Mumfest adds acts to October lineup

Aerial pogo team, daring juggler come on board for outdoor festival October 11-12. Organizers of New Bern's largest outdoor festival have added two familiar acts to the talent pool for October's Mumfest.

The XPOGO team each heights of 10 feet on next
generation pogo sticks.

Signora Bella juggles knives and swords
while walking a slack rope.

     








The XPOGO team and Signora Bella, the great Italian equilibrist will perform during the October 11 and 12 festival in downtown New Bern.

     The XOGO team currently holds 15 world records and several Guinness records, It is touted as "the most talented and experienced extreme pogo team in the world."

     Their past performances range from Rio to Beijing to Hong Kong and later this year, they will entertain in Sweden and France.

     Extreme Pogo, or Xpogo, is an action sport performed on next-generation pogo sticks that have the potential o bounce more than 10 feet in the air, measuring from the ground to the bottom of the tip of the pogo stick.

     Signora Bella juggles flaming swords while balancing on the slack rope.  She has entertained audiences of all ages since her arrival on the eastern seaboard several years ago. She has performed on the streets of Williamsburg, Mount Vernon and at Poplar Forest, retreat home of President Thomas Jefferson. She also has performed locally at Tryon Palace.

     Bella brings to life the tradition of the traveling performers of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. She traces her roots to the Italian theatrical style of Commedia Dell'Arte.

     Mumfest is two days of free entertainment, including live bands with music from beach to rock, dance troupes, magicians, roving street performers and face painters, along with hundreds of vendors and craftsmen.

     It will also feature the 13th annual Boat Show.  

     Times for all performances will be on the web at mumfest.com prior to the October event.

Sun Journal, July 3, 2014

MUMFEST is non-stop free family fun!

       

MUMFEST will fill New Bern’s historic downtown with free family entertainment this coming October 11-12. Non-stop entertainment includes the 2014 Corvette Show, the 13-time world champion X-POGO Stunt Team, the Incredible Purina Dog Show, Signora Bella, (the great Italian equilibrist who juggles knives and balances on the orb of doom), and Alex Clark in Project Dynamite is simply amazing, JuggleStuff with Rick Hubbard, Poly and Ester, the Gabardine Sisters and the master storyteller and mask maker, Steve Myott!  

Festival goers will also enjoy climbing aboard the trailerable boats found at the Boat Show at Union Point Park.

MUMFEST fits everyone’s budget with two days of free entertainment including a wide variety of music from several new and exciting bands, dance troupes, magicians, roving street performers, puppeteers, face painters and clowns.

MUMFEST weekend in New Bern, NC attracts festival goers from across the southeast to experience this award winning festival located in the beautiful historic downtown and along the waterfront. Mumfesters can spend a little or spend a lot with over 300 commercial and nonprofit exhibitors to choose from including pottery, crafts, art, and a tasty variety of savory food. 

Take a free ride on the trolley car or park downtown, however you get here, come join the fun because there really is something for everyone! Check frequently on the MUMFEST website to learn all about this year’s festival:  www.mumfest.com 

MUMFEST Title Sponsor: Joe Alcoke Auto & Truck Center

MUMFEST is produced by Swiss Bear Downtown Development Corp. www.swissbear@swissbear.org

Media contact: Nancy Hawley   nancy.hawley.nh@gmail.com  252-349-4741

Wayfinding Sign System: enhancing the visitor's stay

The New Bern Board of Aldermen’s recent acceptance of the bid from Signs Etc. of Charlotte for fabrication of a wayfinding sign system brings to conclusion a project originally initiated in 1993.

In the Post World War II era, with the increase of auto and truck mobility, the widening of Broad Street and removal of parking on East Front to accommodate traffic on the state roads, the proliferation of signs with no uniformity leading to and through the downtown made it confusing and difficult for visitors to navigate and reach their downtown destination.

