Small business is core of Old Town Cape

"Small businesses, privately owned businesses, and family businesses, are the core of downtown and have been - have always been," says Marla Mills, executive director of Old Town Cape.

Mill's organization works with and for downtown, both to foster development and to preserve its history. Small businesses are an essential part of their effort.

"Small businesses give back...they are the tax revenue," said Terri Foley, president of Old Town Cape.

As a certified Main Street Program of the National Trust, the group supports small businesses in two ways. The first is in helping them address common issues that arise. This is done through advocacy as well as workshops. For example, the organization recently hosted a workshop dealing with the complicated building situations that come with a historic district, such as safety or building codes, according to Mills.

The second thing the group does is work on ways to bring people downtown. In the summer, Old Town Cape hosts Libertyfest on the Fourth of July and Tunes at Twilight, which is every Friday beginning May 18. In colder weather, they offer the Parade of Lights and a Christmas open house. "We always watch for opportunities for marketing the group as a whole," said Mills. The group also pays for trash and litter to be picked up in the most heavily trafficked areas of downtown. Last year, the group coordinated almost thirty five hundred volunteer hours.

An event that combines both of these objectives is the 20th Annual Charles L. Hutson Auction on April 28. From the Marquette Tower, Old Town Cape will auction off many different items donated by businesses and individuals in the organization's biggest fundraiser of the year. The event will feature jewlerly, gift baskets, t-shirts, furniture, and art, not to mention two of the Marquette's original tiles. In other words, budgets of all sizes can come out in support.

The event, according to Foley, was named after Charles L. Hutson because he was a strong supporter of downtown's revitalization. That revitalization is what the evening's proceeds go towards.

"For us," said Mills, "it's making sure there's an environment where those businesses can flourish, because we feel they will continue to be the core."