2nd Annual Chocolate Walk Downtown is Feb. 9

200 tickets available for chocolate fans

Main Street Kent will hold its Second Annual Chocolate Walk Saturday, Feb. 9, to encourage residents and customers to visit stores downtown with the promise of tasty chocolate treats. Tickets are $15 each, and are on sale now. Two hundred tickets are available, and can be bought online at www.mainstreetkent.org or in person at McKay Bricker Framing & Gallery. This is a rain, snow or shine event and tickets are non-refundable. All proceeds will benefit Main Street Kent. On Saturday, Feb. 9, from 1-5pm the Chocolate Walk will take place in downtown Kent. Tickets must be purchased in advance. The day of the event, ticketholders will go to Earl's Nest (located in Acorn Alley) to pick up their Chocolate Walk "passes" and bags to collect their …

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The Christmas Season Officially Starts with Kent's Festival of Lights

New lights and decorations deck the streets of Kent for 2012

Parents with excited children on their shoulders enjoyed unseasonably warm temperatures as Santa rode into downtown Kent via train Saturday to help flip the switch on more lights and decorations than ever.  Upload your photos from the festival. Just click on "Upload Photos." The upgrade to the Kent Christmas scene included $65,000 in decorations along the Cuyahoga River bridge, garlands connecting Main and Water streets, large snowflakes on lamp posts, lights along Acorn Alley and a 16-foot tall animated Santa Claus on top of Acorn Corner. The two-year upgrade project, which will include more lights along Erie and Depeyster streets after renovations along those streets are finished, is mostly the work of Main Street Kent and a consortium …

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POLL: Whose Holiday Window Decorations Look the Best?

Main Street Kent hosting 'Winter Wonderland' holiday window lighting contest

This year Main Street Kent is hosting the "Winter Wonderland" holiday window lighting contest that invites downtown Kent businesses to decorate their store fronts for the holidays. The participating businesses are: Main Street Kent will appoint a jury to select the winners. The evaluation will take place Friday after dark. We want to know whose window do you like the best? Vote in our poll below. Business owners, upload a photo of your window at night by clicking on the "upload photos" button in the gallery.

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Portia Gregory

11:15 am on Saturday, November 24, 2012

Williams, Welser, Kratcoski, & Cac.LLC have always had a beautiful display that we look forward to seeing every year! (even without a contest). Thank You.   more ›

4th Annual Blues Fest Rolls Into Kent

Two-day music festival kicks off with a free 5:15 p.m. show Friday at Acorn Alley Plaza.

The 4th Annual Kent Blues Fest comes to downtown Kent this weekend, with free shows by two dozen bands and artists on Friday and a headlining concert by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels on Saturday. The popular Blues Fest kicks off at 5:15 p.m. Friday with a free after-work show by Frankie Starr at the new Acorn Alley Plaza. The performance is sponsored by Acorn Alley and Main Street Kent. Then it’s off to check out the free live blues being offered at 14 Kent venues. Friday’s line-up includes shows by Wallace Coleman, the Brighter Side Band, Mike Lenz, the Numbers Band, the Juke Hounds and many more. The full schedule is available by clicking this link and as a .pdf accompanying this story. One of the legends of early rock and R&B, …

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Morgan Day

12:25 pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Gotta see the Brighter Side Band. They're great!   more ›

Date Moved for Kent International Festival

Event combines people from different nationalities downtown

The second annual Kent International Festival will be held Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012. Previously scheduled for Sept. 29, Main Street Kent has opted to change the date so as to not interfere with a home football game that day between Kent State University and Ball State. Main Street Kent is collaborating with Kent State University’s Office of Global Education this year in an effort to expand the cultural diversity and popularity of the event. The Kent International Festival will include booths with a variety of food, merchandise, and exhibits, and will feature multicultural dance, music and entertainment. Further information will be provided in the coming months, including event time frame, performers, etc. For information about participating…

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Main Street Campaigns for 'Thursday Night Live' Support

Group asking for cash support for weekly concert series

Main Street Kent has launched its first online Kick Starter campaign in an effort to raise the money necessary to put on the summer concert series “Thursday Night Live.” Last summer was a successful trial run, with several local bands performing at the Hometown Bank Plaza on Thursday nights from 7 to 9 p.m. The goal this year is to raise enough money to have concerts every Thursday night (except for the nights of the Heritage Concert Series) from June through September. Hometown Bank will still host performers for their Heritage Concert Series once a month, and Main Street Kent has reserved the stage for the remaining Thursday nights. Contributors to the project will receive perks based on the amount they give, such as “Thursday Night Live…

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Main Street Honors Downtown Supporters

Dan Smith, Allan Orashan among annual award recipients

'Chocolate Walk' Tries to get Shoppers into Kent Stores

Half of the tickets are sold for Main Street Kent's newest downtown event

More than half of the 100 tickets available to Main Street Kent's new event, the downtown Chocolate Walk, have been sold since going on sale Monday. The event, Main Street's latest effort to drive shoppers downtown, is set for May 12 from 1 p.m. 5 p.m. Participants will be have to visit several downtown businesses that day to collect their chocolate prizes. Heather Malarcik, interim executive director of Main Street Kent, said the group plans to host the chocolate walk annually as a spring, pre-Mother's Day event. "Other Main Street communities do it with much success, so we thought we'd give it a shot," she said. "The idea is to get people into our local businesses and raise (money) for Main Street Kent since we're a non-profit." Tickets …

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Laziza Still Awaiting Phone, Internet Hookups

Wondering what's on the menu? Kent Patch is your exclusive online source (for now, at least).

Kent Patch readers are asking: What's Laziza's phone number? What are the new restaurant's hours? Is there a takeout menu online somewhere? Gina Tringhese said the Kent Area Chamber of Commerce is also getting calls about contact information for the Acorn Alley II anchor tenant. Kent Patch has the answers – and the menu – posted here! Michelle Hartman, vice president of RLB Phoenix Properties, developer of Acorn Alley, said there have been delays in the installation of phone and internet lines. "We're still waiting for AT&T to finish their site work. Hopefully they’ll get that squared away this week," she said. It can't happen soon enough for Laziza owners Michael and Nicole Awad. Michael said he's heard the lines could be operational by …

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Main Street Kent Needs Artists for Wine Festival

Annual summer festival brings artists, wineries together in downtown Kent

Summer may seem like a long time away, but it’s not too early to begin planning for another Masterpieces on Main Wine & Art Festival. The 6th Annual Kent Masterpieces on Main Art & Wine Festival, presented by Main Street Kent, is scheduled for Saturday, June 2, 2012. The event will run from noon to 10 p.m. Proceeds from the festival will benefit Main Street Kent, a non-profit dedicated to the revitalization of downtown Kent. The Art & Wine Festival features local wineries and artists from all over Ohio. North Water Street will be closed from Main Street to Columbus Street. Several wineries, musical acts, local artists, and lots of favorite downtown eateries will be featured at the festival. Main Street Kent is in the process of selecting …

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