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The Charles Town community gathered for their largest Walk About Nothing on June 4th. Photo courtesy of Charles Town Now.
Every year, I take two weeks off after Christmas to decompress and reset. Being in a role that includes “event organizer” means that life is structured around those events, and January is my quiet time. I settled in to take a breather from life in economic development and Main Street management and started reading “Your City is Sick” by Jeff Siegler. It was a great book, and it led me to ask myself, “What am I doing in the moment to foster connection in my community?” There are many plans, many “coming soons,” many proposals, many transitions in motion, but what am I doing right now to connect people to our downtown and to each other? This question sat heavy with me.
I’m a millennial and I love Seinfeld. It’s my go-to TV show when I want to think about nothing. It is, in fact, a show about nothing. However, this show about nothing became something, and it was pretty impactful to an entire generation. When someone quotes the show out in the wild, and you catch it, there is this sense of connection. It’s that connection that people are craving. It’s that connection that I need people to feel in Charles Town.
As I sat, watching this show about nothing, that question kept creeping back into my mind. What am I doing right now to foster connection? And then, the idea hit me. What if we organized a walk with no purpose? It would be on a consistent basis, at the same time, and start at the same place, but would have no goals, PowerPoints, plans, or notes. It would simply be a walk. I wrote this down in my notebook and called it “Walks About Nothing.” If a show about nothing can be successful, maybe a walk could too!
I sat on this idea for quite a few months. I finally decided to pitch it to my Seinfeld-loving friend, but when I had to over-explain what it meant, I thought maybe this won’t work. Maybe it needs a new name.
So, I sat on it for a bit longer, and pitched it to Councilwoman Andie Sugrue, and she said, “Absolutely, I love it. Just do it, I will help you.”
Nine people and two dogs attended the first Walk About Nothing in September 2024. Photo courtesy of Charles Town Now.
On September 4, 2024, we had our first walk. I was prepared to see no more than four people outside of City Hall when I walked out. To my surprise, there were nine people, and two dogs. Even better, of those nine people who showed up, I only knew three of them! I was so nervous, I couldn’t even tell you what I blabbered about as I welcomed them all to our first Walk About Nothing.
We walked, we talked, and they asked questions along the way. Then, five of them came back for the next walk, plus nine more. Then 20 came in October. On January 1, in 10-degree temperatures, nine people came, including two new people. We are almost a year in, and we just had our largest walk yet with 50 people.
While these walks are promoted as being about nothing, they are actually about something very important. They are about connection, they are about community, and they are about creating a positive environment for our downtown.
Sandy and Andy Cavalier have been to most of the walks. At one walk, they spoke to City Councilman Hynes to express concern over the lack of a crosswalk in their neighborhood. Councilman Hynes sent an email the very next day to City Hall to ask if our public works staff could paint a crosswalk, and within a week they had a new crosswalk.
From Left to Right: Andy and Sandy Cavalier, Ann Paonessa, Charles Town Now President, Emily Galleher, and Andie Sugrue, Charles Town City Councilwoman. Photo courtesy of Charles Town Now.
Emily and Steve Galleher moved to Charles Town just seven months prior to the first walk. Now, 22 walks in, Emily and Steve have not missed a walk. Their participation has sparked a passion for Main Street, and Emily is the new volunteer coordinator for Charles Town Now. “My husband and I have been in Charles Town for over a year now,” said Emily. “We had both agreed that wherever we lived, we were going to be active in our community, so when I saw the “Walks About Nothing” event pop up on Facebook, I told him we were going, that it would be a good chance to meet some new people. That Wednesday, we walked with our dog from our house to City Hall and everything changed”. With repeated conversation, exploration, and connection, Emily formed friendships, learned how she could support her community, and developed a deeper love for her new home.
“Walks About Nothing was the catalyst for everything positive that has happened for my husband and me since moving to Charles Town, and I don’t know what my life would be like without it and the great people we’ve met and friends we’ve made.”
Walks About Nothing is something. It has been one of the most impactful initiatives in our city in regard to fostering connections to not only each other, but our downtown Main Street district. When people walk with us, they connect with each other and with the place around them. I hope that other Main Street directors and city officials will implement similar walks and never shy away from an idea, no matter how silly it may sound.
Downtown Decorations, a Main Street America Allied Member, is this quarter’s Main Spotlight advertiser. For more information about what they do to support Main Street organizations, click here.
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