"What's Up Downtown" Shares Summer Plans for Local Businesses and Organizations

What's Up Downtown Spring 2026

ALTON - From an art gallery’s expansion to a local church’s anniversary celebration, downtown Alton has a busy summer ahead.

Community members gathered for the “What’s Up Downtown” quarterly information exchange on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at The Wedge in Alton. Hosted by Alton Main Street, the goal is to provide an opportunity for downtown businesses and organizations to share more about their work.

Stephanie Schrage and J. Scot Heathman with The Wedge encouraged people to watch their website for information about upcoming events and promotions. Heathman added that they will host AI classes for beginners throughout the summer.

“If [AI] scares you to death to even interface with it, or you don’t even know what tools you should be using, this is 100% for you,” Heathman said. “This is not for somebody who’s an expert. It’s not for somebody who’s even average with it. It’s for a beginner.”

Stacy Felt spoke about her new retail event called Terra Cotta. Formerly with Three Charming Chicks, Felt and her partner are eager to open Terra Cotta on the first weekend of June at 219 William St. She noted that this pop-up retail experience encourages visitors to spend money in Alton, and it’s equally exciting for residents who miss Three Charming Chicks and want to enjoy the same “flair.”

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“It will be very similar to Three Charming Chicks, the same concept, the same weekend,” she explained. “I’m excited to continue the event, and also to be a little bit more intentional about being connected to the community and other businesses. We have women that come two and three hours, a distance, to make this an event.”

Jeff Bohnert, owner of Elysian Gallery, shared his plans to move to 419 E. Broadway and expand their offerings. Originally an art gallery, Elysian will still feature artists but also host workshops, book clubs, open mics and more. They also plan to open a “dedicated evening coffee cafe,” a “quieter spot” for people who want to spend time downtown at night but avoid the bar scene.

“One of our biggest goals is to help shape that downtown area into a true cultural district by being an anchor for Broadway and the bridge to the lower downtown district,” Bohnert said. “Our expansion is part of a larger movement to make downtown a destination, not just for art, but for culture, community and all the other businesses and connections in the area.”

Jen Farley, owner of Persnickety by Jen Farley, added that she will collaborate with Elysian Gallery in the future. She shared that they have several events coming up, including an “Antique Roadshow-style event” where people can bring in their antiques and have them assessed “for funsies.” She will also participate in Alton Main Street’s Pup Crawl, and she plans to host a mahjong class in June.

“It’s going to be a busy few weeks down at Persnickety,” she said. “You never know what I have up my sleeve.”

Father Garron Daniels with The Episcopal Parish of Alton spoke about the parish’s 190th anniversary in Alton. He noted they have several upcoming events, but they’re also in the middle of a capital campaign to raise $250,000 for basic repairs to St. Paul’s and Trinity Chapel in Alton.

“We look pretty good for 190, but there’s certainly things to work on,” he said. “We want to invite as much of the community in as possible to those events. But besides that, one of the big things that we are doing is a very large capital campaign entitled ‘Legacy of Faith.’ For 190 years, you can imagine there is quite a legacy.”

The “What’s Up Downtown” information exchange is hosted quarterly in downtown Alton. To watch the full event, click here.

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