When we planned a St. Patrick's Day pub crawl in Northville, we weren't expecting anything other than a fun night with some friends. But when March 17 arrived and we had over 30 people join us - with bystanders interested in joining in too - we realized something bigger was happening.

After St. Patrick’s Day, the three of us - Nick Traskal, Colleen Kelly, and Dylan Garavaglia - first started talking about other events we could organize to bring people together for fun evenings. The more we talked about a variety of events, though, the more we understood that the events themselves were not the most important piece — the new friendships and enjoying Northville’s walkable downtown mattered the most to us.

Northville is lucky to have a fantastic City Council, Downtown Development Authority, Chamber of Commerce, and many wonderful local groups that organize events throughout the year. So how will Gather Northville be any different from them? Our activities will be intentionally designed to support these values:

• Create lasting connections among local residents plus residents of neighboring communities.

• Increase commerce and support local businesses throughout the year.

• Make Downtown Northville a top Southeast Michigan destination.