Acoustic folk guitar music drifted past booths from local artists and vendors, mixing with the occasional thud of a small, green pumpkin from a pumpkin bowling area during the annual Roosevelt Row Harvest Festival in Phoenix Saturday.

Over the past 10 years, independent businesses and community supporters have worked to turn the Roosevelt district into a close-knit community and vibrant urban center. Now they hope to integrate new downtown Phoenix ASU students, connecting them with local goods and artists.

Roosevelt Row, a nonprofit organization representing the strip of Roosevelt Street from North 7th Street to North Central Avenue, organized and operated the Harvest Festival. The group strives to revitalize the downtown area through events like the festival and Phoenix’s popular art walk, First Fridays.

Michelle Johnson, a member of the Roosevelt Row Board of Directors, strolled around the Harvest Festival, talking to people about the area’s revival and history.

Johnson has been a member of the Roosevelt community for more than 10 years. She said the last four years have dramatically changed the nature of the area.

“Before this was here, it was all dirt,” she said. “Now you have this wonderful condominium development with store fronts, we have a wonderful bakery and coffee store. That’s what urban living is all about.”

Despite temperatures in the high 90s, the festival brought many businesses out to interact directly with the community.

Brady Breese, owner of Urban Cookies at North 7th Street and East Camelback Road, said community events provide the only real advertising available to him.

“When you have a business, you’re have to really work hard and make yourself noticed,” he said. “That’s why we try to get out in the community as much as we can. That’s our marketing: tasting our cookies.”

Breese said he sees ASU’s expansion downtown as a real opportunity. When students began classes, he handed out samples at a pre-semester social event at Taylor Place.

Another entrepreneur, Stacey LaPlante said events help ease economic troubles.

“This is probably the worst time in a century to start a business,” she said. “It helps to be in the community. I’m making a lot of connections with business and store owners.”

LaPlante created and owns Angry One, selling apparel and cards. She focuses on expressing anger in a funny way. One card reads: “Let me know … when you pull your head out of your ass.”

“Definitely not Hallmark,” she said.

Greg Esser, executive director of Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation, said the economy has “drastically” affected the area’s revitalization projects.

“If you look around, one of our biggest challenges is just vacant lots,” he said. “The cost of construction, the cost of land and financing right now makes building new and affordable, mixed income house incredibly challenging.”

Esser refers to the vacant lots spotting downtown Phoenix as “missing teeth.” He said proposed construction projects without committed funding have vanished and existing projects have been delayed an average of five years.

Events like the Harvest Festival and First Fridays are critical to local business, Esser said. They invite people to take part in a free cultural experience.

However, Esser said he isn’t sure how to draw more students out. He is currently working with the community to determine what business and amenities students want.

“From our point of view, we’re at the very beginning of it,” he said. “We want to continue to grow new businesses, new housing, new development to really help improve the area.”

Kim Pearson, a freshman sustainability student, came from Tempe to attend the festival.

“I think students should be involved,” she said. “They should see the cultural things going on in downtown Phoenix and support the artist community.”

Reach the reporter at channing.turner@asu.edu.