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#LOVELANSING F O C U S M A G A Z I N E | J U L Y 2 0 2 3
FOCUS MAGAZINE | JULY 2023
Albert EL Fresco Brings Family Friendly Fun to
Downtown East Lansing
n innovation that started as a result of the Covid Adirondacks as well as turf grass. In 2022 and 2023, the
pandemic has become a popular, family friendly city has invested in sturdier infrastructure that can be
Adestination in downtown East Lansing. Albert brought back every year. It is now a community staple.”
EL Fresco is a pedestrian-friendly area located along
Albert Avenue, between Abbot Road and M.A.C. Avenue. Albert EL Fresco has brought a sizeable amount of foot
The space features outdoor seating and tables, rocking traffic to downtown East Lansing between the months
chairs, hammocks, decorative lighting, shade amenities, of May and August, when traffic from Michigan State
games and more. University students is down.
It all began in 2020 after Covid forced everything to This year, the city has focused on adding more weekly
shut down. City officials heard from members of the programming. Every Thursday is game night which
public for a desire to have outdoor gathering areas. includes a variety of activities and games, including
giant Connect 4, cornhole, giant Jenga, ping pong,
“It was very bare bones at first,” said Matt Apostle, giant chess and more. In addition to live music visitors
community and economic development specialist, City can also look for the East Lansing Public Library's
of East Lansing. “It was metal picnic tables and was set- Library on the Go mobile pop-up library. Other
up solely for the safety component.” special events that take place in Albert EL Fresco
each year include the Community Chalk Walk, the
A combination of a crowd funding campaign, support Greater Lansing Area Moms (GLAM) Jam Summer
from the Downtown Development Authority and Kickoff event, East Lansing PRIDE, and the Moonlight
Downtown Management Board spurred the concept to ExtravaGRANDza.
a new level in 2021.
“We are excited to have this space become more
“We decided to move forward with much brighter and entrenched in the identity of East Lansing and
more attractive space,” said Apostle. “We modified particularly the downtown,” said Apostle. “We think it
barricades into planter boxes and transformed whiskey is a great space and that the public should come down
barrels into holders for sail shades. We also added and enjoy it.” l
various types of seating including rocking chairs and
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