Jennifer Bayes

EVENTS & SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER

Jennifer grew up in Harrisonburg and had the opportunity to watch Downtown Harrisonburg grow and evolve into what it is now. She holds a B.A. in Communications and Conflict from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. After living in Florida for 5 years, she made the decision to move back to Harrisonburg and is very glad she did!

Jennifer was integral in launching “Sip & Stroll” and reimagining HDR’s downtown-wide festivals. She helped start and grow BestWeekendEver and Winter Wonderfest featuring our crowd-favorite gingerbread house competition, and launched our wildly popular Levitt AMP Harrisonburg summer concert series. She also has intentionally engaged businesses off of Main Street to facilitate attendee circulation to Mason and Liberty Street establishments via taskforces, created the Belonging Taskforce to help us offer low-sensory event programming for children, and has helped reinvigorate our volunteer program.

As Events & Special Projects Manager, Jennifer is responsible for planning and executing HDR’s community events, as well as consulting with organizers hoping to plan their own events downtown. She also assists on grant programs, special projects, and initiatives central to HDR’s mission. Downtown businesses and community organizations can reach out to Jennifer for ideas for plugging into our events.