It’s a little-known fact that Bastrop has been designated both a cultural and culinary destination in Texas for its myriad of art galleries, tourist attractions and restaurants downtown.

The Texas Commission on the Arts recognized the city’s cultural district in 2012, and the City Council named a culinary district through a resolution in 2013. People, however, wouldn’t readily tell you they know about the city’s recognitions, and the Bastrop’s Main Street Program is hoping to change that.

With the help of tourism marketing company Cygnet Strategies, the Main Street Program recently released an online survey asking residents and visitors how the city could improve its food options, recreation and attractions downtown.

Responses will help shape new culinary and cultural arts improvement plans, Main Street Director Sarah O’Brien said.

"Up to this point in time, efforts have not been very successful in leveraging them to their fullest potential,"she said. "They both could be huge resources."

Bastrop was one of the first communities in Texas to be designated a cultural arts district by the state commission, O’Brien said. Its highlights include the First Friday Art Walk, the newly christened Lost Pines Art Center, Deep in the Heart Art Foundry, and a handful of galleries downtown.

While art attractions in Bastrop are expanding, the city’s status as a cultural district could be threatened, O’Brien said.

In January, the commission approved new annual criteria and reporting requirements for all state cultural districts. Under the new standards, it’s possible Bastrop could lose its designation, O’Brien said. For this reason, she said it’s critical now to step up promotion.

Culinary District

The city self-designated a culinary district in Bastrop four years ago. It’s made up of about 20 downtown restaurants and food-related businesses spanning Chestnut Street from Texas 71 to Bastrop State Park, including The Grace Miller café, Maxine’s on Main, Colorado River Winery and Viejo’s Tacos and Tequila, among others.

The goal of establishing the district was to allow the Main Street Program to specially market the destinations and host food-related events downtown – something that hasn’t always been a priority.

"None of the restaurants really know what it means or what benefit it is to them," O’Brien said. "But being this close to Austin and the way the local food movement is, I think it’s something that we could leverage."

Some have taken notice of efforts to market Bastrop’s culinary district

David Sartaine, who owns Maxine’s, said events like Table on Main in April, a farm-to-table food festival in downtown Bastrop, will help prop up the local food movement.

"When (the culinary district) was first designated, I did not see a lot of direction there," Sartaine said. "Now, it seems to be picking up."

The Main Street Program hopes to find a way to keep that momentum going. The survey is the first step.

Cygnet Strategies will use results as well as feedback from one-on-one interviews with stakeholders, to craft culinary and cultural improvement plans, which will then be given to the city’s future Destination Marketing Organization to guide its efforts.

"This isn’t just about visitors," Cygnet owner Vicky Soderberg said. "This is about creating a vibrant, sustainable downtown that’s attractive to residents. That’s something that kind of gets lost in the conversation."

Survey responses are due by Feb. 19. Two VISA gift cards valued at $50 and $150 will be awarded to two participants.