Newsroom
Pennsylvania Downtown Center's 21st Annual Conference Kicks Off This Weekend in Downtown Lancaster
Press Release
June 11, 2010
HARRISBURG, Pa. – Pennsylvania Downtown Center’s (PDC) annual statewide conference will take place
in downtown Lancaster, June 13 through 16, 2010. This year’s conference theme, the Future of the Past:
New Economic Realities for Traditional Revitalization, has attracted the interest of more than 400
registrants from communities across the commonwealth. Conference attendees include Main Street
and Elm Street managers, representatives of local and regional governments, community planners,
engineering and landscape architecture firms and assorted industryspecific vendors.
“Having our conference located in the heart of downtown Lancaster, at the newlycompleted
Convention Center, presents us with a distinctive opportunity to highlight the inspiring progress being
made in downtown Lancaster for attendees across Pennsylvania, many of whom have never previously
visited the city,” said Bill Fontana, PDC’s executive director.
Republican gubernatorial candidate, Attorney General Tom Corbett will address conference
attendees the morning of Tuesday, June 15, and a representative of Democratic gubernatorial candidate
Dan Onorato will speak to attendees the morning of June 16. Sunday evening, a progressive dinner
hosted by the local host conference committee will be offered as a welcome event for attendees.
Featured restaurants will include Annie Bailey’s, the Belvedere Inn and Isaac’s. Monday evening, PDC
will host an outdoor barbeque picnic for conference attendees at Musser Park in downtown Lancaster.
Throughout the conference, more than two dozen educational sessions will be presented at the
Lancaster County Convention Center, where an Exhibitor Expo featuring 40 vendors will be open to the
public. Educational sessions will be presented on a variety of topics, including longrange sustainability
and fundraising techniques specific to downtown and neighborhood revitalization, theme sessions on
sustainability and economic vitality, new tactics in downtown retail, brownfields remediation methods,
and leadership and volunteer recruitment.
A number of regionally and nationallyrecognized speakers will be included in the conference
itinerary, including Donovan Rypkema of PlaceEconomics, David Milder of DANTH, Inc. and J. D. Dunbar
of Penn State’s Rural Leadership (RULE) program. Walking tours of the James Street Improvement
District and Central Market will be offered, as will mobile workshops highlighting the region’s
Susquehanna River Towns, and the revitalization efforts of Lititz, Mount Joy, Manheim, Ephrata and
Elizabethtown.
The annual Townie Awards gala, a festive conference tradition, will take place on the evening of
June 15. The Townies, as the event is known, recognize Pennsylvania communities that have developed
and implemented outstanding programming and events contributing to PDC’s overall mission. Winners
will be publically announced immediately following the awards ceremony.
Founded in 1987, the mission of Pennsylvania Downtown Center is to advance the sense of
place, quality of life and economic vitality of Pennsylvania’s downtowns, traditional neighborhood
business districts and nearby residential areas. For additional information regarding PDC’s 2010
statewide conference, call (717) 2334675, ext. 114 or email.