The event is organized by Hope Downtown Network, of which Moore is Executive Director, and will allow attendees to go through an outdoor, covered cafeteria line where local restaurants will be serving samplers of the menu items they are most proud of.  The cost for armbands will be $25 for adults; kids ages 10 to 15 $10 and kids under age 10 free. Tickets can be purchased here. 

Also at The Taste of Hope, which will run from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m., attendees can take part in silent and live auctions, paint part of a mural and vote on which beautification project HDN pursues next. After the food vendors close up, the 2012 animation film The Lorax will be shown on a screen in the Pocket Park. This is much in keeping with the theme of the third annual event, “Oh, the Places We’ll Go,” which paraphrases the title of Dr. Seuss’ 1990 book, which has become a frequent gift to new graduates.

Among the projects the funds raised from The Taste of Hope could be applied to is a business incubator to be located downtown.  The building, which was donated by Tena Pilkinton Carter, who passed away 11 days ago, needs electrical wiring installed. Of Carter, Moore said, “She was a force of nature, and that's what she was, but she had the most generous heart. She had several buildings downtown, and she just blesses people with buildings.”

 Moore issued a call for volunteers with electrical wiring skills to make in-kind donations of labor toward having the building at 109 South Main, which has been gutted, rewired.  A grant has been applied for to cover the costs of making the building a retail and entrepreneur incubator with spaces that can be leased for a nominal rent that would cover utilities. Unlike most incubators, those purchasing leases will not be limited in the time they can use their spaces.

The Hope Downtown Network, which has been an affiliate of Main Street America since 2018 and is a part of Main Street Arkansas, Moore explained, “follows the same approach” as other affiliates: “The national organization Main Street America started in 1980. Main Street Arkansas started in 1984 but we all follow what we call the four point approach …  designing, organization, promotion and economic vitality.”

Moore showed a PowerPoint slide revealing the increasing amounts of grant funding Hope has been awarded since 2018.  In 2025, this per year amount hit $7,500.  In 2026 this will be $12,000 now that Hope Downtown Network has been approved as an Associate Level member of Main Street Arkansas. At present, HDN has reached the point of having one full-time employee and many beautification and quality-of-life adding projects to its credit.

The PowerPoint slide show featured many photos of these projects, which have included the East Second Street Pocket Park, placing furniture and benches at locations along East and West Second, facade and entrance improvements at numerous locations whose property owners applied for grant funding from HDN, including Bob’s Antiques, Elm Street Marketplace, Joe’s Community Bakery, the offices of therapist Chris Espinoza, Vintage Girls, Jeff’s on Main, The Studio and much else. The Paint the Town project is ongoing, in which property owners downtown can pay a minimal fee for having volunteers apply a new coat of paint to their buildings.

In the future, Moore said she wants HDN to continue making downtown Hope a destination for tourists and long-time residents alike, relaunching the Art Walk, upgrading the area’s looks with awnings and paint jobs that integrate well in the town’s color scheme.  But in the meantime she is also asking for volunteers from people with construction, electrification and painting skills to contribute to downtown beautification as well as work on the HDN offices and future business incubator location. Those interested in helping are urged to get in touch either through Hope Downtown Network’s Facebook site or its website proper.

Moore was asked after her presentation what El Dorado is doing right with its downtown. Moore last week attended the 2025 Destination Downtown conference with Hope-Hempstead Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Christy Burns. She said the town had invested in music-themed public art and sculpture and also music performances which drew tourists and townspeople often to the Murphy Arts District.