On Tuesday, Raleigh City Council unanimously approved the closing of Hillsborough Street for the Hillsborough Street Renaissance.

Event organizer Joe Heil said he was pleased with the results of the vote and eager to progress with the planning process for the March event.

“The vote was put on the consent agenda, so everyone was more or less in favor of it,” Heil, a senior in engineering,” said. “They kind of did a poll and nobody said anything when they asked who was against it.”

The approval means that organizers such as Heil will be able to maintain their promises to the event’s sponsors and go through with the event as originally planned.

“It’s a lot more credible now that city council is backing it,” Heil said. “There isn’t this looming showstopper. Now, we can go to our corporate sponsors and formalize contracts with everyone we’ve talked to so far in terms of the event happening.”

The event, featuring live music and green arts, will aim at bringing culture and life to the community. Presently, Heil notes that the event will require a lot of careful planning and organization.

“Right now, we’re just getting everyone excited about the event and trying to get more students involved,” he said. “We’re going to be focusing on events that go out on the streets. We’re planning for more dynamic events rather than static displays.”

Matt Stevenson, web designer for the event, realizes that in order to progress further in the planning process it is important to hear from students.

“We’re using Facebook to get students involved and to try and promote our Web site through that,” Stevenson, a sophomore in technology education, said. “We’re also looking for any helpful input from students.”

The event is tentatively scheduled for Mar. 14, 2009.

“It’s going to be great,” Stevenson said. “I’m ready for it to happen and everyone is getting excited.”