Behind the Scenes: A Decade of Dedication in Carlsbad Village

How can you truly measure a decade of service with the Carlsbad Village Association? Is it in the numbers? Always. Is it in the growth of events? Definitely. Is it in the recognition? Sometimes. But to me it is always about the connections I have helped to create and the impact that those connections have had on our downtown community. From the start it has always been about community.

What many people do not know is that I came to this position quite by accident. After being a newspaper writer and photographer for many years, then working in corporate communications for a telecommunications company, being one of 14 Elite Volunteers in the nation for Harley Davidson, and even starting an online magazine for a nationwide dog sport, I became an unwitting shoe store owner in Carlsbad Village, thanks to my husband. He and I built a successful business on State Street for years that eventually led to my position on the board of the Carlsbad Village Association as its retail representative. To cut a long story short, after a change in CVA management created a hole in its staffing leaving only the volunteer board of directors in charge, I stepped forward to take on the role of their only employee, part-time, for six months, until they could find an Executive Director. That was 10 years ago this week. And for the last 10 years, I have been building community downtown one person, one event, one volunteer, one board member, and one connection at a time.

The numbers over the last decade really do tell a nice story. The Carlsbad Village Association has grown to become four dedicated team members. It is very fitting that as a Mainstreet organization our office is finally on Mainstreet. Well, State Street, but you know what I mean. Our office is in the heart of the hustle and bustle of the Village, and we get the pleasure of watching residents (and a lot of dogs), business owners and out-of-town visitors walk by our office every day. We overhear them continually extoll the virtues of Carlsbad Village and its incredible dining, shopping, beaches, and most importantly, people.

Ten years ago, the State Street Farmers Market was new to State Street after being moved from a parking lot on Roosevelt Street where it began in 1994. The move was designed to help invigorate business in the core of the Village. It worked. The farmers market is now busting at the seams, with a waitlist of more than one hundred vendors eager to join, generates over $2.5 million annually, and has been the incubator for several local brands that are now regionally, nationally, and internationally known.

Marketing and promotion have always been key to the Carlsbad Village Association’s mission to help keep Carlsbad Village front of mind when people think of dining, shopping, services, and entertainment. To that end, today’s eNewsletter, that now goes out to 7,200 people weekly, is number 520. And not a single issue in a decade has been missed! We ran the numbers and that averages to roughly 2,600,000 emails about the businesses and events that take place in downtown Carlsbad. That also equates to nearly 2,100 blogs on our website which receives close to 700,000 visits annually. Now those are some nice numbers.

Social media has been a focal point of mine for the Carlsbad Village Association. Ten years ago, I barely knew what Instagram was and now I cannot imagine our association without it. Our farmers market did not have an Instagram account and the association’s account only had 586 followers. All combined, our social media reach is now nearly 60K followers and going strong. Very strong.

Another strength is in our events. Along with the 52 (rain or shine) farmers markets annually, we program 30 additional events each year including bimonthly Village Voices Meetings, bimonthly cleanups, biannual blood drives, Hearts of Carlsbad Village, movies under the stars, two Taste of Carlsbad Village events, Art in the Village, Halloween in the Village, Small Business Saturday, Yappy Hours, business mixers, Makers Market, holiday events, and more. Other than Flicks at the Fountain and Art in the Village (now in its 27th year) all other events were added just in the last 10 years.

These numbers help explain where we were and where we are now. But that’s only part of what makes me proud about being the Executive Director of the Carlsbad Village Association. When asked what I am most proud of, it has to be knowing that our association makes a difference. Following our most recent Village Voices business and resident networking meeting, one of our businesses sent the following email to us:

“I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed this morning’s meeting. It was such a great way to start the day! I wanted to let you know that I especially loved hearing GelatoLove’s story. It was truly inspiring and reminded me how important it is to get out of my bubble, walk around, and connect with more amazing local businesses downtown. Thank you!”

Making a difference was never more evident than during the pandemic. We helped keep our businesses informed every step of the way, thanks to the incredible collaboration with the City of Carlsbad. The Carlsbad Village Association, having a seat on the city's Economic Development Subcommittee, helped create the city's small business loan program that bolstered businesses throughout the Village to withstand the shutdown. And we helped numerous businesses apply for EIDL loans, PPP loans, and get funding to keep their doors open. While the pandemic was the worst part of the past ten years, it did hone the association's skills and made us stronger and better able to support the small businesses downtown as we came out of that devastating time in our history.

Whether it is helping businesses negotiate a lease or navigate city processes or apply for a grant or it is hosting a business mixer and introducing business owners who then collaborate and grow their businesses together, we have done it all over the past 10 years. And we have done it all while hosting eight hundred events.

So, what is on the horizon for the Carlsbad Village Association? What do the next 10 years hold? Well, there will always be new and exciting events to host. After all, who doesn’t love a great event. But truthfully, the focus is going to be on learning how to best support our business community as the landscape downtown changes. With more residents living in Carlsbad Village, we now have an opportunity that we did not have 10 years ago. While the glorious highs of the peak season will still always be here thanks to our incredible tourism, I think the lows of the shoulder season will soon become easier to endure. We will need to learn how to be everything that the new residents in Carlsbad Village need to stay downtown and not take their business elsewhere. We have an opportunity to add services and experiences to the fabric of Carlsbad Village that might not have excelled before.

It has been an honor and a privilege being a part of Carlsbad Village during the last ten years. The Carlsbad Village Association has done some really solid work downtown, but there is still much more that we want to accomplish. I think the best days for Carlsbad Village are yet to come.