New to CentreFest this year will be the 100.7 The River Music World! We are searching for Central Alberta solo artists and duos who want to showcase their craft at CentreFest on July 30 and 31. This is the perfect opportunity to share your talent with the 25 000 visitors to the CentreFest site. We require all people interested in performing to send a short demo for selection and scheduling purposes. The demo can be anything from a professionally recorded cd to a Youtube video. We encourage all musicians to apply, regardless of genre or intruments played, we are searching for a wide variety of musicians, and hope to have a great representation of the talented musicians of Central Alberta!

The Red Deer Express has released its annual “Best Of” awards, and the downtown has come out as a huge winner! The Downtown Business Association would like to give a big congratulations to the very deserving downtown winners!

Traffic heading eastbound on Ross Street was slowed slightly on the morning of June 29, as Central Alberta had its new signs installed.   Going down to one lane of traffic was necessary to have the new signs installed!

Born and raised in Red Deer, Stephanie Fung was an honour student throughout elementary and high school as well as a sports and music enthusiast. Last summer, Stephanie worked for the Downtown Business Association (DBA) as a Promotions Assistant. She is currently a student at UBC studying Marketing and International Business.

Central Alberta Theatre Society ( C.A.T.S.) is currently in need of volunteer board members to serve one and or two year terms. Previous board experience on Not for Profit service agencies would be considered an asset. A strong sense for business, problem solving and team building would be key attributes. The positions available are Vice President (2-yr term), VP Facilities, VP Training, Business Manager, and VP Promotions. The current President is continuing and so is our Secretary. There will be good continuity, support, and a reasonable learning curve for new board members. We have an experienced Executive Director who, with a small staff, manages our three facilities; those being the Memorial centre, C.A.T. studios and our newest location downtown, City Centre Stage.

For 363 days of the year, Ross Street and Gaetz Avenue function as roadways for vehicle traffic and parking. For two days, the four blocks where they converge are home to Central Alberta’s largest accessible, affordable, all-ages festival celebrating arts and culture. Transforming that blank asphalt canvas into CentreFest would not be possible without the support of volunteers. We cannot thank our volunteers enough.

Presenting CentreFest is a big job.  We have a variety of needs, so it doesn't matter what skills you have - we have a place for you!

Nominations are now open for two different forms of service awards for the Central Alberta community.   Downtown Red Deer is home to a number of locally owned and operated businesses that thrive in the areas of customer service.   Support your local downtown businesses by nominating them for one of these prestigious awards!

Following the announcement that Canada Post has locked out the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) as of June 15, 2011, The City of Red Deer has developed a plan to help direct businesses and residents on how to make payments for utility bills and property taxes. During the duration of the lockout. The City of Red Deer encourages residents to use any of these alternate payment options.

The Red Deer Downtown Business Association is pleased to announce that Evelyn Storm has joined the DBA as the new Executive Director.

Evelyn has a broad range of experience in leadership and strategic planning. Before joining the DBA, Evelyn spent four years as the Executive Director of Central Alberta Career Prep, a career development organization for young people. Her work in Red Deer has also included training and consulting in the public and private sectors and instructing in the Business and Commerce Program at Red Deer College.