Wood River Main Street Shares Upcoming Projects and Events

Our Daily Show Interview! Catching Up With Wood River Main Street

WOOD RIVER - The Wood River Main Street organization is “very busy” as spring approaches, but that’s exactly how they like it.

Executive Director Kristen Burns noted there are many upcoming events that community members can enjoy. She also shared that downtown Wood River is a flurry of construction as old buildings are rehabilitated. She looks forward to seeing the finished look.

“This is progress. This is what progress and revitalization is all about,” she said. “Some of these buildings have not felt love in quite a while, so they've been filled to the brim with old things that were just garbage. The roofs were leaking. A lot of the stuff was just damaged things that needed to get out. So now that we’re letting these buildings breathe, we can see the life coming back to them. It's awesome.”

Looking ahead, Burns is excited for the Spring Craft Fair hosted by the East Alton-Wood River High School Student Council. With over 90 vendors, this fair will encourage people to shop and support the school’s Student Council on March 28 and 29, 2026.

Burns is “so proud” of the students, who she said are “just rocking and rolling” as they prepare for the fair. Click here to learn more.

On April 25, Wood River Main Street will host a shred event and a citywide litter clean-up from 8–11 a.m. Sponsored by State Senator Erica Harriss and State Representative Amy Elik, the shred event will be held at the Wood River Police Department. Community members can bring documents and old medications to dispose of both.

The litter cleanup will take place throughout the town. Burns emphasized that both the shredding and the cleanup opportunities are “just a good event for the whole community.”

The Wood River Farmers Market is slated to begin on June 11 with plenty of local produce and products. This year’s market will be staged in the parking lots behind Ferguson.

But Burns is hopeful that next year’s market can be moved to the City Center, a park that will be installed later this year in the downtown area. With construction planned to start in May, the park will have a pavilion and public bathrooms. Burns hopes the park serves as a space for concerts, markets and other events.

“My vision of seeing it is as a hub of downtown,” she explained. “Residents, community members, business owners, all these people can come together and really just be a community, because that’s lacking a lot of times. People aren’t getting together because there’s not a space to just be. As we continue to develop our downtown and we have more restaurants and more different things that people are coming down for, it’s nice to have that greenspace.”

She added that the former NAPA Building in downtown Wood River is also being restored with new apartments installed on the upper level. These apartments will overlook the City Center space, and Burns believes the emphasis on upper-level living will be “a game-changer” for downtown Wood River.

As these events and projects come to fruition, Burns is proud of how Wood River is continuing to grow. She expressed her appreciation for the people and partnerships that have allowed Wood River Main Street to support the town.

“The collaboration and us being able to have that great relationship with the city and also our partners to get things moving is so important,” she added. “We wouldn’t be doing what we’re doing now without any of that support.”

For more information about Wood River Main Street and their upcoming projects and events, visit their official website or their official Facebook page.

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