ELLSWORTH — Heart of Ellsworth invites area residents to participate in its Downtown Asset Mapping Project, “Manifesting Main” at a Community Workshop on Wednesday, April 13 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at The Grand Theater on Main Street in downtown Ellsworth. The workshop is free, open to the public and light refreshments will be provided.
Asset mapping is a systematic process of cataloging key services, benefits, and resources within a community. The Community Workshop is a chance for residents to learn about downtown Ellsworth’s project, share their thoughts, and get involved in shaping the next chapter for the Ellsworth downtown community. According to Heart of Ellsworth’s Executive Director Cara Romano, “We have a lively evening planned as we bring the community together to celebrate all that we currently have in our downtown, help us define what we would like to see in the future, and begin to brainstorm ways to get there.”
The Downtown Asset Mapping project is funded with a grant received in 2021 from Maine Community Foundation’s Downeast Innovation Fund and a 2022 Franklin Savings Bank sponsorship. Funding from both entities was granted to support entrepreneurial ecosystem programming for downtown.
The project is being conducted by HUB Collective (https://www.hubltd.com/) whose representatives will visit Ellsworth on April 13-15. Their approach, titled “Manifesting Main” includes onsite visits with downtown businesses and hosting a variety of discussion-based community groups. Each group will be given an overview of the project and participate in collaborative, fun exercises designed to assist in helping them to share their perspectives. The insight collected during their visit will be folded into the resulting asset map and visioning document and presented to the Manifesting Main planning committee which includes members from the City of Ellsworth, Heart of Ellsworth, and area residents.
The complete schedule for project visit is available on the Heart of Ellsworth website at https://www.heartofellsworth.org/asset-mapping.