TERRE HAUTE — You don’t have to wander far to find people who remember vividly when downtown Terre Haute was the place to be during the Christmas shopping season. With all the major retailers anchored on or near Wabash Avenue and surrounded by street after street of specialty shops, it was a sight to behold.
Those days vanished several decades ago. The big box stores relocated in shopping malls near interstate highways on the outskirts of American cities.
But it’s just not the same.
Perhaps that’s why small retailers, businesses and other interests in today’s downtowns keep trying to recapture that slice of Americana. A small group of folks in downtown Terre Haute did some brainstorming about that this past year, and they think they’re on to something special. I think they’re right.
Miracle on Seventh Street will be unveiled Friday evening, and it promises to light up downtown Terre Haute in spectacular fashion. What makes this effort to rekindle that holiday spirit is that it seizes on the artistic theme that is beginning to define the district in diverse and colorful ways.
The Arts Corridor — the segment of Seventh Street between Poplar Street and the campus of Indiana State University — is slowly but surely becoming ahaven for professional and aspiring artists. That development, encouraged by downtown leaders, is advancing nicely.
The small group of brainstormers embraced that theme, and the seeds of the Miracle on Seventh Street began to grow. Led by Brian Whisenhunt of Swope Art Gallery, Boo Lloyd of Crossroads Café, longtime Crossroads employee Libby Waters, and businessman Terry Hogan of SmithBarney, the festival began to take shape. Visitors will be in for a treat.
Businesses and galleries along Seventh and Wabash have enthusiastically jumped aboard, as have entities such as the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce.
The plan calls for Seventh Street to be closed between Wabash and Ohio late Friday afternoon and evening. Two large tents will be the centerpiece for the event, erected to hold almost 30 artists and craftspeople who will display and sell their work from 5 to 10 p.m.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have a personal interest in this portion of the event. My daughter, Chelsea, who will receive her degree this spring from the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts at Indiana University-Bloomington, will be among the artists in the tents. She specializes in making jewelry and will offer her creations to visitors Friday evening. She’ll be joined by Waters, a photographer, and a diverse group of artisans. You’ll even be able to buy your Christmas tree there from the Optimist Club.
Outside the tents, area businesses and galleries will be open. Christmas music will waft through the night air, thanks to the participation of the city’s church choirs.
I’ve experienced other downtown festivals in the past, and some have done very well. There is something about this one, however, that has the potential to be truly magical. Like the old days, the entire downtown district seems to be seizing the spirit. When that happens, anything is possible.
This is going to be great fun.
Tribune-Star editor Max Jones can be reached at max.jones@tribstar.com.
Editor's Note
November 28, 2009
MAX JONES: Christmas miracles can still happen
- Editor's Note
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MAX JONES: Local seminar to shed light on access
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MAX JONES: Farewell to Stephanie, for a while
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MAX JONES: Friends ready for next big step at Pyle historic site
The campaign to preserve the legacy of World War II journalist Ernie Pyle in his hometown of Dana passed a milestone last week. Indiana’s Natural Resources Commission voted to end the state’s involvement in the Pyle historic site and turn it over to the Friends of Ernie Pyle organization.
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MAX JONES: Vigo GOP shows its gains are for real
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Week ahead bringing changes to your newspaper
Your Tribune-Star is undergoing some changes this week, and today’s edition reveals a few of those.
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Editor's Note: A holiday tribute to "Hoosier," and all veterans
My late father, Joseph L. Jones, was a veteran of World War II, a 4th Division Marine whose service sent him to the South Pacific and into combat on the islands of Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima.
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MAX JONES: Resuming partnership for political information
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- MAX JONES: Christmas miracles can still happen You don’t have to wander far to find people who remember vividly when downtown Terre Haute was the place to be during the Christmas
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TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORIAL: A day to give thanks and help
Help only becomes a reality when it is given. Today, it’s something needed by many throughout this community and state.
- EDITOR'S NOTE: Appearance of corruption a strong incentive for reform Today, and for the following two days, Tribune-Star readers are being treated to a remarkable series of editorials and essays produced by the Indianapolis Star.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Spelling Bee a great Tribune-Star tradition
Of all the great community-based events this newspaper sponsors and helps sponsor throughout the year, the Tribune-Star Wabash Valley Spelling Bee is one of the most important. It’s extra special because it gives the best and brightest young students in our nine-county area the opportunity to compete for big prizes in a popular and widely recognized annual academic competition.
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Even the most hardened cynic has to admit that Terre Haute is living a charmed life this election year. For the fifth time since spring, the community will be visited by a major political figure in the 2008 presidential sweepstakes. The event will occur later today when Democratic Party nominee Sen. Barack Obama makes a 12:30 p.m. campaign stop at the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds.
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MAX JONES: Voters anxious to get news about candidates
Labor Day historically marks the beginning of the fall season for political campaigning. That has been true most years in which elections are conducted. This year, however, such a designation may be greeted will little more than a chuckle.
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MAX JONES: Voters will be big winners in fall gubernatorial debates
Twice in September and once in October, Indiana voters will have an opportunity to participate in and witness, in person or via electronic media, debates among the state’s three candidates for governor.
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Tribune-Star editorial: A day to be grateful for community kindness
Obviously, it’s been a long, trying week for most folks in the Wabash Valley.
Today offers at least a moment for the community to reflect on its survival of the flood of 2008. - Editor's Note: Covering the flood shifts to recovery As natural disasters go, flooding can have a long and nasty legacy. Even when the waters have receded and raging creeks and rivers are passive once again within their banks, hidden dangers — and damages — persist.
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Tribune-Star editorial: And another thing...
And now for something completely different … good news!!
That’s right, amid the misery of local flooding aftermath, an announcement from Tokyo early Thursday allows us to take a brief break and ponder better days ahead for our community and its economy. -
Tribune-Star editorial: Rain down some kindness
Since Saturday, when flash flooding became more than the usual National Weather Service warning for much of Indiana and Illinois, we’ve all heard and seen inspirational stories.
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EDITOR'S NOTE Sounding the bell for those who hear different drummer
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Max Jones: Evolving with an industry — and with our readers
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Editor's Note: ’07 election letters reflected intensity
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