SYKESVILLE, Md. — A Carroll County town has earned recognition as one of eight semi-finalists for a prestigious national award celebrating America's best main streets.
The Downtown Sykesville Connection was selected as a semi-finalist for the "Great American Main Street" award by the National Main Street America organization. The award recognizes main street programs that innovate and transform while preserving their history.
"It's a very deep and extensive selection process, and we made the cut," said Julie Della-Maria, executive director of the Downtown Sykesville Connection.
The organization credits a human-centric approach in improving downtown buildings and adding ADA safety features as key factors in their selection.
"We are proud, we take this as a validation, and as a starting point for a new chapter for our organization," Della-Maria said.
Small businesses form the backbone of Sykesville's Main Street. Dave Neith, who has lived in Sykesville since second grade and attended Liberty High School, owns the Unwined candle shop on Main Street. His children now attend the same schools he did.
"It makes me feel like it's well deserved. It makes me feel like all of our work has paid off, and it's awesome," Neith said.
Jenn Banks moved to Sykesville in 2016 and opened Tidal Salt on Main in 2021. Her store features work from dozens of local artists.
"The people down here, not just the board members, work really hard to make sure the town is well known. We have a lot of really large events for such a small town, and I think it drives a lot of business, and a lot of people to come down here," Banks said.
Sykesville is one of the smaller main streets competing for the award, spanning coast to coast from Oregon to Tennessee.
"We have so much to offer. To me we can be an inspiration for a smaller Main Street that they can do it, too," Meghan Manas, the board president of the Downtown Sykesville Connection, told WMAR-2 News.
The town will learn whether it earned the award next April in Tulsa, where three downtowns will receive the final recognition.
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