Just under half an hour from Austin sits a bustling downtown area known as the city of Bastrop. Expanding its presence in the Central Texas area is the Bastrop Main Street Program.

The program was established in 2007 and is a part of the larger nonprofit Main Street America, which was founded in the ‘80s. It is designed to revitalize downtowns that had previously been neglected.

Downtown Bastrop consists of a 62-block radius that extends far past what is considered a usual downtown area. The motto of the Bastrop Main Street Program is Eat, Play, Sip and Shop, encompassing all the area has to offer to residents and visitors.

“Downtown is not just one thing, or just one street,” manager Michaela Joyce said. “You can come downtown for anything and everything. You can live downtown. You can eat downtown. You can play with the river access right there and so much more. With our district being pretty big, we’ve truly got so many things to do and explore.”

Since being founded in 2007, the program has been able to decrease the amount of vacancies in the downtown area. This has led to a more vibrant Main Street that functions as a meeting place and unique destination.

An essential part of the Bastrop Main Street Program is the robust volunteer program behind it. There are three committees that residents can apply for that all help in different ways across the program.

The committees:

• Promotion Committee: focuses on event planning and marketing
• Economic Vitality Committee: focuses on business support, recruitment and retention
• Design Committee: focuses on the outdoor beautification of downtown

These committees all work together to create a thriving downtown. One isn’t more important than the other; each of them pulls their weight in order to have a successful program. To learn more or to sign up for a committee, visit their website.

Joyce is on a mission to raise the community’s awareness about the program and truly start showcasing what Downtown Bastrop has to offer. Recently, two Bastrop Main Street businesses were awarded the Backing Small Businesses grant, which was done in partnership with American Express and Main Street America. The two businesses, Chubbys Barbershop and Store House Market & Eatery, were both awarded $10,000 to help promote their businesses. This was a national grant opportunity that only 500 were selected for.

Downtown Bastrop is always ready for more businesses and more visitors to help keep the area thriving and growing.

“Austin has just grown so much, which is great, but we are able to kind of be a unique day-trip destination,” Joyce said. “Bastrop’s growing substantially and really quickly, but I think what's really cool about our exciting growth is we are still really stuck to our uniqueness. We haven't lost our small-town feel. As our population is growing, we still very much feel like a small, tight-knit community that has open arms to tourism.”

Want to learn more about the city of Bastrop and its downtown area? Visit the website or stop by the city.

The above story was produced by Community Impact's Senior Multi Platform Journalist Sierra Rozen with information solely provided by the local business as part of its "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.