September 20, 2023 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Meet, Mingle, Create

The 2023 Downtown Arlington Annual Meeting, presented by Texas Trust, is your organization’s key to getting involved in the community. Hosted at the University of Texas at Arlington’s Bluebonnet Ballroom, the community comes together to celebrate Downtown Arlington and all of our collective achievements. This year, the fun theme and the program will highlight the importance of placemaking in the development of a community with a feature keynote presentation from Nate Storring, Co-CEO of Project for Public Spaces.

Placemaking is a collaborative process of finding underutilized public spaces then exploring and executing new ways to activate the space, providing a communal gathering destination and adding vitality and culture. Whether it's transforming abandoned greenery to gardens, converting curbside parking to vibrant parklets, or revamping unaccompanied grasslands to dog parks, placemaking is an imagination playground for designers, architects, and dreamers to maximize the potential of their cities. 

The theme for this year’s event, “Oh, the Places You’ll Make,” celebrates the creativity and vision of Arlington’s community and civic leaders who long ago started the process of making downtown a place for the people. There's been a lot of great placemaking happening here, but you will leave inspired to do much, much more!

Attending the Downtown Arlington Annual Meeting grants you access to hundreds of Arlington's stakeholders and gamechangers and gives you the chance to meet the colorful minds behind this flourishing city. During the program, you'll gain invaluable knowledge and insight to guarantee your company's success.

The event concludes as Downtown honors select hardworking community members with the presentation of the Legendary Lionheart Award, Golden Lantern Award, and the pinnacle Dream Builder Award, presented by Texas Trust.

Oh, the Places You'll Make!

Oh, the places you'll make! There are parks to be paved!

There are events to be had! There are journeys to be braved.

So buy a table and grab a friend, or two or three,

And become a vital part of Downtown's story!

Won't you join us soon

For a day of networking and placemaking one September afternoon.

Placemaking has been a staple in our work at Downtown Arlington for decades. From the opening of the Levitt Pavilion to the Front Street adaptive reuse project known today as Urban Union, placemaking has been the thread stitching together Downtown's history, sewing the seeds for great progress. After adding placemaking to our strategic work plan and receiving a $75,000 grant from Project for Public Spaces and General Motors, Downtown Arlington is discovering more avenues for integrating the principles of placemaking into our everyday practices.

Join us September 20th from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. as we look towards the future of placemaking in Downtown Arlington and learn how you and your company can successfully incorporate placemaking into your business plans for 2024 and beyond. Individual tickets will go on sale September 1st, however, you can purchase a table today by clicking here or emailing dana@downtownarlington.org. Meet, mingle, and connect with likeminded individuals in your field at the 2023 Downtown Arlington Annual Meeting, presented by Texas Trust!

Special thank you to our sponsors:

Presenting Sponsor: Texas Trust

Mover and Shaker: Arlington Today, the City of Arlington, Frost Bank, and the University of Texas at Arlington

Premium Tables: Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau, Coble Cravens, Curnutt and Hafer, Hotworx Viridian, and Peyco Southwest Realty

Table sponsors: 3Di Sign + Design, Candlelite Inn, and Wellspring on Main