Northfield Downtown Development Corporation

The Northfield Downtown Development Corp. (NDDC) will present its monthly Downtown Forum on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007, with a panel discussion that examines the retail vitality of Downtown Northfield in the wake of the recent closing of Las Delicias on Division Street.

Among the topics to be covered: rental rates, the community’s responsibility to businesses and businesses’ responsibility to the community, high property taxes, the cost of maintaining and expanding historic buildings, the viability of available financial tools and how downtown can function as a business incubator for the larger community.

Guest experts will include store owner Lee Lansing, restaurant owner Norman Butler and building owner Victor Summa.

The Downtown Forum is held at 8 a.m. the first Tuesday of every month in the lower-level conference room of the Archer House, Third and Division streets. The public is welcome, and refreshments will be served.

Friday night my wife and I went downtown, first to dinner at the Hideaway and then to a movie, yes, a movie, at Grezzo Gallery.

The movie was about scapbooking. My wife is a big scrapbooker, we’ve got a dining room table set up in the basement, surrounded by cabinets full of supplies, for some serious scrapbooking. But, hey, then I saw the basement of the lady in the movie and, whew, I realized there’s another level of scrapbook production that my wife could achieve.

…and that scrapbooking lady was at Grezzo, in the flesh, along with the guy who made the movie. As I was saying, the movie was about scrapbooking and my wife is into that…so…I figured that the movie would be…uh…informative. But, whoa, it was a total hoot. That filmmaker, Wes Thompson, is hilarious. I was laughing out loud during most of the movie. I mean, this movie was free and I’ve paid eight bucks for a comedy that wasn’t even funny, like no laughs out loud at all.

So, my wife and I, we bought the movie so that our family and friends could check it out at their leisure. But you can check it out too. It’s playing at Grezzo Gallery, in a contiuous loop.

There’s art on the walls too, like by local artist Ally Beyer, pictured here with Wes, who, by the way, also works at at Downtown business, Rare Pair to be specific. So come on Down(town) and see the movie and check out Ally’s art and maybe buy a new pair of shoes while you’re at it. Say “hey” to Ally for me.

In response to all the thoughtful and insightful discussion surrounding the recent closing of a popular downtown restaurant, the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation will focus on the issues behind the headlines at our upcoming Downtown Forum.

The current challenges are many and the potential solutions are complex. Among the topics to be covered are: the double-edged challenge of rent rates, the community’s responsibility to businesses and businesses’ responsibility to the community, high property taxes, the considerable cost of maintaining and enhancing historic buildings, the effectiveness of available financial tools, and downtown as a business incubator. Guest “experts” include Lee Lansing, Norman Butler and Victor Summa.

The NDDC’s Monthly Downtown Forum will be held on Tuesday, January 9th, 8 am in the Riverview Conference Room of the Historic Archer House Hotel. Coffee and cookies will be served.

Grezzo Gallery, Northfield’s newest art venue, featuring the work of local artists, is gathering together area scrapbookers in Downtown Northfield.

This Friday, January 5th, Minnesota film maker, Wes Thompson, will show his movie Scrapped, and meet with Northfield Scrappers. So come on Down(town), see your friends and neighbors, trade ideas, get inspired, share a laugh, and have some fun.

Doors open at 6 pm, Grezzo Gallery, 16 Bridge Square, in Downtown Northfield.