From the beginning, the downtown effort focused on restructuring downtown’s economic base by establishing a new market of recreation and tourism. By the late 1980’s, downtown New Bern was becoming a “destination” and tourism was now the County’s fourth largest industry.

In 1993, Design Guidelines for the streetscape improvements recommended in the1990 Urban Design Plan were designed by Allison Platt & Associates.  In conjunction with this project, at Swiss Bear’s request, the *Municipal Service District Advisory Committee (MSD) approved funding to hire Mortar&ink, a graphic design firm in Columbia, MD to develop a wayfinding sign system to include gateway entry monument signs, vehicular directional signs, trail blazer signs (one or two destinations with an arrow), pedestrian directional signs, identity signs for streets and places and street banners.

Funding to implement the system was key and every potential opportunity was explored including approaching NCDOT. On July 29, 1993, through the efforts of Bob Mattocks, NCDOT Division II Board of Transportation member, he, myself and Eileen Tennor of Mortar&ink, met with officials with the N.C. Department of Transportation, the Department of Cultural Resources, Division of Travel and Tourism and the Division of Parks and Recreation.

In our presentation we asked the state to consider adapting the concept of New Bern’s wayfinding sign system for state-wide application to promote the state tourism program by using New Bern as a model project.  Uniform state wayfinding sign systems, picking up where highway signs end on the interstate and state roads, would guide visitors from the periphery to featured tourist attractions/destinations throughout the state and communities. 

To our delight, they were interested and created a task force with representatives from each department to explore the state’s participation and/or development of this concept. In the end the project was deemed unfeasible, requiring changes to existing regulations that was cost prohibitive.

However, when the streetscape improvements were completed on Middle Street in mid-1990, the design for street banners (as part of the sign system) was embraced and the MSD Advisory Committee approved funding for production costs. The red and gold banners and pendants and bear logo, hanging from the banner arms on the new street lights have added festivity and color to the downtown streetscape for many years.

The completion of the new Neuse River Bridge in 1997 and removal of the old John Lawson Bridge in 2000 dramatically altered the dynamics of circulation and arrival downtown creating new gateways and traffic patterns. In addition, the new New Bern Riverfront Convention Center, construction of the new NC History Center and an increase in tourist and convention trade, were creating issues for visitors and citizens alike.

In 2007, thanks to, then, State Rep. Alice Underhill, the City’s 300 Celebration Committee was awarded a $50,000 grant from N.C. Department of Cultural Resources to be used for anniversary celebration projects. Since a major goal in preparation for the 300th Celebration was developing projects that would have lasting outcomes, the Committee used the grant to engage Allison Platt & Associates to prepare a master plan for the completion of the Riverwalk and hire Mortar&ink to develop a comprehensive visitor wayfinding sign system incorporating the bear motif on the city flag honoring New Bern’s relationship with Bern, Switzerland.

Steering Committee members, Susan Moffat-Thomas, project chair, Danny Meadows, Mike Avery, Annette Stone, Kay Williams, Tom McGraw, Linda Staunch, Sandy Chamberlain, Nelson McDaniel and Bill Naumann worked with Mortar&ink over the course of two years.  The scope of the plan was immense. In addition to approving the graphic designs for the system of signs, all visitor destinations (government, parks and trails, museums and historic sites, parking, attractions and public facilities) had to be identified.

Both the selection of sites for the signs and the nomenclature used to name them required careful consideration as visitors are directed from interstate roads from specific exits into the city along designated visitor corridors. In the end, a total of 132 signs were approved and an implementation plan completed. By 2009, the comprehensive package was ready for the city to bid out for fabrication and installation; however, the economy’s downturn put funding for the project on hold. Costs for fabrication and installation were estimated at $210,000. Installation by the city would reduce the cost to approximately $140,000.

In 2012, Bob Mattocks and I met with NCDOT Division II Board member, Hugh Overholt and Division II Engineer, Neil Lassiter requesting financial assistance to help fund this City project. With DOT’s commitment of $100,000, Swiss Bear submitted a grant request to the Craven County Tourism Development Authority and received a commitment of $35,000. 

