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For those who have driven through Downtown Dodgeville may have noticed that East Merrimac Street was blocked off, decked out with porch furniture, a stage and lots of great activities going on through the week.
I'll have to admit at first I was a bit nervous about it, only because I had never heard of a pop-up town square. In fact, from what I've heard, this is the first time one has happened in Dodgeville. However, it has been brought up at many Dodgeville City Council meeting discussions, and it has been discussed throughout many gatherings that I have covered.
Thursday night was the first night that I was able to get there, and I was quite impressed with what I saw. The months of hard work and planning that took place really paid off. While it was a very muggy night, it still drew in a lot of people.
What was great about it was while there were many Dodgeville people I recognized, I even knew people in neighboring Iowa County communities that joined in on the fun.
Doing some research of my own, I learned that there are communities all over the country putting on pop-ups. According to the City of Santa Barbara website , "A pop-up is a short-term, temporary retail experience, which enables business owners to present their brand, products, and ideas to consumers through an accessible, visible, and less expensive medium than a permanent space." While I know Santa Barabara has a significantly higher population than Dodgeville, I felt that it was very similar to the one put on this weekend. Retail businesses that surrounded the area have driven crowds to this area, bringing money back into the city of Dodgeville. This was the goal of Dodgeville's Pop-Up town square, bringing the community together, having a good time and seeing for yourself what Dodgeville truly has to offer.
To the City of Dodgeville, The Dodgeville Chamber of Commerce, Iowa County Extension and to others who volunteered their time to put on an event....well done!