1/28/20
Marketing and Making Downtown with Anedra
Learn more about Anedra Bourne, our Deputy Executive Director!
What is your favorite thing about working at Venture Richmond?
The team/family that IS Venture Richmond. Many on our team have dedicated between 15 to nearly 30 years boostering the efforts of Downtown Richmond.
You have extensive experience in tourism, marketing, and public relations with the City of Richmond, American Civil War Center, and Virginia Tourism Corporation (to name a few). Where do you think is the biggest opportunity to better market and grow downtown as a must-see destination?
The biggest opportunity is to continue to grow the infrastructure of downtown so there’s more to market. More new items downtown, easier access, bike access and walkability. I think this is happening and it’s our job to continue to educate people on how easy downtown is to access, both with a car and without!
I hope we can have a stronger transit system and amenities downtown that we otherwise have to access in the ‘burbs: a movie theater, more retail, and more trees!
– Anedra Bourne
What would you consider some of your proudest professional moments since moving to RVA?
I’ve been very fortunate to work on projects with historic milestones. Working with travel media to promote the grand opening of the America Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar, Jamestown 2007 and the 400th Anniversary of Civil War and Emancipation; advocating for and assisting with design/installation of the “Richmond” sign on I-95; assisting with coordination of the 2015 UCI Road World Championships; and, celebrating the 30th and 15th Anniversaries of the 2nd Street and Richmond Folk Festivals respectively.
What’s your favorite thing or place about/in downtown?
It’s hard to choose just one thing, truly. The Historic Tredegar site holds a special place for me as well as Jackson Ward. Tredegar is a unique piece of living history and craftsmanship and during the Civil War, both FREE and enslaved blacks and many immigrants were employed there. Jackson Ward is a tribute to generations of African Americans who established a living legacy for so many in Richmond - I wish I could’ve seen it during its prime and before I-95 tore the neighborhood apart.
Tredegar is a unique piece of living history and craftsmanship and during the Civil War, both FREE and enslaved blacks and many immigrants were employed there.
– Anedra Bourne
What do you think is missing downtown?
I hope we can have a stronger transit system and amenities downtown that we otherwise have to access in the ‘burbs: a movie theater, more retail, and more trees! I’d love to see our tree wells filled with healthier trees and a focus on greening downtown where we can.
What does downtown Richmond have that sets it apart from other cities?
The strategic location! We are within a half-day’s drive from more than half of the United States! You can fly, drive, or take the train to Richmond.
We are within a half-day’s drive from more than half of the United States! You can fly, drive, or take the train to Richmond.
– Anedra Bourne
If you were going to plan a day downtown for someone, what would that day look like?
It would definitely involve some eating, walking, history, and maybe a grown-up beverage. I’d do a quick drive around to offer a broad scope of the City’s history, hit up a festival if there was one going on, maybe go up to the observation deck at City Hall to see a bird’s-eye view or enjoy a snack at a rooftop bar (more for the view), grab something to eat and a local craft beer at a neighborhood spot, visit a museum if time allows, and end with a walk along the T. Pott Bridge and listen to the river.
If you were going to describe downtown in 5 words, what words would you choose?
Evolving, walkable, authentic, creative, and historic.
Can you describe what you’d like to achieve, or bring to life, in your time as the Deputy Executive Director, in one sentence?
I’d like to be part of the next phase of what RVA and Richmond means to people, both locally and nationally. When traveling out of town, I’d LOVE to hear more people have Richmond in mind as their “must-visit” downtown destination.
