Downtown SLO awarded honors to over two-dozen Downtown businesses at its 29th Annual Beautification Awards Social held on April 11. The awards are given to those businesses that made physical or aesthetic improvements toward keeping Downtown beautiful in the 2017 calendar year.
Downtown SLO’s Cultural Arts Committee oversaw the process from selecting the candidates to presenting the awards in categories including New Construction, Tenant Improvements, Merchandising, Maintenance, and several special awards. Beautification Awards Committee chair Marshall Ochylski emceed the ceremony and presented a slide show while announcing the winners, along with help from Mayor Heidi Harmon who handed out the Mayor’s Award.
Beautification Award Committee members Landy Fike, Ryan Brockett, Bruce Fraser, Emma Saperstein, Aracelli Astorga, Dominic Tartaglia and Brent Vanderhoof assisted Ochylski in jurying the candidates and categorizing the awards. Top honors include the prestigious Mayor’s Award, this year given to San Luis Obispo City–County Library, the Chairperson’s Award given to MO’s Smokehouse BBQ, and the Executive Director’s Award given to Old San Luis BBQ Co.
The social took place at SLO HotHouse and was made possible in part by donors including: Chamisal Vineyards, Libertine Brewing Company, Mint + Craft, Luna Red, Poké Bar SLO, Old San Luis BBQ Co., and Cowboy Cookie N’ Grub.
Top award winners were also presented with physical awards created by the Cal Poly Alpha Rho Chi professional architecture fraternity, Daedalus Chapter. Students involved were architecture students Xian Chris Li, Olivia DelBono, Tiffany Chang, and Jason Gong. Awards were created using a synthesis of reclaimed plywood and acrylic materials with laser cutting technology, making for a minimal but elegant design.
A full list of award winners can be viewed at www.DowntownSLO.com. For more information, contact [email protected] or (805) 541-0286 ext. 14.
About Downtown SLO: Downtown SLO is a 501 (c)(6) nonprofit founded in 1975 whose mission is to foster an economically vibrant Downtown. Downtown SLO serves the community by working on initiatives like parking and beautification efforts, coordinating special events and the weekly Farmers’ Market, supporting economic activities and examining Downtown issues.