If there’s one thing that Bellingham can proud of, it’s our downtown. A walkable, shoppable, center of commerce seems like the perfect place to host a conference about downtown revitalization, historic preservation, architecture and economic development. That was likely in the minds of the organizers of RevitalizeWA when they chose Bellingham to host their 2015 conference, which will take place May 6th – 8th.

The conference is a combined effort of the Washington State Main Street Program and the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation. Its purpose is to bring national, state, and local community leaders and experts together in order to discuss the best ways to keep Washington’s downtown communities thriving.

“I have been a supporter of the Main Street program for many years,” Mayor Kelli Linville said. “As a newly designated Main Street Community, Bellingham is thrilled to host the conference at the spectacular Mount Baker Theatre, one of several successful preservation projects to be featured in our community.”

The program for the conference has been put together by the Downtown Bellingham Partnership in conjunction with the city and other local partners. Highlights include the following:

• May 6th:
  • Pre-conference workshops at The Mount Baker Theater
  • Washington Trust’s This Place Matters Reception at Aslan Brewing Company
• May 7th
  • Excellence on Main Awards Reception at The Spark Museum
• May 7th and 8th
  • Educational Sessions and Tours leaving from The Mount Baker Theater

The keynote speaker for RevitalizeWA 2015 will be Della Rucker, author of The Local Economy Revolution and Why This Work Matters. To learn more about Della, or the event in general, check out the Washington Trust For Historic Preservation’s website.

Registration is open to all downtown enthusiasts, with the target audience being Washington State Main Street communities and affiliates as well as professionals representing the fields of archaeology, historic preservation, architecture, and planning.

Why do you think Bellingham makes a great choice to host RevitalizeWA 2015? Do you have any advice for the attendees of the conference on what they should take away from our city? Let us know in the comments!