Taking a note from singer Kelly Clarkson, the Main-Dempster Mile has set out to proclaim: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
The “Finish Strong, Evanston” Spotify playlist a Main-Dempster Mile project seeks to motivate Evanston residents to “hang in there just a little longer” and support local businesses.
According to the Main-Dempster Mile Executive Director Katherine Gotsick, the project was inspired by the concept of “placemaking,” or the practice of activating public space. Posters with a QR code linked to the playlist hang in the windows of businesses along the Main-Dempster Mile.
“This year, it’s harder to get people together,” Gotsick said. “You have to think of different ways to activate the community when they’re staying inside.”