Thursday, January 11, 2024–11:50 a.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
Record-breaking attendance for Fiddlin’ Fest and more than $2 million in residential investment helped to make 2023 a banner year for downtown Rome.
Jennifer Bailey, administrative coordinator for the Rome Downtown Development Authority, resented the DDA’s annual report for 2023 and said that there were 11 residential rehabs. That’s in addition to 18 net new businesses and 57 net new jobs. There was also more than 7.6 million dollars in private investment in downtown Rome last year.
2023 also saw the largest Fiddin’ Fest to date with over 130 vendors and 25,900 visitors. The greatest increase in unique visitors, who are those that don’t normally visit downtown, was between noon and 4 p.m. In addition, October 14, which was the day of Fiddlin’ Fest, was the top-performing day on the Downtown Rome website.
“I believe Fiddlin’ Fest has grown into a pre-determined destination activity in the fall,” said Rome City Commissioner Randy Quick during Thursday’s DDA meeting. “It’s reached the level of a ‘must see’ regional attraction.”
Another big event last year was RoFlo Fest, which is the rebranded Arts Fest. Data showed 22,270 visitors on the day of the festival, which celebrates Rome and Floyd County’s arts and culture.
Meanwhile, the First Friday Concert Series also saw record-breaking attendance with an average of 18,000 visitors on First Fridays. The greatest increase in unique visitors was between 6 and 9 p.m. There were almost 5,000 attendees for the June concert alone, which featured the band Party Nation.
Other highlights of 2023 included the launch of the downtown photo booth which brought in an estimated $10,000 that was used for beautification efforts, as well as a parking study that included two months of free parking on Broad Street, and the last boarded-up windows on Broad Street were replaced.
The DDA also awarded over $33,000 in grants last year. They included grants for façade improvements and marketing. There is also an Impact Grant, which is intended to support organizations in the production of events that enhance quality of life and promote economic growth in Downtown Rome.
A big focus in 2024 will be an increased social media presence with the launch of the DTR Ambassador and Influencer programs. In 2023, the Downtown Rome Facebook page had 24,800 likes, which is a 9.7% increase. Downtown Rome also has 2,702 followers on TikTok and 10,881 followers on Instagram. The top performing reel on Instagram featured members of the Rome-Floyd County Fire Department showing off their dance moves for National Fire Prevention Week.
“It was so funny, and they did a great job,” Bailey said. “It helped us reach people in China, Hungary, Turkey, and people all around the world. It had almost 4,500 likes. Our top performing video on TikTok was about the reasons we love Rome so much.”
The Downtown Rome website saw a 39% increase in sessions and a 62% increase in page views in 2023. The top referrers to the website were Facebook, the City of Rome’s website, and exploregeorgia.com.
