Folks share what they want via sticky notes

Photo: Stephanie Edwards

IDEAS — Sticky notes filled with ideas for businesses dot the windows of the Norway Opera House. The exercise, aimed at encouraging people to write down what they would like to see in the Opera House's storefronts, took place during Saturday's Norway Arts Festival. About 202 legitimate ideas were posted, ranging from a "funky-cool" restaurant to a daycare and everything in between.

NORWAY —  In the spur-of-the moment, one area resident had the idea to put up signs and blank sticky notes on the windows of the Opera House asking: What would you like to see here?

It would be an opportunity for folks to put their ideas where they could be seen. Timing was perfect, it was the day of the annual Norway Arts Festival which brings a huge crowd to Main Street Norway – a good opportunity to get myriad opinions, according to Brendan Schauffler, who is studying for a degree in town planning.

The idea garnered approximately 202 legitimate responses (and eight unprintable ones).

Although certainly an unscientific survey, the results seemed to echo what members of the Norway Opera House Corporation and Norway Downtown have been thinking.

The suggestions ranged from retail to the arts, with retail needs coming out a nose ahead of restaurant requests.

There were 102 food-related ideas of which 82 were for restaurants, 20 for a bakery. Ideas ranged from brewery to cafe to franchise, Mexican, pizza, tavern, sushi and upscale. A vegan, a gluten-free and a "funky-cool" restaurant were among those suggested.

Coming in a close second to restaurants were retail – 74 suggesting a variety of retail ideas the highest number of which were 17 for "entertainment" shops such as toy, book and video game stores. Fairly even, were ideas for clothing, shoes, craft, music and specialty food and wine as well as a pet store.

After that came ideas for children, flower, and candy shops.

There were 13 suggestions for community service type businesses including daycare, cool place for kids, youth community center, food pantry, homeless shelter and a teen hangout.

There were 12 requests for performing arts space and six for studio space for artists with an artists cooperative.

There were five suggestions for service shops including nails, spa, a rock wall, laptop wireless and print shop and a gym.

And then there were the eight unprintable requests, seven of which had the same unprintable theme.