(FALL RIVER, MA – Thursday, December 16, 2021) – Viva Fall River, the community-based initiative that works to address both pressing and long-term needs of the Fall River business community, launches two holiday programs to help increase activity and sales.

(1) 12 Days of Downtown
To promote Downtown businesses during the holidays, as well as highlight collaborative work that taken place over the past 12-18 months, Viva Fall River is running a daily social media feature called 12 Days of Downtown. The series, which started on Monday, December 13th and will run through Christmas Eve, spotlights holiday specials and services from twelve (12) South Main area businesses: Rob Roy Academy, TJ’s Music, Potter’s Printing, Pacheco’s Furniture, 19 Prime Tapas, Koahs Beauty Supply, New England Home Made Donuts, Alexandra’s Boutique/Alexandra’s Too, Mystic Vibez, Drewbi’s Salon, Aura Boutique, and Craftyish Shop. 

Each post also reveals how the business has interacted with Viva Fall River and the Downtown revitalization efforts spurred and supported by MassDevelopment’s Transformative Development Initiative, or TDI. This program, focused on Gateway Cities, works to concentrate economic development activities, resources, and investments within designated neighborhood areas, known as “TDI Districts,” to create a critical mass of activity that inspires investments by residents, entrepreneurs, and businesses, as well as additional private development. Fall River's TDI District is centered on South Main Street and Viva Fall River is primed to be the successor to sustain revitalization efforts not only in the District, but city-wide, starting when the program term ends in mid-2022. 

“Each day, our relationships with local businesses grow stronger, as we work to understand their unique needs and provide meaningful assistance that will not only aid them in the short-term, but also provide opportunities to grow the owner’s knowledge and empower them to make strategic decisions that will ensure that their business thrives and sustains during tough times,” said Viva Fall River’s District Director, Patti Rego.

Assistance to local businesses (which exceeds the 12 featured in this promotion) totals nearly $275,000 and has come in the form of grant funding, first distributed as emergency funding to keep businesses open and staff employed, and later as technical assistance grants geared toward helping businesses upgrade their operations and enhance technical capacity (i.e., website upgrades, e-commerce integration, social media assistance, etc.) 

The 12 Days of Downtown feature can be found on Viva Fall River’s Facebook (facebook.com/VivaFallRiver/) and Instagram (instagram.com/vivafallriver/) pages.

(2)    Light Up Downtown
Earlier in the month, Viva Fall River, along with volunteers from Downtown businesses and organizations, took to South Main Street with a simple but important mission – to put up holiday lights in storefronts and bring some festive decor back to Downtown. Viva Fall River provided the LED lights, installation materials and services, making the program of no cost or effort to participating businesses. The goal was to complete installation by December 4th in time to welcome shoppers and visitors to the 37th Annual Fall River Children’s Holiday Parade and Government Center tree lighting. 

Light Up Downtown By The Numbers:
•    5,800 LED bulbs
•    1,914 feet of lights
•    18 festively decorated storefronts on South Main Street
•    1 Downtown District Making Spirits Bright!

“Beyond creating a festive and welcoming atmosphere, Viva Fall River’s aim with Light Up Downtown was to continue to cultivate a sense of community among the small businesses in the area,” explained District Director Patti Rego. “The lights are also a beacon, signaling that Downtown is very much open for business and that our small business owners are actively participating to create a more vibrant and appealing destination for residents and visitors alike.” 

Participating businesses include 19 Prime Tapas, Aura Boutique, Boost Mobile, Costa Insurance Co., Cricket Wireless, Drewbi’s Salon, Facchiano's Shoe Repair, Fall River Pawn Broker, New England Home Made Donuts, Nexus Property Management, Pacheco's Furniture & Moving, Potter's Printing, Rob Roy Academy, South Main Senior Center, TJ's Music, Up In Flames Tattoo Parlor, a vacant storefront at 341 S. Main, and the Viva Fall River pop-up location at 333 S. Main Street.

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