Just a bit more than a week before Valentine's Day, Florence Main Street hosted our 4th Annual Chocolate Crawl! This year was just as great as the rest with delicious chocolate treats that were to die for and new businesses to visit as well as our returning favorites!Tickets this year sold out 3 days before the event and even though it was cold out, we had a great crowd! We saw so many new faces and heard a lot of positive feedback from the patrons. Many of them said it was the best year yet!On top of that, ticket holders enjoyed 15% off their purchases as well as a chocolate treat at participating businesses. Grier Insurance even gave away dinner for 2 at Ricatoni's to one lucky winner!
This year's chocolate treat winner was Cloth & Stone with their Chocolate Wine Cake! Great job to the Cloth & Stone team, we heard crawlers raving about that treat and the store it was in all day.A very close second was Miss Beth's Tailoring and Alterations with their Oreo Bon Bons! Miss Beth’s was a first time participant in the crawl this year and nearly clenched the victory, so congratulations to all involved; everyone seemed very impressed. 
A few honorable mentions this year were North Alabama Chiropractic's Chocolate Covered Bacon, Jack O' Lantern Farm's Mocha Turnovers, and Printers and Stationer's Mini Cannoli's, but there were many more amazing treats as well that were very well made and well received. We can’t thank the participants enough. The bar had already been set high by the previous years and the ball was still knocked out of the park by each and every one of you! If you missed out this year, don't worry; there's always next year! If you love bacon, be on the lookout for our Bacon Fest in June that will include our annual Bacon Crawl!
Starting off the Year with Florence Main Street
Do you have any new goals for 2018? If so, downtown Florence Alabama has what you need to chase those goals! Whether you aspire to be stronger, faster, healthier, dress better, or anything in between, the city of Florence has a local business to help you reach those goals. If you want to take your body to a new level physically, you’ll want to check Florence’s great fitness and health businesses. These are great options to have whether you need training and individual attention from an experienced instructor at the Fit Facility, OR, if you’ve already got a workout regiment and need a clean community environment to execute it in like The Basement Gym. For those of us who aspire to learn while they work out, Contender Boxing and Grit Fitness have boxing, yoga, and cycling classes that help us get into shape while learning new techniques! Add that on top of our Jack-o’-Lantern Farm and Valley Health Foods businesses that can help anyone make sure that their diet healthily compliments their lifestyle, and there’s no way that getting healthier will stay on the list of unchecked resolutions. As far as fresh and stylish clothing go, Florence AL has got you covered there as well. Whether you find your ideal style in Coco’s Boutique, Karen’s Corner, Harper Clothing Co., or Jar & Co. it is all a part of what the brilliant shop owners of Florence have to offer. Find an amazing piece of clothing that’s just barely out of your size range? Take it to Miss Beth’s Tailoring and Alterations and have it sized up or down to suit your needs. If more exotic clothes catch your eye, head over to The Eclectic for interesting and rare finds! With all of these businesses ready and standing by to help put you in your ideal clothes and help in any way they can, becoming a savvy, experienced, and thrifty shopper is easy.These are just some of the ways our thriving town can help you with your New Year’s resolutions. Since there’s no way anyone can cover every advantage to shopping in Downtown Florence on one simple blog post, I’ll stop here; but if anyone has any questions about businesses and services offered in the downtown area, feel free to call us at 256-760-9648 OR contact any businesses directly on their Facebook accounts! We all look forward to another great year of serving you.
Sweet Home FloAla: TVA Trails
For as long as I can remember, my family has always loved being outside. Thankfully, Florence and the Shoals area have no shortage of hiking trails and paths for adventurers with all levels of experience. Last spring, I went with my family to the Rockpile Recreation Area to enjoy the sun and the river.
One of the coolest parts of the trail was passing under the Singing River Bridge that connects Lauderdale and Colbert Counties. However, there’s also a beautiful waterfall and view of Wilson Dam, a plethora of challenging trails, and picnic areas and playgrounds for families with younger kids or those just looking to experience some of the natural beauty that the Shoals area has to offer.
