Main Street Maryland Community Recognized as Great American Main Street Semifinalist
Downtown Sykesville Connection one of eight semifinalists for the Main Street America Great American Main Street Award
NEW CARROLLTON, MD (October 29, 2025) – Downtown Sykesville Connection, a Designated Main Street Maryland community through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s Main Street Maryland program, has been selected as a Great American Main Street Award semifinalist. The Great American Main Street Award recognizes places that demonstrate exemplary use of the Main Street Approach™ to lead community-based transformation strategies in their downtowns.
Downtown Sykesville Connection is one of eight semifinalists for the national award, which is given out annually by Main Street America, an organization helping strengthen and reenergize downtown and neighborhood commercial districts across the United States for more than 45 years. Three of eight semifinalists will be recognized with this award at the 2026 Main Street Now Conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma in April 2026.
The Carroll County community was also selected as a semifinalist for The Great American Main Street Award in 2023.
“When we received this nod in 2023, the application process and the conversations it sparked pushed us to dig deeper, think harder, and reflect on more authentic, creative, and inclusive ways to serve the Sykesville community — not just as event organizers, but as trusted partners, connectors, and champions of belonging,” said DSC Executive Director Julie Della-Maria. “Here we are in 2025, recognized once again for our work, its impact, and its value alongside other outstanding American communities. We see this honor not just as an achievement or a validation, but as a new starting point: standing firm in our values, proud of how far we’ve come, and lifted by the support of the best volunteers, businesses, partners, and residents, we will continue to deepen our commitment to equity, storytelling, economic vibrancy, and collaboration across differences.”
Downtown Sykesville Connection is a Designated Main Street community within DHCD’s Main Street Maryland program and receives support from the department to grow local businesses and improve the appearance of its downtown. From its creation in 2011 through 2024, the organization – formally known as the Sykesville Main Street Association – has helped 63 businesses open or expand in Sykesville and created 182 new full- or part-time jobs in the area.
“This is a well-deserved honor for Downtown Sykesville Connection and the result of years of thoughtful planning and hard work,” said Secretary Jake Day. “The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development is proud to have supported Sykesville’s incredible transformation through our Main Street Maryland program since it was designated in 2012. We’re rooting for you, Sykesville!”
Great American Main Street Award semifinalists and winners are selected from a nationwide pool of applicants by a jury of Main Street professionals and leaders in the fields of community and economic development and historic preservation. Winners will be judged on the strength of the Main Street program in spurring community transformation, commitment to historic preservation, innovative programming, implementation of cross-sector partnerships, community outreach and stakeholder engagement, and ensuring their downtown districts are for everyone.
The three winners will receive a short documentary film, a plaque, communications and media relations support and prominent placement on the Main Street America website for two years. Since its establishment in 1995, only 112 of over 1,600 Main Street programs have been acknowledged as GAMSA-winning communities.
“It is my privilege to recognize the eight semifinalists for the 2026 Great American Main Street Award,” said Main Street America President and CEO Erin Barnes. “Through innovation and determination, these programs exemplify the unwavering dedication of Main Streets across the country to building resilient and revitalized communities.”
To learn more about the Main Street Maryland program, visit mainstreetmaryland.org.
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CONTACT:
Allison Foster, Director of Communications – allison.foster@maryland.gov
