Georgia Cities Week – Destination Downtown Second Street block party and Spring Cleanup. The Georgia Municipal Association is a nonprofit conglomerate that was created to go to bat for cities in Georgia. As of this date, 521 townships are members of the Georgia Municipal Association, which provides a plethora of services to help its members make their cities prosper.

The Georgia Municipal Association, also referred to as GMA, assists governments in Georgia by training their authority figures, helping the municipalities generate revenue, creating aid for their workers and informing all branches of the legislature about the cities’ needs and developments. The GMA has been serving Georgia’s communities since 1933. One of the GMA’s programs is Georgia Cities Week, which takes place from April 19 to April 25.

During this event, member cities are charged with the duty to acknowledge their town’s developments and the people who initiated such projects. Accolades are also given to those who followed through to make these ventures come to life. Georgia Cities Week is also a time to take pride in your city by organizing clean-ups with participation from businesses, organizations and volunteers in the community.

This year’s theme for Georgia Cities Week is Destination Downtown. On April 23, Main Street Macon, the 567 Center for Renewal (a Knight Arts grantee), Macon League of Creative Interventionists (a Knight Arts grantee), Citizens for Public Art and Downtown businesses will host a block party on Second Street between Cherry and Poplar Streets. This designated area is known as the Second Street vision block, which was the first phase of construction for the Second Street Corridor project.

For several months, this part of Second Street transformed from a regular two-lane street to a more bike- and pedestrian-friendly, two-lane thoroughfare accented with benches, wider sidewalks and reverse-angle parking spaces. The Destination Downtown Second Street block party will unite artists, businesses and citizens to celebrate Downtown’s revitalization. On this day, citizens can sign up to tailgate inside the Second Street vision block area.

The best decorated vehicle will win a prize pack with coupons and discounts from Downtown businesses. You can obtain an online application to tailgate by clicking here. Of course, artists will dominate the scene with dance, film, music and visual art. This location will be Macon’s showcase during Georgia Cities Week 2015 because it is the latest progress to enhance Downtown. At the end of the week, Main Street Macon and the Keep Macon Bibb Beautiful Commission will close out Georgia Cities Week with a “Spring Cleaning” of Downtown’s alleyways, parks and streets on April 25. All volunteers are asked to meet at 9 a.m. in the Cherry Street Plaza.

Participants are also asked to bring gloves and water. The Main Street Macon Downtown cleanup will end at noon. This wrap-up for the Georgia Cities Week is a division of the 365 Macon Pick Up Campaign.

If you would like to be involved with the block party or cleanup, contact Steven Fulbright, the Main Street manager, at 478-803-2436 or [email protected].