DANVILLE, Va. – Tables were put in place Friday inside the Community Market ahead of what Danville Community Inspections Director Jerry Rigney hoped would be a big crowd for Saturday's Make Danville Shine expo.
"For the last six years, we have been doing Make Danville Shine, which is a program and encouragement for neighborhoods and neighborhood groups to get together and make repairs to their homes," Rigney said.
Around 25 vendors specializing in everything from HVAC to gardening will be on hand.
"They'll be talking about home improvement. They'll be talking about plants, how to plant plants, what plants to plant and vegetable plants," Rigney said.
Danville Neighborhood Development Corporation Director Ernecia Coles said the expo is the first of several events being held this month to encourage residents to take an active role in making the city shine.
"Sixty groups are going to participate in neighborhood cleanups. Public Works is providing dumpsters for people to be able to haul out debris or large appliances from their home," Coles said.
"There are also some groups that are planning to plant flowers. So there will be some beautification efforts."
Danville Mayor John Gilstrap said he's not in favor of a $300,000 reduction to the city's blight funding in the upcoming fiscal year in order to balance the city's budget.
Council members discussed the idea Thursday night.
Less funding could mean less blight eradication, meaning residents doing everything possible to prevent blight is important.
"That would be tremendous, the sheer volume of everybody doing that. But it would also assist us in selling Danville as the best place to live," Gilstrap said.
The expo runs from 8 a.m. to noon at the Danville Community Market.