With new restaurants, businesses, cultural venues, and second-story living spaces, downtown Mount Vernon is in a state of renaissance.
Buchwald Plaza, on the corner of South Main and West Gambier streets, has been re-imagined into South Main Plaza, a space that brings new energy and increased vitality into the neighborhood, including a whimsical water feature focal point. Inspired by world-renowned landscape architect Claude Cormier’s fountain in Toronto’s Berczy Park, South Main Plaza’s fountain includes painted cast aluminum sculptures of 18 dogs, one cat, two pairs of birds, a pony, an apple, and the coveted golden dog bone. Mount Vernon Nazarene University, a key partner in visualizing the possibilities in Mount Vernon’s historic downtown, brought the South Main Plaza concept to reality in 2020 through a grant from The Ariel Foundation. To learn more about supporting the endowment at Knox County Foundation for the ongoing care of South Main Plaza, visit www.knoxcf.org. Click the “Donate” button at the top of the homepage and select “MVNU South Main Plaza Fund” from the menu.
In 2019, a series of major technical upgrades was made to Knox County Memorial Building’s theater through grant funding from The Ariel Foundation. Included was state-of-the-art audio visual and lighting equipment, plus a stage storage addition. This 1926 community asset houses a theater with seating for nearly a thousand, a proscenium stage with an orchestra pit, and a large projection screen. Area residents and visitors alike will enjoy high-quality entertainment in Mount Vernon’s historic district for many more years to come.
The rebrand launch in 2020 with the new name of Mount Vernon Music & Arts Festival repositioned this local festival as being more inclusive–from volunteers, committees, and board members to event attendees and featured arts, entertainment, and performers.
The annual festival celebrates the arts, offering experiences that entertain, educate, and inspire, uniting artists and audiences.
Additional marketing support from this grant furthers public reach into neighboring cities and communities as well as targeting personal interests. From live stage entertainment to an artisan handcrafted wood challenge, from a car and motorcycle cruise-in to a KidFest, this grant provides resources to build long lasting infrastructure.
Support toward launching engagement and public programs at its new downtown Mount Vernon location at 12 E. Gambier Street began in 2023. The Annex is a collaborative programmatic space is designed to strengthen community connections through engagement with the visual arts and to facilitate and build lasting relationships with and among Knox County residents, local organizations, Kenyon community members, volunteers, The Gund staff, and other constituents and stakeholders. Grant support assists with developing, organizing, implementing, and managing programming, as well as overseeing The Annex during operating hours. Strengthening leadership, vision, strategy, relationship-building, and effectiveness in advancing the educational mission of the gallery is The Gund’s commitment to broaden its reach well beyond the Kenyon campus.
The Annex offers opportunities for visitors to discuss how art can raise awareness and uncover common ground regarding complex, often divisive societal issues that affect us all. It was envisioned as a flexible space where local residents, including those at Kenyon, can learn from and with one another.
The Mount Vernon Arts Consortium, a non-profit supporting organization of the Knox County Foundation, amplifies arts and entertainment in Mount Vernon to enrich the community, strengthen the economy, and cultivate meaningful relationships. It provides opportunities for residents and guests to enjoy revitalized historic venues through unique cultural experiences. Benefiting from the Arts Consortium are three pillar venues: Knox County Memorial Building and Theater, Ariel-Foundation Park’s Schnormeier Event Center and other rental spaces within the park, and the Woodward Opera House and its facilities. Additional services are provided to local arts partnering organizations under the “Mount Vernon Presents” banner, including the Community Concert Association, MTVarts, Experience Mount Vernon, the Kokosing Valley Arts Alliance, and the Mount Vernon Music & Arts Festival. The Mount Vernon Presents partners coordinate marketing, shared media, earned media, and strategy to maximize resources.