In 2013, when the City initiated the Branding project, implementation of the sign system project was put on hold. With the City’s adoption of the new brand, the graphic designs (with the bear motif) were replaced with the new logo, although the implementation plan, defining locations for signage etc. remained in place.

Visitor wayfinding signage, a project envisioned 20 years ago will soon be installed. Through the signage, the Five Points area will become an adjunct to the downtown retail core. The cultural texture of the City will be enriched, visitor destinations will multiply, and expanding options will increase visitorship and pedestrian connections. 

*Defined 12 block area downtown in which property owners are assessed an additional $.13 per hundred ad valorum tax to fund downtown public improvements.  

Susan Moffat Thomas

Executive Director

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The value of a downtown

New Bern a national model for Main Street revitalization

Downtown New Bern has changed and grown over
the decades to what visitors and residents now experience.

In the 1991 book, “Edge Cities, Life on the New Frontier,” Joel Garreau argued the shopping center replaced the downtown as the city center. As a passionate advocate for downtown, I acknowledge that many downtown's have died, however, as Don Repkema points out, “they don’t die because they have been replaced by shopping centers, they are lost to history because the importance of the downtown to its community has not been recognized.”

We all agree, shopping centers play an important role in the economy and meet a range of customer needs, but to believe they take the place of the city center, village square or heart of the community is to fail to understand the nature and importance of downtown and their value. 

In a successful downtown there is a sense of community ownership, “it is our downtown.” It is home to the institutional leadership of the community, local government, financial institutions, law firms and others. It serves as the city center offering a range of cultural activities, museums, shops, parks, and historic attractions … a place of diversity and interaction among the entire community and most importantly, as a barometer on the economic health of the community.

Our downtown under the Main Street program has emerged as the nexus of the interests of economic development, historic preservation and the community-at-large. In 1980 when North Carolina became one of six pilot states for a new program called Main Street, under the leadership of Mayor Leander Morgan, New Bern was one of five communities chosen to participate. Since we already had a preservation based downtown revitalization effort in place for many years, the local government determined Swiss Bear should remain a free-standing organization with the same responsibilities and serve a pivotal role. The city planner and Swiss Bear director were designated to serve as co-project managers of the downtown effort. 

The waterfront in downtown New Bern looked
much different in the 1960s.

For 33 years New Bern has been a national example, not just of a successful Main Street program, but of how historic preservation can be the foundation for sustainable economic development. New Bern is the embodiment of the Main Street Principles: incremental, comprehensive, partnerships, self-help, identifying and capitalizing on existing assets, change, quality and implementation.

Aerial photo shows downtown New Bern in the 1960s.
The Trent River is in the foreground and the Neuse
River in the background.

Communities all over the country look to New Bern to see how it’s done.

Since 1981, in our downtown the cumulative net new jobs is 591; cumulative net new businesses 138 and private investment $97,045,495. Swiss Bear’s cumulative efforts over the past 34 years resulted in an investment to the greater downtown effort of over $204 million. Total public and private investment has been $320 million, the most of any Main Street City.

As one of the original demonstration states for Main Street, North Carolina has collected a wealth of data from participating towns. Local program managers are required to submit annual reports on activities in their districts to the state office. For most of the years these reports have included number of facades redone and number of buildings rehabilitated; number of net new jobs, number of net new businesses, amount of private investment and amount of public investment.

At the recent Main Street conference held in New Bern, keynote speaker , Donovan Repkema presented an overview of the results of  his analysis of statistical data in a report, “North Carolina Main Street, Decades of Success, The Economic Impact of Main Street in North Carolina, prepared for the Department of Commerce and the NC Main Street Communities.”

Repkema is the principal of Place Economics, a Washington D.C. based real estate and economic development consulting firm.

