Hosting events and festivals, leading city cleanups, promoting local businesses and spearheading beautification and downtown revitalization projects, the Friends of Main Street Lumberton and Main Street Lumberton lead an important venture as local service to their City. Lumberton has been a Main Street City for 30 years, and the Friends of Main Street Lumberton and the people behind the organizations work hard to preserve the downtown’s charm and history.
“I think we’ve seen across the state, small towns are reviving and coming to life again and having more energy,” said Chairwoman Dencie Lambdin who has served on the Main Street Lumberton Advisory Committee since 2018. Lambdin has also been involved with volunteer work with the City of Lumberton for over 30 years. “We want Lumberton to be successful with revitalization and building the economic development we once had.”

Main Street Lumberton is a city council appointed committee and Friends of Main Street Lumberton is a nonprofit organization that works in conjunction with Main Street Lumberton. Both organizations endeavor to revitalize the downtown area of Lumberton to encourage economic growth and community wellness. With their headquarters located at the Lumber River United Way Office located at 301 N Water St. in downtown Lumberton, their office is a good place to start for those wanting to explore the area.

“We need to rebuild downtown because it’s one of the gems of Lumberton. We have this lovely Riverwalk that no one knows about directly behind our office,” said Margaret Crites, treasurer for the Friends of Main Street Lumberton. “I feel like people think there isn’t good shopping here and there’s no
good restaurants here and that they have to leave to go somewhere else and it’d really be lovely if we could keep those people sticking around and hanging out and being excited about stuff.”

Now with big franchises on every street corner, groups like MSL and FMSL are invaluable to the preservation of the area’s small businesses and holding the line against the ever-encroaching reach of commercialization.

“I particularly have a passion for downtown. Our downtown slowly began to lose its essence about 25 years ago when Walmart came into town and some of the small businesses located downtown were no longer able to compete,” said Lambdin. “So, revitalization and economic development downtown is really important.”
Main Street Lumberton has been in operation for five years and Friends of Main Street Lumberton is around one and a half years old. In the past, there were several other organizations like Friends of Main Street Lumberton composed of local leaders, but due to members moving locations and retirements, the doors were closed early.
“We needed the nonprofit arm to be able to raise the level of sponsorship and giving to our Main Street projects,” said Lambdin. “That was very important for us to have an organization that could serve as the fiscal agent for contributions, sponsorships and grant finding.”

The organization follows a very specific criteria to fit the Main Street community standards. They are composed of an advisory group, a promotions group with a subcommittee for hosting events, design, and an economic vitality group. “It’s a four pronged approach to revitalization that really covers all aspects of your downtown area in a very concise and coordinated way,” shared Lambdin.

Friends of Main Street Lumberton and Main Street Lumberton are partnered with numerous other
local organizations to make their magic happen. The North Carolina Grassroots Arts Program provided funding, administered by the Robeson County Arts Council to provide a class via University of North Carolina Pembroke about the importance of public art for students, who created murals for Downtown Lumberton. The Business Bureau in Lumberton has extended funding and has been a strong partner of Friends of Main Street Lumberton and Main Street Lumberton. Other partners include the Robeson County Art Guild and the Robeson County Public Library.

Both groups host multiple events to further benefit and enhance the quality of downtown life, including their quarterly “clean sweeps’” done in partnership with First Baptist Church, the Boy Scouts and the local high school’s Future Farmers of America. They also partner with Robeson County Partnership for Children for their Smart Start Day.
This past summer, the Friends of Main Street Lumberton hosted their summer concert series, “Alive After Five.” Sponsored concerts and activities fill the summer nights, enhancing visitors’ summers and promoting local artists. “It’s our big fundraiser,” said Crites. “It’s really fun to see how many people come and dance and have a beer and hang out with our neighbors. This past June the weather was lovely, so we had really good attendance for this concert series and it’s so nice to see folks being invested in their hometown and realize we do have really nice things here.”
On Oct. 12, Friends of Main Street Lumberton is hosting an Art Stroll in downtown Lumberton. Partnering with the Robeson County Arts Council, there will be live entertainers and performers, wine and cheese, in addition to art and music in four locations downtown, to encourage visitors to take a stroll and explore more of their downtown area. Several businesses downtown will be extending their hours of service to accommodate the latenight strollers. The organization also built a pocket park in an abandoned lot, with a mural on one side, and internationally known sculptor Bob Doster making the arch and an artistic fence.

“I think people would be surprised at how far we have come in a very short while,” said Lambdin. “When people see results, then I think that draws more people to what you’re trying to accomplish. We have a great group of volunteers. It’s a small group but very diverse, reflective of our community and
people excited about saying yes and wanting to be a part of things, that excites me as much as anything, seeing the changes that we’re making and seeing how people are excited about that for our community.”