A new group called "The Downtown Street Walkers of North Bay" has a goal of supporting the City's core and the merchants that do business there.
On Saturday, 17 people joined the walk, then split into smaller groups. spreading out on Main and Oak streets. Some just walked, many browsed and shopped. Then everyone met for a snack after an hour of “street walking.”
“We want to be a presence in the downtown and support our local merchants,” said leader Toni Beninger, adding “If people start showing up, more will come.
"It’s a win-win situation. It is a win for this group who get to socialize, have fun, and rediscover the downtown core every second Saturday, and a win for the merchants who will know they are valued and supported."
Beninger got the idea after going downtown to shop and realizing she was the only person on the street.
"It seemed such a shame for our downtown to be so deserted."
So she thought it would be a good idea if a group of walkers/browsers/shoppers could be organized to all go at the same time, thus "populating" Main Street.
"The more people we can get, the more often we can do it. So I spoke with a few people, then we talked it up with a few groups, and the next thing I knew, we had enough people for our first outing. And I thought of that great Field of Dreams movie quote, 'If you build it, they will come.' So for us, it's 'If we show up, more will come.'"
The Street Walkers plan to do more in the weeks ahead, with the next event on Feb 1.
For more information email Downtown Street Walkers [email protected]
