What’s Up, Middlesboro? Welcome to February.

This month is all about LOVE LOCAL. Take some time to come downtown and show some love to our downtown businesses. It would be a perfect time to come down and shop for your Valentine. We have jewelry. We have flowers. We have custom items. We have antiques. We have candy. We have dining. We have gift certificates if you just don’t know what to get. Feb. 9 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. is our LOVE LOCAL special shopping night, so this is the perfect time for you to come downtown to shop.

Saturday at 1pm Middlesboro Main Street is excited to do a ribbon cutting for The Magnolia Blossom Design and Decor located at 2016 Cumberland Avenue. Owner Sarah Crawford let me know that she will have a few grand opening giveaways through out the day. Come out and help us welcome Magnolia Blossom to downtown.

You might have noticed that most of our available commercial spaces are filling up- which is very exciting. Mimi’s Sweet Treats will be opening mid-February at 123 Lothbury Ave. Matt and Melissa have created a shop that makes you feel like you have entered the game of Candy Land. They have vintage candies. They have fine chocolate and truffles. To be honest they pretty much have anything and everything to satisfy your sweet tooth. I will keep you posted on their grand opening. Another shop we should get to celebrate opening this month is Hometown Threads.

Owner, Riley Brock has worked closely with the building owners to create the perfect shop for a boutique. The exposed brick, scorched wood, and tin have created a rustic chic look that will be perfect for Riley’s boutique.

I am very excited to share with you about a new event that Middlesboro Main Street (Bell County) will be a part of this year – Cumberland Gap Regional Tourism Association Entertainer of the Year contest. Ten different counties in the Cumberland Gap Region will be holding their own talent contest. The winners from each contest will compete Oct. 12-14 at the Cumberland Gap Regional Talent Competition Championship at the Union County Opry. The Entertainer of the Year will receive the title, $1,000, plus: 1- the winner will open for a major act in 2024 season at The Union County Opry; 2- guest appearance on TV and Radio; 3- (this is BIG!!) a pre-show performance at the Lincoln Theater in Marion, Virginia at a taping of “Song of the Mountains” which airs on 190 PBS stations across America with the potential to reach 142 million viewers a year.

This show has launched the careers of many artists. Carl Nichols, founder and director of Cumberland Gap Regional Tourism Association has told me that he is working on a couple more prizes that have the potential to change the life/lives of the person(s) winning the Entertainer of the Year. There are three different categories: vocalists, groups, and instrumentalists. If you fit into any of these categories then you need to make sure to register for this event. Applications for the event will be available at www.downtownmiddlesboro.com starting on February 6. Our contest will be held on June 1-3. The location for our talent show will be announced soon. We will make sure there is plenty of room for contestants to have all their fans in the audience when they perform. If you have any questions about this event, please email me at downtownmiddlesboro@gmail.com. How exciting if the Entertainer of the Year is from here in Bell County.

The newly revised SHOP LOCAL card will be available February 20th. We have added a few new businesses to the card, so make sure that you get the new one.

The Middlesboro Main Street Board is hard at work to help create a downtown where locals and visitors want to come downtown to live, work, sleep, shop, and play. I know you might not always see things happening, but be confident that they are planning and working hard on several amazing projects. We would love for you to join the Main Street team and help us with these projects (and events). If you think you might want to roll up your shelves and join in the work, just email me at downtownmiddlesboro@gmail.com.

I hope to see you downtown soon.