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Envisioning a better downtown: Cool Spring Downtown District's Amplified District Reenvision Awards honor downtown visionaries

By Emily Ruth Perry, posted May 29, 2026 on BizFayetteville.com

Graphic courtesy of CSDD

The Cool Spring Downtown District is recognizing members of the downtown Fayetteville community with their Inaugural Amplified District Awards. While an award ceremony and town hall was intended for June 4, the Cool Spring Downtown District team has decided to postpone the event to allow for something larger and more notable to be planned for early 2027. The larger event will coincide with their 10th anniversary and will highlight the successes of the entire downtown district. 

In the meantime, Cool Spring Downtown District still intends to honor those awardees this summer with a virtual event; they will drop into the businesses and give out trophies and additional prizes. Award categories are small business innovator, event organizer, marketing megastar, arts innovator, volunteer of the year and unsung hero. Voting was open to the public for several weeks, and CSDD staff are now in the process of counting votes. Once the winners are determined, CSDD staff will reach out to them and then pop-in to their businesses and workspaces to present their awards. 

This virtual event will be presented on CSDD’s new website, which is expected to be launched in June. The CSDD team is excited about this virtual event, which will include live videos and a creative execution. 

“I think it really speaks to the ethos of Cool Springs as an arts and entertainment district,” Ashanti Bennett, CEO of the Cool Spring Downtown District, shared. “Why not get a little artsy and entertaining? Get out of our offices and go see some of our neighbors, and make this a living, breathing moment, rather than another event we are all going to. This gives us an opportunity to work with some of our media partners, and show off our new website, which we are really proud of!” 

This more dynamic and digital presentation of the awards, along with all of their other endeavors for the year, will be included in their annual report. 

In some ways the Amplified District Awards are a revival of CityView’s Downtown Visionaries awards ceremony, and in other respects it will be something brand new. 

“We [Cool Spring staff] were having a philosophical conversation,” Bennett explained. “And our mission and part of our strategic vision is to always be following the trend of what is happening with the community and its evolution; what downtown is looking like, what arts and entertainment are looking like, and the world is digital… this is a good opportunity for us to do something we are good at and really enjoy, and put that into a digital space for everyone to see.” 

Former CSDD CEO Bianca Shoneman worked with CityView to create the original Downtown Visionary Awards, which was a luncheon that honored notable businesspeople who contributed to the flourishing of the district. When CityView decided to no longer host the event, they reached out to CSDD leadership to see if they wanted to take the reins.

At the time, CSDD was in the middle of their executive transition, so it was not feasible. When the CSDD team recently decided to reenvision the awards ceremony, they planned to stay with the original event timeline of June. Upon reflection, the CSDD team was considering their bandwidth for the summer. Knowing that they are already planning for 4th Friday, a Nerd Market, the Juneteenth Celebration and 4th of July, they did not want to overextend themselves. Also, they wanted to do the award ceremony justice. 

“The first step was wanting to do it right,” Bennett stated, “really carrying the spirit of downtown and creating an event that honors that.” 

Making the awards ceremony a larger, more formal event in early 2027 to dovetail off the 10th anniversary better aligns with their vision for the Downtown District. 

Bennett said that last week, CSDD staff along with staff from the Arts Council, Dogwood Festival, Cape Fear Regional Theatre and the Cumberland County Library all traveled to Raleigh for ARTS Day. Wilson Arts website says ARTS Day is a gathering of artists and arts leaders from across the state to convene as peers and prepare for action, then meet with their elected representatives at the NC General Assembly to deliver a message about the ARTS that is simple, inclusive and positive. 

Bennett says this conference has really rejuvenated all of them in their dreams for the future of Fayetteville’s downtown area. With this experience fresh in their mind and the time to plan something innovative and exciting, CSDD believes this awards ceremony can become a beautiful part of the next 10 years of growth, innovation and creativity in Fayetteville.

 

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