome him to Milford just prior to his August 31st performance at the Tony Williams Jazz Festival over Labor Day weekend. The second performance to be held on August 22nd will offer Barbara Benedett from Philadelphia and her chamber group featuring clarinet and piano. Barbara’s show will feature pops and light classical tunes which are sure to delight the varied group of downtown visitors.

DMI’s partnership with MPL will allow the “Music in the Park” series to be much more visible than any one group going at it alone. This program is made possible, in part, by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware to enhance the quality of life for all Delawareans. The Delaware Division of the Arts provides technical and financial assistance to artists and arts programs and serves as a clearinghouse for information on the arts.

Bug & Bud Festival Offers Big Thank You!

Bug & Bud Festival 2007 was by all accounts the best year yet! The festival organizers, Downtown Milford, Inc. and City of Milford Parks & Recreation department wish to acknowledge the numerous volunteers and capital givers whose contributions helped make this festival an event for the entire Milford community to enjoy.

Capital givers who made this year possible are:

Capital Fund Patrons
Mispillion Development Corp.
Richard Y. Johnson & Son General Contractors
Supporters
Artisans’ Bank
Country Life Homes, Inc.
Discover Bank
Mobious Investments, LLC
Friends
County Bank
Kent County Delaware CVB
LaCrosse Homes of Delaware
Lank, Johnson & Tull
Pepsi of Delmarva
Perdue Farms, Inc.
PNC Bank
Sea Watch International
Smith & Co. Restaurant
The Ladybug Shop

In addition to financial contributions, many community members volunteered their special talents to provide both organization and activities. These include:
Abbott’s Mill Nature Center led by Jason Beale for their hands-on snakes and turtles show as well as their Mispillion River canoe rides, Applebee’s for their children's coupon giveaways, Ben Franklin Plumbing for providing over 400 free kites to children, Bonanza for their raffle contribution, Delmarva Pigeon Club for their pigeon display and roller pigeon demonstrations, Milford Garden Club led by Verna Walls for their information booth coverage, Milford New Century Club with Gesine Abrutyn and Jan D'Agastino for their work with the local school art projects, Milford Public Library and Friends coordinated by Pat Palmer who graciously oversaw the children's art area as well as offering a variety of other activities, Milford Senior Center for donating their time and shuttle bus for festival participants use, Rhoda Friedman for her wonderful photograhy coverage of the event, Wilmington Trust, Co. for their generous raffle donation, and vendor ushers Al Lauckner, Pete Peterson, Scott Adkisson , Steve Robbins, and Don Abrutyn .

We appreciate Michelle Parisi of Zwaanendael Dance Studio for organizing the entertainment which included:
Milford Community Band, Miss Milford Organization, Harmonettes, Zwaanendael Dance Academy, Diamond Dance Company, First State Harmonizers, and Itinerant Dance Theater. A special thank you to Mark Dissinger who entertained festival-goers with his MC talents, Scout Troop 911 for the posting of the colors, Alison Clendaniel for her rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner", and Mayor Ronnie Rogers for his Arbor Day Proclamation. We also wish to thank Mitch Crane for his presentation of the downtown achievement award to Gary Emory.

The list is long, but not yet complete. It is important to recognize the tireless hard work of the staff of Parks & Recreation led by Gary Emory with much hard work by Mary Betts, City Electric, City Ground, Milford Police and Senior Volunteer Police, Houston Fire Co., Sussex County EMT, Downtown Milford, Inc. board members, Patty Masten, and Milford High School Honor Society. We can't forget Susan Newark of the festival committee and downtown farmers' market for her work on media coverage, Don Abrutyn who worked on every detail of this year's festival after retiring as 2006 co-chair, Dan Bond who not only served with his wife Rhonda as parade grand master, but also assisted in the festival planning stages, and Vicki Hudson, Lulu Ross and Banneker elementary art teach for her work on the children's artwork display and hands-on activity held in the library.

I hope that you enjoyed your time at the festival and will continue to visit downtown Milford to enjoy the variety of retail shops, restaurants, and services offered. With the beautiful days starting to become more plentiful I also hope you take advantage of downtown's Riverwalk Trail and well maintained park areas. If you see any of our 100+ volunteers, please join me in thanking them for their hard work!

Gala a Big Success!

All those who attended the Gala on May 4th at the Shawnee Country Club seemed to have a great time. They enjoyed good food, lively dancing and a most entertaining auction. Perhaps the best news is that DMI and the Mispillion Art League will get a significant boost to their operating budgets. In addition, each of the artists who made such great contributions to this effort will receive 20% of the price paid for their ladybug to help cover their expenses. Of course this was all made possible by the DMI Merchants who paid the full cost of purchasing the ladybug forms and having them shipped to Milford. And it would not have been possible without the wonderful support of those who attended the Gala and bid on the ladybugs. We would like to recognize here the artists, sponsoring merchants and buyers:

List in order of Artist, Sponsor, and Buyer:

*Jackie Carmean, The Breakfast Club, Richard Carmean
*Diane Deeney & Terry Marsh, Triple M Farms, Barbara Steele
*William Paul Robbins, Wilmington Trust, Co., Barbara Steele
*Harry Humes, I.G. Burton of Milford, David Burton
*Diane Johnson, The Ladybug Shop, Dan & Rhonda Bond
*Kauriee Wood, Nancy's Fine Foods, Dan & Rhonda Bond
*Katja R. Lackey, Lou's Bootery, Heritage at Milford
*Franklin C. Deputy, Mispillion Art League, David Rutt
*Dee Sudimak & Cliff Clark, Milford Beacon, Peter Gosnell
*Herman S. “Ham” McNatt, Davis, Bowen & Friedel, Mollie Brown Rust
*H. Earl Abbott, Jr., Milford Parks & Rec, Harry Humes
*Deborah Young, Milford Chronicle, Dan & Rhonda Bond
*Sonja M. Frey, That Boutique!, Richard Carmean
*Michael A. Sollazzo, Milford Medical Associates, Barbara Rutt
*Linda Rehm, QUEST Fitness & Kayak, Ryan Durham

And we would like to give special recognition to Gwen Guerke and the Milford Chronicle for all the publicity they gave to this event through their series of articles on the artists and the wonderful full page color poster that they created of all the ladybug sculptures. The poster accompanies this post.