Projects
Island Park 150 Run /Walk
The Island Park 150 is an annual fitness event held in November of each year. The event is a 150 minute Run or Walk around the Island Park River Walk. The event raises funds for the V-Foundation and Blossburg V.I.B.E.. Generous donations by our sponsors enable us to have prize brackets, sponsorship bags, race timing. Ward Manufacturing has graciously made special custom medallions for the participants each year.
Community Garden
The Community Garden is a long time V.I.B.E. project, situated next to the green bridge and across from the Fire Department as you enter downtown Blossburg. We currently have 8 boxes that can be used by community members to plant their own gardens. A small donation is requested to help offset the costs associated with the upkeep of the boxes.
Blossburg V.I.B.E. Fall Festival
Fall Festival is another long time V.I.B.E. project. The Fall Festival has been run by V.I.B.E. since around 2007, when we increased the size, increased the activities, and increased the number of vendors to make a fun-filled day in Downtown Blossburg for the whole family. Some events include a Hot Dog Eating Contest, Pie Baking Contest, Live Music, Performers, and lots of super-good food to eat. Join us the Sunday of the second full weekend of October each year for the Fall Festival.
Blossburg Wide Community Yard Sale
The Blossburg Wide Community Yard Sale is held every year around the beginning of May. We coordinate the collection of addresses where yard sales will be held that weekend, create a list and online map of sales, and create print and social media advertising to reach the region an pull people in to Blossburg. The additional traffic in Blossburg on those days give a nice boost to the local businesses while also allowing people to offload their stuff. We also coordinate with Blossburg Borough to ensure spring cleanup garbage collection is the week or two after the yard sale, thereby helping to reduce extra waste entering our landfills, and reducing overall garbage collection costs.
Blossburg Freenet
Blossburg Freenet is a free Wifi internet access available to people in the downtown Blossburg area. Local businesses donate a portion of the internet to enable use to create a wireless mesh network accessible by laptops and cell phones for getting on the network. The project has been possible by the generous donations from Blossburg Improvement Association, Blossburg Borough, Williamson Road Foundation, and Josh Jones Computer Services.
Hometown Heros Banners
The Hometown Heros Banner project is a new one for us. The original organization that ran the project disbanded some years ago. Their assets were moved to Blossburg V.I.B.E. for further management. We are currently in the process of obtaining a PA Sales Tax Exemption so we can move forward with allow people to purchase new banners and to start replacing old banners.
Light Up the Holidays Contest
The light up the holidays contest is a no-entry, just participate contest encouraging Blossburg residences to decorate the exterior of their homes for the holidays. The homes that participate are judge and the winners receive gift certificates and gift cards to Blossburg businesses.
Small Business Saturday
Blossburg V.I.B.E. helps to promote small businesses in Blossburg all day long, but we especially help promote on the Saturday following Thanksgiving which is the kickoff to the traditional holiday shopping season.
V.I.B.E. Park Skate Park
Blossburg V.I.B.E. applied for and received a DCNR grant to implement a Skate/Bike park in Blossburg’s Island Park recreational area. The grant and donations allowed us to purchase skate ramps and equipment and give the youth of Blossburg more to do. New in 2023 and 2024, we’re enabling a group of skaters to start putting on Skate/Bike/Scooter competitions at the park!
DCED Main Street Program Facade Improvement
Blossburg V.I.B.E. worked with DCED’s Main Street Program to receive grants and enable matching fundings to encourage downtown building owners to fix up their building facades, paint, and make everything beautiful. This had a tremendous impact on downtown Blossburg and really sets the stage for all further improvements and activities in the area.
Island Park River Walk/Walking Trail
Blossburg V.I.B.E. worked with Blossburg Borough, Williamson Road Foundation, and the Recreation Board to implement the 1.1 mile walking trail loop around Blossburg’s Island Park. The walking trail is used daily by many residents and visitors.
Community Branding
Blossburg V.I.B.E. worked with the Blossburg Borough to organize a community branding study to create a unified town logo and brand. Through the study, we worked with community members to identify what defines Blossburg, important iconography around town, what we want to convey and how we want to convey it.
Welcome/Events Sign
Blossburg V.I.B.E. worked to secure funding and worked with a local sign company to replace an existing Welcome sign and event board that has stood in that location for around 50+ years with a newer version, fresh imagery, and an more accessible letter board. The sign continues to greet visitors over the Green Bridge and keep them informed of import events.
Even more Blossburg V.I.B.E. Projects
V.I.B.E. has done a tremendous amount of projects over the years. Here’s a few more notable projects.
- Shop SmallTown / SmallTown Christmas
- News & Views Column
- Island Park Skate Park Improvements & Basketball Court Re-sealing
- Blossburg Visioning Sessions
- Business Directory/Placemats
- Calendar of Events
- Electronics Recycling
- Environmental Fair