In the report’s introductory letter, Sharon Decker, Secretary of Commerce, NC Department of Commerce, pointed out, “…since North Carolina  began its Main Street Program in 1980, $2 billion has been invested in Main Street districts — over half of which has come from the private sector. There has been a gain of more than 18,000 net new jobs and 4,700 new businesses.

“We must acknowledge that we are at a point where public budgets are stretched thin and we simply have to do more with less. Main Street is a champion in this regard. The net new businesses each year in Main Street Districts pay five times in sales revenue what the entire Main Street program costs. This is a program that provides the kind of return on investment that any corporate chair would envy.

“Main Street works because it builds on the assets, the traditions, and most importantly, on the aspirations of the citizens of the community. It is a form of economic development. And North Carolina communities are the better for it.”

We agree.

MUMFEST BANNER SALES   

       FUNDRAISER FOR NEW BERN ROTARY

The Rotary Club of New Bern and Swiss Bear Downtown Development Corporation are working together again this year in support of the Rotary Club’s community service projects.   

Area businesses may show their support by sponsoring a MUMFEST banner, which will have their company’s name displayed on both sides of the banner for only $160. The banners, made of vinyl and measuring 22” x 37” are hung from downtown streetlights for approximately six weeks beginning in mid-September. After MUMFEST the banners become the property of the sponsor to display in their business.  

The Rotary Club of New Bern through its fundraising efforts supports many community service projects each year, such as awarding college scholarships and making sizable grants to the Salvation Army, RCS, Merci Clinic, YMCA, Creekside Park and Habitat for Humanity.

Because the opportunity to sponsor a banner ends July 30, 2014, area businesses should email Sandra McKinney sandramckinney@suddenlink.net  or call Swiss Bear (252.638.5781). Banner applications may also be downloaded at www.mumfest.com by clicking on the banner-merchandising button near the top of the homepage.

Swiss Bear Downtown Development Corporation produces MUMFEST, a City sponsored event with the support of area businesses and organizations.  Title Sponsor: Joe Alcoke Auto and Truck Center.

Festival proceeds help fund MUMFEST expenses and downtown revitalization projects.  MUMFEST draws an estimated 100,000 visitors to New Bern's historic downtown. 

The beautifully restored downtown and riverfront, unique shops, art galleries, restaurants and historic homes make New Bern a destination for many travelers. To learn more about MUMFEST and Swiss Bear Downtown Development Corporation go to downtownnewbern.com  or mumfest.com.

Tel: 252-638-5781

Swiss Bear Downtown Development Corporation

316 South Front Street, PO Box 597, New Bern, NC 28563

Media Contact: Nancy Hawley – 252.349.4741 (nancy.hawley.nh@gmail.com)

Streetscape improvements: Past and present

Middle Street is shown with the new
Streetscape improvements.

June and July of 1994: noise from jackhammers, commotion, dust, visible evidence of a city’s prosperous optimistic mood. An army of men with  heavy equipment tearing up the 200 block of Middle Street in preparation of the new streetscape improvements uncover old street car tracks and brick street pavers encapsulated under the asphalt, relics from an earlier period prosperity.

Middle Street in the late 1980s was
in need of some improvement.

In the early 1900’s the sights and sounds in the downtown area were similar, but far more aggressive. By 1910 the city had completed an extensive program of public improvements, funded in part by a bond referendum in an amount equal to $1 million. This included the installation of 25 miles of concrete sidewalks, granite curbing and the paving of 35 blocks of streets with brick.

The city improvements were a result of a period of growth and prosperity in the first several decades of the 20th century. The depressed financial conditions of the late 1800’s and repayment of old debt prevented badly needed improvements prior to that time. In this period of prosperity, the lumber industry, the large-scale manufacturing of commercial fertilizers, shipping, fish, oysters and agriculture had a tremendous impact on the growth of the New Bern’s downtown area and outlaying areas directly or indirectly.  The Elks Temple, (the largest office building in the city), Union Station, Saint Luke’s Hospital, schools and many other buildings were constructed in addition to the development of two new suburban residential areas, Riverside and Ghent.

