Brantford, Ontario: Outdoor Movies Help Revive Downtown Brantford

More than 700 people came to Harmony Square in downtown Brantford, Ontario one Thursday evening to watch an outdoor movie on a giant inflatable screen. Jugglers and acrobats performed while the screen was readied; as darkness settled, the numbers only increased. Young families, grandparents, and teens filled the square -- exactly the crowd that downtown boosters had hoped to attract to a core that had seen significant investment and revitalization over the preceding decade.

The event was part of regular Thursday night programming at Harmony Square, which by 2008 had become a focal point for civic life well beyond even the wildest projections of its early supporters.