Civil Municipal - April 2024

With a youthful new demographic, Easthampton’s downtown energy has radiated to the rest of the community. The Cultural Chaos Festival, which takes place each summer, drew its largest crowd ever in 2023, bringing folks together with live music, dance, poetry, and visual art performances. On top of that, Easthampton’s offering of free concerts in the Mill District inspired over 2,000 people to visit last August and September. Combined, these events have encouraged business expansion and housing production in the downtown district. “The energy is palpable, not just when those free concerts are happening, but 365 days a year,” beams LaChapelle. There’s a magnetic attraction to after-hours activity in Easthampton–“a skip in our step,” LaChapelle calls it – and the master plan wouldn’t have succeeded without a commitment to improving the downtown walkability. Curving sidewalks are being built in Photo Credit: Lindsi Sekula 73 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 5, ISSUE 04 EASTHAMPTON, MA