Statewide Conference On Revitalization Coming To Wenatchee

The annual statewide RevitalizeWA Conference is coming to Wenatchee Wednesday through Friday. 

The gathering focuses on historic preservation and economic revitalization, and will feature 30 different seminars and workshops. 

Wenatchee Downtown Association Executive Director Linda Haglund says this year's conference will be much different than the last time Wenatchee played host city in 2014. 

"In 2014, the entire conference happened, pretty much in the convention center," said Haglund. "Well, those days have changed. These workshops and field sessions are literally happening all over. And so, there'll be lots of people walking through downtown, eating, shopping."  

Field sessions will take place at locations including Pybus Public Market, The Mercantile, Numerica Performing Arts Center, Wenatchee Convention Center and the Liberty Theatre. 

About 300 people have signed up for the conference so far, with on-site registration still available.  

The gathering is presented by the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation and the Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation.  

It was scheduled to return to Wenatchee in 2020 before it was canceled because of COVID-19 restrictions. 

The conference will feature presentations on what's happening in other downtowns in addition to the focus on Wenatchee. 

Jaebadiah Gardner, CEO of GardnerGlobal Inc., will present a opening address at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, with a focus on community ownership models and creating accessible, sustainable real estate projects that provide opportunities for individuals from their communities to participate in building wealth.  

The closing event at 11 a.m. Friday is a panel discussion on Building an Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Together. 

Conference registration is $250, with additional fees for individual field sessions. 

Haglund says there are some downtown additions that'll be on display in time for the conference. 

"The mural is just about done, so that was a goal I had for this conference that we're paying for," Haglund said. "And then we got to put our heroes' banners up two weeks early. So, we can also show those off and hopefully they will replicate that in their communities."  

Heroes' banners are typically displayed during November over the past several years as a way to recognize and honor military veterans with a connection to the Wenatchee Valley.  

The new mural is located between Café Mela and The Antique Mall of Wenatchee.