Camas a Top 20 Contender to Appear on “Main Street” Web Series

The Downtown Camas Association (DCA) announced today that Camas is a top 20 national finalist to appear in the next season of “Small Business Revolution – Main Street,” which is a streaming Hulu web series hosted by Amanda Brinkman and Ty Pennington.

Camas made the top 20 out of 12,000 applicants, said Maria Gonser, owner of Attic Gallery in Downtown Camas.

“I’m a big fan of the show, and I submitted an online application to get Camas to be on ‘Main Street’,” said Gonser. “The show really understands small towns, and they’re big on restoring them.”

Gonser explained that Small Business Revolution will choose 10 of those cities to come visit. And out of those 10, they choose five, then the show’s viewers will vote on the remaining five. The top vote getter will be the focus of season four.

The top 10 will be announced on December 11, and the town visits will take place in January. The top five will be announced in mid-February, and the public vote takes place the end of February.

“I was drawn to it because we have so many projects but don’t have all the funding for them,” said Gonser. “If we win, we’d get $500,000 in funding. Six businesses would get a major makeover, plus we need to send more love to 3rd and 5th Streets in Camas. I want to feel good when I go on those streets.”

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Once the show’s producers contacted Gonser, she directed them to the DCA’s Executive Director, Carrie Schulstad.

“I spent about 40 minutes on the phone talking with them,” said Schulstad. ”I told them all the great things about Camas, but also the areas that need major improvement. If we get picked, they will go into each business for a month and help them out. They all have their own expertise and help each business revamp their whole branding, their space, etc.”

To get to the Top 10, each town is encouraged to promote why they should be considered. Schulstad wants Camas residents to use the hashtag #MyCamas on social media posts.

“Please like their Facebook page (go to @SmallBusinessRevolution) and post a photo to their timeline with a message about why you love Camas and be sure to use the hashtag #MyCamas,” said Schulstad. “Our town can do this! Please use this hashtag on Twitter and Instagram, too!”

The show is hosted by Amanda Brinkman and Ty Pennington.

What is Small Business Revolution Main Street?

This is what the show’s producers say: “As we traveled the country, capturing the inspiring stories of 100 small businesses, we recognized that nowhere in America are small businesses more critical, and more under siege, than in our small towns.

“We created the Small Business Revolution – Main Street to help those small businesses, and in turn, those small towns, reignite the spark that drives them and keeps people coming back.

“Each season, we seek out America’s most inspiring small towns, and award the winner – and six of its small businesses – a $500,000 revitalization and feature the transformation in an original series.”

To learn more, visit www.smallbusinessrevolution.org