LaGrange closes out inaugural Final Fridays summer series

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Main Street LaGrange, a local organization of volunteer community members, last week hosted the last iteration of its inaugural Final Fridays monthly event. Aimed at revitalizing downtown LaGrange and attracting businesses to fill vacant storefronts, the event has been met with enthusiasm and support from the community.

“Our mission and vision for LaGrange County is to have a vibrant and thriving downtown community,” Main Street LaGrange President Jenny Landez said. “We have some vacant storefront areas and we’re hoping that by having our Final Fridays, we bring some positive attention and interest to our community to fill those vacant storefronts and get some businesses in.”

Landez joined the three-year-old organization after attending the LaGrange Economic Development Council’s Leadership LaGrange program last year. After a flopped pie-making contest, the team went back to the drawing board, and Final Fridays was born.

“I am very passionate about making LaGrange successful,” she said. “We’ve had so many good community members with good intentions start organizations, but we haven’t always worked together. I decided to join and put my money where my mouth is.”

Kicking off in May, Final Fridays has drawn crowds in the hundreds to Detroit and Spring Streets, close to the county courthouse, creating a lively atmosphere in a town that’s usually quiet on a Friday night. 

“The turnout has been amazing, with 400-plus people attending each month. The community has been really great, very supportive,” Landez added. “They would like us to do it in August, September, and October, but it is a lot of work, and we are all full-time working people. We are considering extending the event next year but want to avoid conflicting with local football games.”

The event featuring various attractions, food trucks and musical entertainment also drives business for the local businesses. Fawn River Coffee, usually closes at 2 p.m., but stays open longer on Final Fridays to participate. Foltz Bakery and Fireside Craft Burgers & Brews also do the same.

Marion Wiggins and her husband, Greg, chief nurse anesthetist at Parkview LaGrange Hospital, moved to LaGrange from Fredericksburg, Texas, in 2018. Marion said she immediately felt at home in the northern Indiana town and got plugged in.

The couple bought the former Bloomfield Township schoolhouse on U.S. 20 in December 2020 and are renovating the space for event rentals. Marion, who dabbles in lavender and its derivatives, will open another business on Spring Street to sell her wares.

“We started last year with the farmers market doing mostly bundles and wreaths,” she said. “We listened to what different people wanted. They would say, ‘Do you have body lotion? Do you have culinary products?’ So we just expanded our line this year.”

Marion works with a local seamstress in Sturgis, Michigan, for her store’s neck wraps and eye masks. She also partners with a studio art professor at Hillsdale College in Michigan, Katherine Taylor, for watercolor note cards. “I’m trying to keep it local and involve my friends,” Marion added.

“It is wonderful seeing the community come out and just hang out,” Marion said. “This is a great place to live. People really genuinely care.”

Tattoo artist, Jasmine Camacho, 20, who has lived in LaGrange her whole life, spoke with IIB as she waited in line at the taco tent. She enjoys trying the different foods at the event.

“This is new because they never do anything in LaGrange,” Camacho said. “I’m here to spend time with my family.”

Main Street LaGrange plans to continue expanding community events and filling vacant storefronts with retail and restaurant businesses.

“For me, this type of thing fills my bucket. I love seeing good people doing good things for their community and succeeding,” Landez said. “We are building a brand and trust in the community, and hopefully, when we do fundraisers in the future, they will be very successful.”

Final Fridays was inspired by events on the first Friday of the month in other communities like South Bend. Landez and her team hoped to attract more people by fixing their own event for a day that would work for both residents and visitors.

“We want to bring retail and restaurant businesses into our community,” she emphasized. “We need retail. Many people, including myself, have to drive out of the community to get what we need. I’d much rather give my money back to the community.”

Come next year, the team plans to do a fundraiser to raise money for beautification of its downtown area.