A new image is coming for Downtown Apopka 

Main Street Apopka (MSA) is rebuilding.

After Executive Director, Caitlin Kasheta, attended a two-day, Main Street America training session hosted in Tallahassee by Florida Main Street, she returned with an enlightened perspective and new strategies for the program to adopt. When initially presented to Apopka City Council in November 2023, MSA was an event-driven program, and though events temporarily stir the economy and are exciting and fun, their fleeting uproar does not lead to sustainable community transformation. The newly adopted work plan now focuses on strengthening existing downtown businesses, enhancing residents’ safety, and rebuilding a sense of place, pride, and wonder amongst community members. This focus has also led to a refined Downtown district map, magnifying the downtown business area. 

With this new transformation strategy, Kasheta and MSA’s Executive Board of Directors set out to build an Advisory Board and four committees: Design, Promotion, Economic Vitality, and Organization committees. They have quickly grown and become the cornerstones of the program, representing a wide range of professional careers, life experiences, skills, and knowledge. This team of Apopkans, with a roster of 30, have volunteered to serve one two-year term and provide insight, resources, and strongly rooted personal values to help establish and enhance the program. 

As MSA continues to lay its foundation, planning meetings, workshops, clean-ups, placemaking activities, and promotional events, one goal has been set above the rest - To change the image of Downtown Apopka. While the “bones” of downtown are suitable and ripe for high-quality change, its reputation and atmosphere leave much to be desired. To revolutionize this image, MSA launched a Downtown Art Competition and developed “Art On Main Street.”  

In February, MSA called for local artists to submit original works of art to the competition, depicting an artistic take on the whimsical theme, “The Citrus Chapel; A Peacock’s Tale By The River Bank.” The art needed to be a visual celebration of Apopka’s natural beauty and resources existing in partnership with the human influences of downtown businesses. The deadline to submit was March 2nd and four finalists were chosen. The community is now asked to go online and vote on their favorite piece and at the end of the voting period, the piece with the most votes wins and is elected by MSA as the new image for Downtown Apopka. This image will then be translated into logos, murals, and other promotional materials and these translations will further be proposed to the city for adoption as the official Downtown Apopka image, chosen by Apopkans FOR Apopkans.  

All four pieces (as shown in the above four photos) are available for live viewing, March 9 - April 5, at Three Odd Guys Brewing, 48 E. 5th St. To vote, go to www.mainstreetapopka.com/art. 

The winner will be announced during “Art On Main Street,” a pop-up art gallery on April 6th from 4:00 pm-7:00 pm located at the Main Street Courtyard behind Central Florida Tang Soo Do Karate Studio, 72 E. Main St. The gallery will feature the four finalists with their artwork, other local artists, live music, beer & wine, and an interactive community art-piece, fun for the whole family! Sponsorships are available for this event - email mainstreetapopka@gmail.com to request more information on becoming a sponsor.