Current:Home > InvestVermont’s flood-damaged capital is slowly rebuilding. And it’s asking tourists and residents to help -VitalWealth Strategies
Vermont’s flood-damaged capital is slowly rebuilding. And it’s asking tourists and residents to help
View
Date:2025-04-18 09:30:15
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Nearly three months after severe flooding inundated Vermont’s capital city, Montpelier businesses launched an event Friday to celebrate how much they’ve rebuilt — and remind the public not to forget them as they struggle to make a complete comeback.
The small city of about 8,000 is celebrating its ongoing recovery with food trucks, music and street performers in hopes of drawing visitors downtown and giving shops a chance to sell their merchandise in sidewalk sales.
“It’s really a way to acknowledge our progress,” said Katie Trautz, executive director of Montpelier Alive, a group that holds events and promotes city businesses. “It’s a symbolic kind of reopening celebration, like we’re turning a page here. .... Businesses are reopening every week.”
Rain will likely fall at times during the two-day event, although Trautz said a weather forecaster has assured organizers that heavy rains will likely be west of the city.
Trautz said at least 125 Montpelier businesses were damaged in the July flooding that filled basements and lower floors of businesses with water and obscured vehicles and all but the tops of parking meters downtown. Some resident canoed and kayaked along main streets, while others slogged through the waist-high water to survey the scene.
Since then, 15 to 20 businesses have reopened and 10 have officially closed, Trautz said. She estimates that 80% will reopen “but it will take a long time.”
“What we’re trying to do is also give businesses an opportunity to sell their merchandise and be recognized and keep the attention on Montpelier because this is not over,” Trautz said. She also noted that the fall, a popular time for tourists who flock to the state to see colorful foliage, is when businesses traditionally make the money that gets them through the end of the year.
The celebration includes an art walk on Friday evening, the farmer’s market on Saturday morning, and the Taste of Montpelier Food Festival in the afternoon with 20 food trucks offering fare from around Vermont. A singing group will hold a benefit for Montpelier flood relief on the Statehouse lawn on Saturday afternoon and the Kellogg Hubbard Library will celebrate its own grand reopening with crafts, snacks, and the finale of its fundraising auction. A West African drumming event takes place in front of City Hall at 6 p.m. followed by a play performed at Lost Nation Theater.
Solonge Breceduong, visiting from Montreal, said Friday that she was initially surprised to see so many businesses closed, but then remembered the flood.
“I think that people here are very resilient. ... You can see the hope on their face, so I really like Vermont for that,” she said.
Kelly Tackett, owner of the children’s clothing shop Minikin, decided just last weekend that she would reopen.
“It was a rollercoaster of ups and downs of what to do,” Tackett said Friday, adding that it took her two months to figure out the right way to submit a loan application to the Small Business Administration. “Without any assistance, I didn’t think there was any way I could pull this off starting from scratch again.”
Trautz said many more businesses expect to open in the next couple of weeks. And in the next few months, she said, “I think downtown Montpelier will look really different than it does now.”
veryGood! (28568)
Related
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- Bill Clinton and other dignitaries gather to remember Bill Richardson during funeral Mass
- Governor appoints central Nebraska lawmaker to fill vacant state treasurer post
- Environmental groups urge regulators to shut down California reactor over safety, testing concerns
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- Secret records: Government says Marine’s adoption of Afghan orphan seen as abduction, must be undone
- Planned Parenthood Wisconsin resumes abortion procedures after new court ruling
- Repurposing dead spiders, counting cadaver nose hairs win Ig Nobels for comical scientific feats
- Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
- Buffalo Bills reporter apologizes after hot mic catches her talking about Stefon Diggs
Ranking
- Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
- Justin Jefferson can’t hold on, Vikings’ 4 fumbles prove costly in sloppy loss to Eagles
- How hard will Hurricane Lee hit New England? The cold North Atlantic may decide that
- Iraq steps up repatriations from Islamic State camp in Syria, hoping to reduce militant threats
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- Fossils reveal gnarly-looking predators who roamed Earth long before dinosaurs
- Imagine making shadowy data brokers erase your personal info. Californians may soon live the dream
- Hunter Biden's indictment stopped at gun charges. But more may be coming
Recommendation
Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
Escaped killer Danelo Cavalcante planned to go to Canada, says searchers almost stepped on him multiple times
Inside Ukraine's efforts to bring an 'army of drones' to war against Russia
Hurricane Lee to strike weather-worn New England after heavy rain, flooding and tornadoes
Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
Protective moose with calf tramples hiker in Colorado
Anitta Shares She Had a Cancer Scare Amid Months-Long Hospitalization
Are Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Dating? His Brother Jason Kelce Says...