Page 8 - LRCC FOCUS Magazine July 2023
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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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