Village Faire Readies for Carlsbad's Christmas Tree!

We knew that it was to arrive between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon and, like clockwork, the freshly cut Noble Fir from Riverside County arrived on time!

They tugged, pulled and presto, the tree was on 12 legs, making its way to where it will stand through the Christmas and holiday season at the Village Faire Shopping Center.

After standing the tree upright, the crew clipped away the twine that held and protected the long branches that will soon be adorned with beautiful ornaments.

Robin Young, CVBA Executive Director, and others stand by to give an approving nod to the crew from Temecula that delivered the Village Christmas tree.

And, to see the crew in motion, just click on, below!

Photos provided by Kurt Burkhart

Holiday Events Now Underway In The Village!

Many storefronts and other businesses not just in the Village, but throughout Carlsbad, as well, have enthusiastically agreed to place this poster in their window or on premises for customers and window shoppers to see. Click on the image for a larger, more readable version. Come out and support these holiday events that officially kicked off, today!

Carlsbad Village Business Association & Merchants Bring Holiday Cheer To The Village

Thanks to the Carlsbad Village Business Association, the Village is starting to look at lot more like Christmas! It was great reading this morning's story in the North County Times about how businesses are lining up to have their windows painted by artists, Alli Thoeni. I walked the Village late this afternoon to get a first-hand inspection of each and every painted window. They're each different, and very creative. Can't wait to see which window wins 'The People's Choice!'

Special thanks to the Carlsbad Village Business Association for working hard to bring fun into the Village this holiday season!

Photo credit: Jamie Scott Lytle, Staff Photographer, North County Times

Visitor's Center Gets Holiday Scrub Down

As Village businesses get dressed up for the holidays, the Executive Director for the Carlsbad Convention & Visitors Bureau, Kurt Burkhart, was caught washing down - top to bottom - the Historic Santa Fe Train Depot this afternoon. Word has it that its the first real bath for this building this century! The building was cleaned in preparation for some window painting, garlan and lights that will adorn our Visitor's Center.

Photo credit: Robin Young, Executive Director, Carlsbad Village Business Association

Mayor, Council Support Suggested Changes to Development Standards for the Village

After years of study, long debate and a series of public hearings before the Carlsbad City Council, Mayor Lewis and Council Members Ann Kulchin and Julie Nygaard last night agreed to support a slightly modified version of the proposed new development standards, while keeping an eye on maintaining the ambience of our Village and, at the same time, allowing for responsible and managed development.

For more on this, coverage is provided in both the San Diego Union-Tribune and the North County Times.

Thank you, Mayor Lewis, Mayor Pro Tem Kulchin and Councilwoman Nygaard for your leadership and support on this very important issue!

Carlsbad VIP Board Holds Inaugural Meeting!

Its been more than 6 months in the making and, this afternoon, the newly installed board of directors of the Carlsbad Village Improvement Partnership kicked off its first meeting in the Village. Today's agenda was light, which gave directors the opportunity to introduce themselves to board colleagues and to set future meeting dates. The board deferred on the election of officers until their next meeting on November 13.

Future meetings of the Carlsbad VIP board of directors will be held on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Until the board secures funding that will allow the Carlsbad VIP to operate under its own roof, meetings will continue to be held in the City Housing & Redevelopment Agency conference room, located at 2965 Roosevelt Street in the Village.

Congratulations, guys!

Photo: Carlsbad Village Improvement Partnership board of directors, left-to-right, Al Wanamaker, Frank Hutchins, Robin Young, Ted Owen, Debbie Fountain, Craig Kirk, Julie Baker, Kurt Burkhart, Laura Kurner, Lance Schulte (not pictured, Mary Bressi)

Carlsbad VIP Announces First Board of Directors

The Carlsbad Village Improvement Partnership has appointed its first Board of Directors. We are pleased to announce the following individuals who will serve on the Board:

- LAURA KURNER, Representative for Arts/Culture

- JULIE BAKER, Carlsbad Resident

- FRANK HUTCHINS, Representative for Lenders/Investors

- ALAN WANAMAKER, Representative for a Village Service Business

- MARY BRESSI, Representative for a Village Retail Business

- CRAIG KIRK, General Member at Large

- KURT BURKHART, Representative for the Carlsbad Convention & Visitors Bureau

- TED OWEN, Representative for the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce

- ROBIN YOUNG, Representative for the Carlsbad Village Business Association

- DEBBIE FOUNTAIN, Representative for the City of Carlsbad

- LANCE SCHULTE, Representative for the North County Transit District

Stay tuned in for the latest on Carlsbad VIP activities and sub-committee start up dates.

Board of Directors Nomination Applications

The Carlsbad VIP is inviting nominations for its first Board of Directors. The Board will consist of nine members and will have representatives from the following categories: property owner/investor/lender/financial; resident; art/theatre/culture; services; Village retail/business owner; general at-large; Carlsbad Village Business Association; Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce;
and Carlsbad Convention and Visitors Bureau. Representatives from North County Transit District and the City of Carlsbad shall serve as non-voting ex-officio board members.

Nomination applications are due no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 14th.

Please access the following documents for further details:

http://courtney.enriquez.googlepages.com/CarlsbdVIPBoardAnnouncement.pdf

http://courtney.enriquez.googlepages.com/Boardinformationform_1.pdf

Curtain Call Countdown!

Carlsbad has been waiting patiently to have a first-class performing arts venue in the Village, and now we're only days away from that happening.

Keep your eyes peeled over the next week for this 1/2 page ad that will appear in four issues of the North County Times. Starting Friday (tomorrow), followed by Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday, readers will learn that its okay to shout, Bravo! Especially nice, the Thursday edition will carry this ad in all 9 papers published by the North County Times. That's some 30,000 home subscriptions throughout the region.

The wait is nearly over ...

The Ball Is Now Rolling Down State, Grand and Elsewhere!

The Carlsbad Village Improvement Partnership (VIP) met last week and immediately dove into enthusiastic discussion on some very exciting programs that are slated to get underway in the Village over the next several months.

Jodie Dickson, owner of the Poached Pear, has taken the lead in creating, "First Fridays of Summer," starting in July and running through September. We'll soon hear more from Jodie about this very new and extremely exciting summer evening program. This could very well be the beginning of an annual seasonal event; go, Jodie!

Introducing a fresh look to banners in the Village caught the excitement of everyone and preliminary work is now underway to see what other cities have rolled out, especially in the neighboring communities of Oceanside and Encinitas. Lamppost banners could be a huge promotional opportunity for everyone. It's worked elsewhere, so why not in the Village?

And, all eyes are on the New Village Arts Theatre, as performers will bring to the theatre on June 23, Sam Shepard's, True West. We hope everyone will jump on board and support this exciting artful addition to the Village.

Previews on June 21 and 22 only $15!