On Tuesday morning, I attended the monthly meeting of the Webster Business Improvement District (BID). My primary reason for attending these meetings is to keep on top of all of the great events the BID hosts every spring and summer, so I can let you all know about them with plenty of advance notice.
The meeting did not disappoint. I left with a whole list of events — old and new — which are on the calendar for this year. I’ll tell you all about them in a future blog. Today, I’d like to focus on an event that has already happened.
I’m talking about Fall in Love With Webster, the month-long community celebration held in February in which residents and visitors enjoyed daily discounts and special events at dozens of our local small businesses. Even if you didn’t take advantage of any of those, if you were in the village anytime during the month, you probably noticed the heart-emblazoned flags on the lightposts, the trivia questions posted in the merchant windows, the banner at the cobblestone gazebo on North Ave., and special heart-themed decorations all over the village.
Fall in Love With Webster was an incredibly successful event, due in large part to the efforts of Lisa Schlonski, owner of Lala Gift Shop on Main Street, and her able assistant Jody Laurer. Lisa and Jody spent countless hours helping organize events, managing the Fall in Love With Webster Facebook Page, and hosting some memorable events of their own. (Remember Betty White Night?)
The purpose of the event was two-fold: to highlight all of the great businesses in Webster, and bring people into the village to enjoy everything we have to offer — basically, helping people fall in love with Webster.
By all accounts, both goals were achieved big time. Here are some of the highlights from the month-long event:
- More than 30 businesses participated
- More than 50 calendar events were organized and publicized
- The Webster Volunteer Fire Department Boot Drive donated much-appreciated funds to Webster Comfort Care
- 33 merchants took part in Random Acts of Kindness Day, including Kittelberger Florist, which donated more than 300 bouquets for merchants to hand out
- Valentine’s-themed crafts created by the residents of The Maplewood were sold at Lala and the proceeds used to purchase more craft project materials for the residents
- Spectrum News took notice and broadcast a story
- Businesses collaborated on events, like “Betty White Night” when Lala offered snacks and discounts, Jojo Bistro created Betty White-inspired cocktails, and Webster Hots created two meal combos
- Several merchants noted increased sales and foot traffic during the month
Grown from a simple idea that Jody’s daughter brought home from a small town in Connecticut, Fall in Love With Webster was an amazing success. Thank you to all of the community members who participated, and especially all of the businesses who so enthusiastically joined the effort. I hope this first big collaborative event will be followed by many more.
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webster on the web 
Hi lisa, Are you guys interested in doing another sidewalk sale in June? The only weekend we have free is the 25th, would that work for you or should we move it out to July?
Monique
On Wed, Mar 23, 2022, 7:32 PM webster on the web wrote:
> websterontheweb posted: ” On Tuesday morning, I attended the monthly > meeting of the Webster Business Improvement District (BID). My primary > reason for attending these meetings is to keep on top of all of the great > events the BID hosts every spring and summer, so I can let you” >