From Staff Reports

SACO — A familiar downtown development organization has a new name.

The Saco Spirit board of directors earlier this month renamed the organization Saco Main Street, Inc., according to Executive Director Nadeen DeSilva.

The new name aligns with the trademarked naming format of the National Main Street Center, which the local organization has been affiliated with since 2001, according to DeSilva’s statement.

“Often mistaken for a religious, cheering or spirits distributor, the board decided it was time for a change to clarify what the group is all about, enhancing the vitality of downtown,” her press release said.

Saco Spirit, now Saco Main Street, sponsors annual community events that draw people into the downtown, including the Harvest Fest in October, Sidewalk Arts Festival in June and a car show in July.

The community will see the new name and logo integrated into local events and programs the organization sponsors, and will also see the name on new bike racks and water bottle refill stations downtown this spring.

The National Main Street Center is a national organization that equips communities with an organizational framework to preserve and revitalize downtowns and commercial districts, according to the organization’s website.

In the past 34 years, National Main Street Center has worked with more than 2,000 communities nationwide. Saco is one of 10 designated National Main Street communities in the state, as is Biddeford.