About the Salida Creative District
The Salida Creative District is a state designation administered by the City of Salida’s Arts and Culture Department. The Creative District designation certifies our community as contributing to our state’s economy through creativity, culture, and the arts. This designation also creates opportunities for funding through state-sponsored programs for our creative sector. Our mission is to promote, support, and expand existing creative industries with the purpose of driving economic growth and enhancing the quality of life. The Salida Creative District was the first Creative District established in the state of Colorado.
Strategic Plan
On October 1, 2013 Salida City Council adopted the 2013 Creative District Strategic Plan and logo via a non-binding resolution.
Salida’s distinct character is enhanced by the Downtown Historic District, consisting of 111 buildings. It is one of the largest in Colorado and was registered as a National Historic District in 1984. The many turn-of-the-20th-century buildings add to the beautiful and unique natural surroundings.
On March 30, 2012, it was announced that the City of Salida’s historic downtown was selected as one of only two inaugural “Certified Creative Districts” in Colorado by Colorado Creative Industries, or CCI, a division of the State’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (there are now 7 Certified Creative Districts in the state: http://www.coloradocreativeindustries.org/communities/creative-district-certification). The Salida Creative District was formed to support the ongoing economic growth in Salida and to create a climate in which creatives and creative enterprises can prosper. While the Creative District was officially formed in late 2011, with application to CCI submitted in January 2012, Salida’s growth as an art and culture center has taken many years. Salida’s Creative District includes not only artists, but creative entrepreneurs of all types, including locally owned restaurants and designers.
A sampling of what Salida’s Creative District has to offer today:
- 25 Locally owned restaurants, bars, microbreweries and one distillery
- A film production studio
- 40 Locally owned retail stores, including three locally owned bicycle shops
- A locally owned boutique hotel
- 30 artists owned or run galleries
And this is only a sampling of the over 230 locally owned services, healing arts, non-profits and other businesses within the downtown Salida Creative District.
The Certified Creative District legislation awarded to Salida’s downtown has given the district a surge of energy and has helped to publicize the thriving creative community and businesses in Salida as well as bring regional, national and even international legitimacy and credibility to the creative people and businesses in Salida. As a community that relies heavily on tourism, we rely on the creative district to boost the economy and sales tax levels.
The Strategic Plan will serve as a guide for future planning and projects in the Creative District, and will be updated as planning for the Creative District evolves.
For more information on the Salida Creative District, to register yourself or creative business, or to see news and events visit: salidacreates.com
For more information on CCI’s programs visit: http://www.coloradocreativeindustries.org/