GLADSTONE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Throughout Michigan, the fourth Saturday in September is recognized as Downtown Day. On September 26, the City of Gladstone will hold its third annual event for the occasion.
Gladstone celebrates Downtown Day with a large street fair, hosted by the DDA. This year’s event will feature more than 70 vendors.
“We welcome everybody to come down and just experience Downtown Gladstone and what we have to offer,” said Gladstone Downtown Ambassador Samantha Gaudino. “Experience the businesses that we have, the growing music scene that we’ve been seeing, the very successful Farmers Market. It’s really impactful for the business owners to just have a lively atmosphere happening outside of their doors.”
The event will also include food trucks and family-friendly attractions, like face painting and a bounce house. While the majority of the activity will take place on Delta Avenue, businesses in the surrounding area will also be participating.
“They’ll have sidewalk sales, discounts, deals, and just a unique experience within the downtown,” Gaudion said.
In just a short time, Downtown Day and other DDA events have proven to be effective ways of introducing new businesses to the public.
“We started at the Gladstone Farmers Market last year and then worked our way up at the end of the season into our storefront,” said Lavender Co owner Whitney Comps.
Lavender Co opened its doors at the Rialto Center about a month before the 2025 Downtown Day.
“Downtown Day gave us a great opportunity to have customers find us and try out our products,” Comps said. “Every time we have an event in Gladstone, it seems like I hear, ‘We didn’t even know you were here! We didn’t even know you were here!’ All of these festivals give us an opportunity to have even more people show up.”
According to Comps, Downtown Day has led to significant growth for the business.
“Because of all the local support, we were able to move from a shelf at Super Bloom to the Farmers Market to our rental location in the Rialto,” she said. “Now, we’re purchasing a building in the downtown.”
She says it has also cultivated a spirit of collaboration with her fellow business owners.
“We all want to see each other succeed, and it’s been great having each other’s back in working out ways to work together to make it better for the community,” Comps said.
The DDA and Gladstone business owners hope patrons will mark their calendars for the 2026 Gladstone Downtown Day, an event that paves the way for bigger and better things for those involved.
“There’s something so charming about Downtown Gladstone that there’s new businesses moving in, but it still has that small-town feel where everybody kind of knows your name, and you know the businesses you’re supporting,” said Comps. “You know the people, you know the owners.”
“Our downtown is the heart of our community,” Gaudino said. “Having a celebration like this just brings out all the people together and really supports the mission of the DDA. Downtown Day really offers businesses and organizations an opportunity to be part of something bigger and impactful.”
Gladstone’s Downtown Day celebration will take place from noon to 4 p.m. To see the full list of participating businesses and organizations, visit gladstonemi.gov.