America's Main Street Contest
Florence Main Street has the chance to win $25,000! All it takes is one click to vote for #DowntownFlorence to win. You can vote once a day, now through April 23rd. We ask that you please take two seconds to vote and then share with your friends! Think of all the amazing things we could do for our downtown!
2016 Florence Restaurant Week Charity Nomination
Florence Main Street is asking you to nominate your favorite local charity to have a chance to win $5,000 from our Presenting Sponsor ~ McDaniel Window & Door. The charity nominated must be a registered 501(c)3 organization and must have a Shoals Area office. The top three most nominated charities and two wild-card charities (to be selected by the FRW committe and sponsors) will be placed on the Florence Restaurant Week Charity Ballot. The five charities will compete against each other for the most votes throughout a week of dining in downtown Florence for the $5,000 Grand Prize.
*Shoals Sav-A-Life is excluded from the nomination phase as they were the 2015 Florence Restaurant Week winning charity.
For more information about Florence Restaurant Week visit www.dineoutflorence.com
Nominate through the link below:
2016 Florence Restaurant Week Charity Nomination
Florence Restaurant Week 2016 Charity Nomination Phase
Contact: Molly Austin or Teryl Shields FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tel. 256-760-9648
Email: info@florencemainstreet.org
FLORENCE RESTAURANT WEEK 2016 CHARITY NOMINATION PHASEFlorence Main Street
Florence, AL – September 14th – Between Sept 15th and October 13th, Florence Main Street wants you to nominate your favorite charity for the opportunity to win a $5,000 check. Last year during Florence Restaurant Week, Presenting Sponsor McDaniel Window & Door owner Mike McDaniel presented the $5000 winning charity check to Shoals Sav-A-Life and he’s looking forward to making another charity very happy this year. “Presenting the $5000 check to Shoals Sav-A-Life was not only an honor, but a privilege for myself and staff. It was exciting to see our local businesses thriving, while our community came together to raise awareness for so many wonderful charities. McDaniel Window & Door is excited to be the Presenting Sponsor again for 2016 Florence Restaurant Week, and I personally challenge all our local businesses to get involved and support this great event,” said owner, Mike McDaniel. Selected from the community’s nominations, five charities will be placed on a ballot for guests dining at participating restaurants to vote on during Florence Restaurant Week in October. Thursday, Sept 15th through Thursday, October 13th, nominate your favorite charity and tell us why they deserve this prize. (To be considered, a charity must be a designated 501c(3) organization and have an office in the Shoals.) The three most nominated charities will automatically be included on the ballot, and Florence Main Street will choose two wild-card charities based on input from our Presenting Sponsor, number of nominations, impact on our community, and other factors. Shoals Sav-A-Life will be excluded from this years’ nomination phase because they were the winners of Florence Restaurant Week 2015. You can nominate your favorite charity four ways. Florence Main Street will have a poll on our Facebook page, on McDaniel Window & Door’s Facebook page, and on our website (www.dineoutflorence.com) or you can mail in your nomination. If you choose to mail in a nomination please include these items: Your First and Last Name
Your Email address
Name of CharityWhy you are nominating the charity?
Name of Executive Director at the charity.
Contact info for the charity. (Address & Phone Number)
Then, from October 21st - 30th, Florence Main Street will host Florence Restaurant Week 2016. Ballots will be available at participating restaurants. Every time you eat at a participating restaurant during Florence Restaurant Week, you will have the opportunity to vote for one of our five local charities. Every time you eat, you get to vote! Florence Restaurant Week is not only a showcase of our best local eateries, but it will also help to shine the light on some of our best local charities. The charity with the most votes at the end of the week will walk away with a check for $5,000 that will be used to do good work right here in the Shoals.
Mark your calendars now for FLORENCE RESTAURANT WEEK–October 21st - 30th, 2016! And please, help us do good where it counts by nominating YOUR favorite charity today!Florence Main Street is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization dedicated to working with business owners, community leaders, and residents toward the common goal of revitalizing Downtown Florence, culturally and economically. For more information about us or any of these efforts, please contact Florence Main Street at 256-760-9648 or info@florencemainstreet.org
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