Committee Driven & Committee Focused

Lorain Growth Corporation has been active in the growth and redevelopment of downtown Lorain since 1996. Lorain Growth's all-volunteer organization—including its president and executive board—has grown from under ten volunteers in the very beginning to well over 100 today. These volunteers collectively make up six promotional committees and have worked hard to bring over 250,000 visitors to Lorain through their various events since their beginning.

This year, the committees are extremely excited to resume full-steam ahead with all of theirevents, including a new one that is already cruising forward without a hitch.

Let's meet the committees!

Lorain Tourism Committee

The Lorain Growth Corp. Tourism Committee stands ready to support the city of Lorain and our beautiful waterfront. The Tourism Committee's primary purpose is to promote tourism as an economic stimulus to our city. In addition, the Tourism Committee is committed to keeping residents and visitors informed and up-to-date about what is happening around town.

The Tourism Committee accomplishes these goals by creating a list of all area events and activities and presenting them online and in print.

This group of dedicated volunteers is always looking for additional civic-minded members to add to their group. If you would like to submit an event or become a member of this great team, please visit loraintourism.wordpress.com or email events@loraingrowthcorp.org.

International Trees and Model Trains

photo courtesy of Lorain Growth Corp.

The Tourism Committee's marquee annual event is the International Trees and Model Train Display at Black River Landing's Transportation Center located at 421 Black River Lane. This free event begins in conjunction with Lorain Winterfest on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and is open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through Dec. 26.

The event brings together Christmas trees with decorations representing local organizations, countries from around the world, other favorite themes, and the love of model trains. Visitors will see 30 to 50 decorated Christmas trees and many types of operating model railroads. Their display even includes a model of one of Lorain's steel mills!

A dedicated group of volunteers begins setting up The International Trees and Model Trains display in early October, and they do not finish until the afternoon before the event. This endeavor needs additional volunteers every year, so if you are interested and would like to help, please email events@loraingrowthcorp.org.

BrewFest Waterfront District

Brewfest began in 2014 as a small festival on Broadway to bring visitors to downtown and promote the area as a viable arts and entertainment center. Brewfest continued for two additional years on Broadway and then moved to Black River Landing to accommodate the large number of visitors for this one-day event and then became known as Brewfest Waterfront District.

Since its beginning, visitors have come from all over to taste some of Ohio's finest craft beers and mingle with the various brewers and avid "BrewFesters." Visitors also get to experience live music and great food throughout the event.

This year marks the seventh anniversary and promises to be the best BrewFest ever!

Tickets in advance are $25.00 or $35.00 day-of with limited VIP tickets available for $65.00. Admission will provide each patron with 15 beer tickets to redeem for four-ounce samples. Designated driver tickets are also available for $6.00.

Please join us on August 14, 2021!

Visit brewfestwd.com for more information.

Lorain's Caboose

Honoring Lorain's Railroad Heritage

Organized under the Tourism Committee, the Caboose Committee formed after introducing the idea of displaying a piece of railroad equipment at Black River Landing to pay tribute to the city's rich rail history.

The Caboose Committee is a passionate and dedicated group comprised of railroad enthusiasts, community members, and former railroad employees—some of which even worked on this caboose when it was in service.

The crew is restoring Caboose C-3855 to preserve it as close to its original state as possible. When completed, Lorain's Caboose will serve as not only a destination for tourists and railfans but be used for civic and educational programs.

The Caboose Committee is having its annual fundraiser, Roads-Rails-N-Sales, on September 25 at Black River Landing. The event benefitting the restoration of C-3855 is a car, truck, and motorcycle show that also includes a flea market.

For more details on this event and to keep up-to-date on Lorain's Caboose's progress, please visit loraincaboose.org.

Lorain Winterfest

"A Hometown Celebration"

Lorain Winterfest is on Saturday, November 27. The festivities begin at 5 p.m. with a parade down Broadway to welcome Santa Claus. Then, everyone can enjoy live entertainment at Veteran's Park with the official lighting of the Christmas lights by Mayor Bradley, Christmas carols, and a fireworks extravaganza.

Children of all ages can enjoy ice sculptures on Broadway, window decorations at the downtown businesses, the balloon man, and visit Santa at the North Pole located at Black River Landing with his live reindeer display.

photo courtesy of Lorain Growth Corp.

Stop at the Lorain County Community College at 300 Broadway for story readings. The Lorain Public Library System will be there with crafts for children to do and take home. Then, visit the Spectrum Café for some snacks and drinks before exploring our downtown.

Take a walk along Broadway and visit all the new restaurants and shops with beautiful holiday displays. And be sure to come hungry! There is fantastic food to be tasted!

Don't forget to visit International Trees and Trains at Black River Landing for a spectacular display of all the decorated trees and operating model trains. Lorain's Caboose C-3855 will also be decorated in lights nearby.

photo by Jen Navarro

This year, Lorain Winterfest is planning to partner with American Legion Post 30 to help with the cleanup of Veteran's Park and hopefully add more decorations and displays to the park. We will announce a fundraiser for this later, and we are working on many new activities throughout the year, including a 5K run!

Donations, suggestions, and more volunteers are always welcome to help make this the best event ever!

Lorain Growth is excited to announce the addition of a new committee—and series of events!

Cruisin' Broadway

photo courtesy of Lorain Growth Corp.

Inspired by a memory of the past with stores and shops lining Broadway and a variety of cars cruising up and down the street, this committee brings an event that relives those days of yesteryear. Cars 'n Coffee happens on Saturday mornings (weather permitting) in front of Broadway Mary's at 939 Broadway. It begins at 8 a.m. and goes on until the last car leaves. And everyone is welcome!

Cars 'n Coffee is the first of several events planned by the group, and its focus is to have fun, create and strengthen relationships, and give back to the community.

If you have any questions about Cars 'n Coffee, please contact Steve Keppler at 440-653-6631 or Efrain Soto at 440-213-4613.

photo courtesy of Lorain Growth Corp.

The look and feel of our downtown entertainment district and waterfront now appear very different than they did when Lorain Growth Corp. first began. This team of dedicated individuals is proud to have been involved in the improvements visible and felt throughout the area today.

This new appearance seems to have ignited a renaissance of downtown Lorain, and there are many fun-filled years ahead.

Lorain Growth Corp. will continue using its resources to positively impact and support the residents, current and new businesses, tourists, and visitors of all sides of Lorain, and they invite everyone to join them.

For more information, please visit loraingrowth.org.

Lorain Growth Corporation