Volunteers participate in event to clean up areas around downtown Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A cleaner city, all for some local beer.

Around 30 volunteers participated in the first ever "Sweep & Sip" on Sunday, a cleanup event in partnership with Brightside, Louisville Downtown Partnership and local breweries.

Volunteers met at Goodwood Brewing on East Main Street for clean up work around the NuLu and Butchertown neighborhoods.

The event idea came from a conversation with Goodwood Brewing Company CEO Ted Mitzlaff, who wanted to see some clean up in the area, according to Brightside Inc. Executive Director Dave Bell.

"It's making our city clean and green, it's making it a better destination for tourists to come in and for people to feel safe when they come downtown," Bell said.

The event is part of the Downtown Revitalization Team's Action Plan, which aims to ensure downtown Louisville is clean, safe and an inclusive space.

"We're the heart of the city and without a heart you don't have much life," Bill Schreck, Interim Executive Director of Louisville Downtown Partnership, said. "We really want people to understand this is just a fun place to be and it's really a lot more active than a lot of people think it is."

SWEEP AND SIP.jpeg — Volunteers cleaned up areas around Butchertown and NuLu on Aug. 1, 2021.

Organizers were pleased with the inaugural event as volunteers worked on the beautification project.

"Great day, going to be good people, good time to do something good for the city," Ian McDonald, a volunteer, said.

"It's great civic engagement, people come here, they make friends, they feel good about it, they help out a local brewery," Bell said. "There's a lot of positives involved."

Once the cleaning was complete, volunteers received drink slips for any of the participating breweries, which included Falls City Beer, Gallant Fox Brewing Company, Goodwood Brewing, Ten20 Craft Brewery and West Sixth Brewing.

The monthly event is planned for the second Sunday in September, along with the first Sunday in October and November.

Officials with Louisville Downtown Partnership and Brightside said in July that more than 43,000 pounds of litter and debris have been collected since April.

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