The Ghent developers formed the New Bern Ghent Street Railway Company in 1912 which installed a street car system linking Spencer Avenue to Pollock and Middle and then looping to South Front Street, to Craven Street continuing on to Queen Street, down Queen to Metcalf and then back to Pollock Street.

The street car lines, the extension of city services and development of new communities allowed residents to move out of the more congested areas of the city. This gradual exodus to the suburbs and the collapse of the lumber industry in the late 20’s brought profound change, and led ultimately to the gradual decline of the downtown and surrounding areas.

With the celebration of the United States Bicentennial, reconstruction of Tryon Palace, establishment of the New Bern Preservation Foundation, development of the 1977 Downtown Central Business District Revitalization Plan, and creation of Swiss Bear, an era of optimism began to develop as New Bern’s historic features were seen as resources that could be used to revive a declining downtown economy.

Unlike the early 1900 streetscape improvements, the public improvements that began to take place in the 1980’s, in an attempt to regain prosperity, was due to  the  public/private partnerships with the local government, Swiss Bear and the additional municipal service district taxes paid by downtown property owner.

By the early 1990’s, major streetscape improvements became a priority project. The sidewalks installed in early the 1900’s were narrow and in poor condition in the retail core and required improvements to present a desirable high quality image and increase retail presence and increased trade. Then City Manager Bill Hartman and Alderman Bill Ballenger involved Swiss Bear in the process to ensure community support and the project’s success.

The first phase of improvements involved deciding on a design concept for the streets. This was done in a preliminary way during the preparation of the Urban Design Plan and Guidelines. During that work, the retail areas of Middle, Craven and Pollock were classified as needing the highest level of finish and given the highest priority for implementation.

During the conceptual Design work that followed in 1992, alternative paving patterns and design details for the different types of streetscape were presented to the steering committee by Land Design Research, Inc. and preferred alternatives were chosen. The choice for the retail streets was red brick bands enclosing an area of hexagonal concrete pavers. Preliminary choices for street furniture and lighting were also made.

The recommendations for the design standards were presented to the Historic Preservation Commission for review and approval followed by the Board of Aldermen’s adoption of the design standards as public policy.

The process of preparing construction documents was far more challenging than in the early 1900’s. In addition to a survey of the street to the define exact position of curbs, streets, water and gas meters, building walls at street level other considerations were downspouts, grates, traffic and street lights, electric poles and so on. The prepared drawings showed exactly how the new streetscape would fit into existing conditions … what would be demolished and how the new street, sidewalks and fixtures were to be constructed.

Funding for the $500,000 improvements with Municipal Service District (MSD) monies was approved by the MSD Advisory Committee with the stipulation, all materials used had to be of first quality.

To minimize the impact on the downtown businesses the contract for the three blocks required the completion of improvements in 60 days. Everything possible was done to anticipate problems and the decision was made to begin June 6 as inevitable setbacks could be minimized with longer work days and warmer weather. 

To say goodbye to the old streets and sidewalks, the June “Alive At Five” kicked off with a Street Dance. Advance publicity encouraged people to come downtown and see downtown grow and enjoy the shops “construction” sales.

A ceremonial “street breaking” was held with John Peterson, MSD Chairman, Mayor Tom Bayliss, Swiss Bear Chairman Ricky Brown and the Swiss Bear Executive Director, turned over the spadefuls of loose asphalt, initiating the first phase of downtown’s streetscape improvements.

As the old pavement was hauled away, treasure hunters emerged in full force with metal detectors in hand. The thrill of the find included old buttons, coins, trolley track spikes and many other collectibles.

By the end of August the 100 and 200 blocks were finished … visible evidence of a city’s prosperous optimistic mood. Since then 12 blocks in the core downtown area have been completed with MSD funds. The urban renewal tract along the Trent River, separated from the core retail area in the 1970’s, became a united with the central business district with the recent streetscape improvements to South Front Street.