Years: 2013-2014
Downtown Sense of Place is worked with downtown partners to make downtown a more attractive destination for residents. They created Capital City Date Night and drew in more than 300 attendees from their first two events. The third event, Bluegrass, Brunch and Blues, was held at Madison Social and was another huge success drawing in a variety of residents and students to the downtown area.
This Capital City Date Night events also raised funds for the Tally Porch Swing Project. The goal of this project is to make these swings a symbol of Tallahassee and the community. The first porch swing was placed on Adams Street across from the Governor’s Club. Since, more than 13 swings have been placed around Tallahassee and the team is continuing to provide more.
In addition, leaders from Concord, North Carolina have noticed the swings and after consulting with KCCI’s team members will put up their first porch swings in Concord in September 2016.
“After visiting Tallahassee for his daughters softball tournament and seeing the swings, he liked the idea so much that they asked for information on how we made them possible and a copy of the construction plans.” said Devan Leavins, KCCI Downtown Sense of Place team member. “It is really awesome to see people from another city/state look at our project as a project to implement in their city.”
Following is a sampling of links where Capital City Date Night events are featured:
Porch Swings may be purchased in Tallahassee by contacting Chris Lisenby with the City of Tallahassee Parks and Recreation Department at 850-891-3866 or by email at chris.lisenby@talgov.com.
“The porch swings add to the uniqueness of downtown, showcasing Tallahassee’s unique charm. The swings have the potential to become a unifying trademark for the Capital City much like Athens’ Bulldogs.”
— Downtown Sense of Place Group
Community Catalysts
These are the people who helped make this project possible.
- Shaunna Boggs
- Richard Cassedy
- Harrison DuBosar
- Brandon Eisaman
- Amanda Fliger
- Devan Leavins
- Brett Leone
- James Marshall
- John McNeil
- Kirsten Nyman
- Tom Taylor
- Amber Tynan
- Rebekka Wade
- Mark Winger