Happy Holidays, Midtown!
It seems wild to be welcoming this year’s holidays already, but here we are. We hope you all are enjoying the cooler temperatures and holiday festivities. As we transition to the end of the year, we wanted to recap some highlights from the summer: Most notably, Green Acres’ inaugural season combined with the Boise Farmers Market’s third season in Midtown greatly helped improve community engagement by creating fun, exciting places for all ages – a significant feat in the midst of the pandemic. We tip our hats to them and the rest of the Midtown community for maintaining much-needed energy throughout this time.
Greenbelt Revamp
We must start with the amenity that makes Midtown unique – the Greenbelt. Over the summer, the City of Boise revamped several portions of the Greenbelt. Fortunately, one of the primary Midtown stretches was included in this project and was completed late summer. The finished product is terrific; the project has made for a safer, easier, more aesthetic ride along the Greenbelt. And above all, it has greatly enhanced Midtown’s distinguishing factor – the fact that we are the nexus between Downtown Boise and the outdoor recreation that we love about our home.
Greenbelt Revamp
At the end of October, Green Acres celebrated the conclusion of their first season, after hosting Midtown and the greater Treasure Valley Wednesday thru Sunday since Memorial Weekend. Despite it being their first season, they jumped right into the thick of it.
In addition to the hundreds of food trucks they partnered with over the summer, Green Acres hosted 121 music shows, 26 community workouts, and 25+ other events in partnership with local organizations and businesses. (Nearly 200 events in total!) WOW.
Among these events, the most popular was Boise Goat Yoga, in which over 50 people showed up. Thankfully, founders Anny and Sean are up for more next year, saying next season will include a greater amount of live music, delicious food, and fun events.
Goat Yoga at Green Acres Boise (Photo: Anny Frampton)
We asked Anny and Sean what information they would like to pass on to Treasure Valley, and we loved their advice: “Don’t forget to enjoy the things that make Boise a great city. We believe Green Acres is a great culmination of combining the best of Boise in one place, local food, local drinks and local musicians. All this alongside one of Boise’s greatest assets, the Boise Greenbelt. Whether it’s at Green Acres or anywhere in the Treasure Valley – supporting our local economy is important.”
Cornhole at Green Acres Boise (Photo: Anny Frampton)
Boise Farmers Market
The Boise Farmers Market (BFM) had “a wild ride” of a season, a product of the ups and downs of the pandemic. Yet, the Farmers Market navigated all of the unexpected changes like champs, bringing back the walk-thru market for the first time since 2019. Each week, BFM served between 1,500 to 2,000 walk-thru and drive-thru customers.
Cornhole at Green Acres Boise (Photo: Anny Frampton)
Tamara Cameron, market manager of BFM, credits much of their resilience and success to the surrounding community: “With the shifting pandemic situation, it’s been another rollercoaster year. We have been able to continue to provide a vibrant marketplace for our vendors and keep our community safe. This is only possible with strong community support.”
Although the walk-thru market has closed for the season, shoppers can participate in BFM’s Winter Market drive-thrus on Saturdays from November 6th through December 18th. More details can be found on their website.
Thank you for your continued support of Midtown. Wishing you all a terrific holiday season.