Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Announces 2025 Main Street Maryland Conference Location, Theme and Dates

The conference will return for its second year, in Downtown Easton 

EASTON, MD (April 30, 2025) – Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day today announced that the Town of Easton has been selected as the host of the 2025 Main Street Maryland Conference. The theme of this year’s conference is, “Great Places Win: Powering People, Places and Possibility.”

“The Main Street Maryland Conference is a unique platform for local community leaders and economic developers to come together to learn more about how we can support a growing Maryland – specifically by investing in our historic centers,” said Secretary Day. “The Town of Easton is a prime example of the payoff of that investment, and I’m so excited to recognize them as the host of this year’s conference.”

The conference, hosted by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development and the Maryland Economic Development Association (MEDA), will be held on Tuesday, October 7 and Wednesday, October 8, 2025, in Downtown Easton, which features a central theater and distinct breakout spaces to allow for a diverse agenda of engaging panels, sessions, and activities. Easton Main Street, which was one of the first Maryland Main Streets to be designated at the start of the program in 1998, was selected through a competitive application process open to each of the 34 designated Main Streets across the state.

“The Town of Easton is honored to have been chosen as the host of the 2025 Maryland Main Street Conference,” said Easton Mayor Megan Cook. “We are thrilled to have this opportunity to represent Maryland’s Eastern Shore; and to share the storied history, vibrant culture, and local flavors of Easton with our fellow Main Street Maryland partners as we gather together to educate and inspire each other. Fall can’t come soon enough!”

The department’s first-ever Main Street Maryland Conference was held in 2024 in Downtown Frederick, drawing a crowd of over 400 Maryland Main Street managers, community development partners, local government leaders and more. The conference serves as a space for stakeholders to converge in recognition of Maryland’s beloved Main Streets and the warm, authentically local experiences cultivated in them.

This year’s theme, “Great Places Win: Powering People, Places and Possibility,” builds on the department’s priority to create lovable places. The conference activities will highlight the importance of Main Streets as community anchors and economic engines for the State of Maryland.

“Easton is honored to host the 2025 Main Street Maryland conference! Conferences like this play a crucial role in the ongoing success of the Main Street initiative,” said Executive Director of the Easton Economic Development Corporation and Easton Main Street Manager Holly DeKarske. “It’s essential for us to celebrate our victories while also sharing our challenges, as this helps us learn from one another. Together, we can foster growth and nurture the next generation of Main Street leaders, paving the way for vibrant downtowns and thriving communities.”

Main Street Maryland, a program of the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s Division of Neighborhood Revitalization, strives to strengthen the economic potential of Maryland’s historic main streets and neighborhoods. Since 1998, the program has leveraged more than $1 billion in public and private investment and assisted in the development of more than 4,000 new small businesses.

For more information on Main Street Maryland, visit its website.

# # #