Celebrating a Banner Night at the Main Street Oakland County Main Event

The Ortonville Downtown Development Authority (DDA) is proud to celebrate an incredible evening of recognition at the 2026 Main Street Oakland County (MSOC) Main Event Awards, where our downtown community was honored for its innovation, preservation efforts, and commitment to creating meaningful experiences for residents and visitors alike.

Joining downtowns from across Oakland County, Ortonville was recognized with several major achievements that reflect the hard work of our volunteers, businesses, partners, and community members.

Three Award Winning Projects

Ortonville DDA received three Main Event Awards, each recognizing a different aspect of downtown revitalization:

• Achievement in Community Character or Historic Preservation for the Ortonville Historical Audio Walking Tour,
• celebrating our community's rich history through an engaging and accessible experience.
• Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship for the Mistletoe Marketplace,  an initiative that has helped support local entrepreneurs while creating a unique holiday shopping destination that brings visitors to downtown Ortonville.
• Community Event of the Year for the Vegucation Station Adventurers' Club, a creative program that encourages families to explore downtown while promoting healthy living and supporting local businesses.

These three awards also included a combined $1,800 in prize funding, which will help support future downtown initiatives.

National Accreditation Earned Once Again

The evening also included the announcement that Ortonville has once again achieved Main Street America Accredited status. This national designation recognizes communities that demonstrate excellence in preservation-based economic development, organizational leadership, and downtown revitalization.

Maintaining Accredited status reflects the continued dedication of the Ortonville DDA, volunteers, business owners, and community partners who work together to strengthen our downtown.

A New Investment in Rural Downtowns

In another exciting announcement, Ortonville was named as one of the recipients of the new Main Street Momentum Grant, funded through the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. The program will provide up to $20,000 to eligible rural downtown communities to support revitalization efforts and future improvements.

This investment represents another opportunity to continue building on the momentum happening throughout downtown Ortonville.

Thank You to Our Community

These recognitions belong to our entire community. Every volunteer who gives their time, every business owner who invests in downtown, every resident who attends events, and every visitor who chooses to shop, dine, and explore Ortonville contributes to our success.

We also extend our sincere appreciation to Main Street Oakland County for its continued guidance and support, along with the many partners who help make programs like these possible.

We are honored to represent Ortonville on the countywide stage and look forward to continuing the work of making our downtown an even more vibrant place to live, work, shop, and visit.