Please be advised that this site is actively under reconstruction the weeks of Oct. 16-31. We know that information is missing and some buttons do not work. This will be fixed soon!

Kelso Business & Community Association

The Kelso Business & Community Association is a volunteer-run nonprofit making Kelso a place where people want to learn, live, and gather.

Come To A Meeting

OUR STORY

WE LOVE KELSO AND
WE SHOW IT.

When the Kelso Downtown Revitalization Association dissolved in 2016, the people who cared about this town didn't stop caring. In 2018, residents, local organizations, and community partners started meeting to find new ways to look after Kelso. We picked up trash, planted flowers, and kept showing up.

In 2022, that group became the Kelso Business & Community Association. We're still powered entirely by volunteers. Today we raise money to send Kelso students to national competitions, care for more than 80 flower containers on our sidewalks, tell the stories behind our city's history, and host free events that bring neighbors together.

OUR TIMELINE

2018

Neighbors & Stakeholders begin meetings and hold the first Kelso Clean-Up Day

2019

The Kelso Flower Pot Program launches with 20 containers.

2022

KBCA becomes a registered Washington nonprofit and completes the America in Bloom Growing Vibrant Communities Self-Assessment.

2023

KBCA holds its first fundraiser, the Shamrock Shuffle Adult Easter Egg Hunt at Tam O' Shanter

2024

"Bites, Brews, and Brothels," our first walking tour and progressive dinner with the Cowlitz Historical Museum. The Kelso Kids Market launches. The Holiday Caravan to Rotary Lights in the Park, and 100 free pumpkins for local kids with Grocery Outlet.

2025

Downtown Kelso Trick-or-Treat and the Hot August Crimes Walking Tour. 200 participants at the Shamrock Shuffle, and the Flower Pot Program reaches 80 containers

2026

The sold-out Hilander Hustle Kids Egg Hunt with Kelso High School FBLA sends 3 students to FBLA Nationals, and a $1,000 scholarship sends a student to FCCLA Nationals. KBCA receives a Washington Association of School Administrators Community Leader Award. Our third historical walking tour and progressive dinner, “West Kelso’s Wild West Side,” explores a new corner of Kelso’s past. We support the Kelso Highlander Festival & Scottish Games in September and host Downtown Kelso Trick-or-Treat in October.

2027 & Beyond

We’re just getting started. Our annual historical walking tour, Downtown Kelso Trick-or-Treat, and the Kelso Kids Market will keep coming back, and we’re exploring new homes for the market, including an indoor winter edition. We’ll keep growing the Flower Pot Program, sending Kelso students to compete, and finding new ways to bring neighbors together. Want to get involved? Come share it at a monthly meeting.