ESCONDIDO -- Aiming to attract new customers in a struggling economy, the Downtown Business Association says it will stage the city's first "sidewalk sale" next month on Grand Avenue, sponsor four jazz concerts during the next year and move the city's Fashion Week to the performing arts center.

The new events and new location for Fashion Week were among several announcements made Wednesday by Debra Rosen, the association's chief executive who spoke to more than 50 merchants at the Escondido Library.

Rosen also said a contestant from "American Idol" would probably be the headline act for Festival Escondido this September, and that the association plans to launch a comprehensive downtown recycling program this year.

"We're adding new events because we want to bring new people downtown," said Rosen, explaining that a tough economy calls for more marketing and promotion, not retreating.

Mike Peters, president of the association's executive board, said association leaders decided to lay out their plan for the entire year Wednesday to increase participation and give merchants time to dream up ways to tie their businesses into events.

Merchants at the meeting expressed enthusiasm about the new events, but others interviewed Wednesday afternoon gave them mixed reviews.

Lisa Grumel, co-owner of Vincent's restaurant, called the jazz concerts an "exciting" idea and said that relocating Fashion Week will help the city show off the performing arts center. She said the sidewalk sale might not be a good idea.

"I don't like the idea of turning downtown into a big swap meet," Grumel said.

The sidewalk sale, scheduled for noon to 5 p.m. on Aug. 23, will feature roughly 100 businesses placing merchandise outside their storefronts along Grand Avenue and nearby streets, said Rosen.

"It's new and it's fresh, and people haven't seen one of these in a long time," said Rosen. "We're going to promote it as Escondido's first sidewalk sale and as the biggest sidewalk sale in North County."

Each of the jazz concerts will be held in conjunction with the association's Second Saturday Art Walks, which take place downtown on the second Saturday of each month.

The concerts are scheduled for Aug. 9, Oct. 11, June 13 and July 11. They will take place on the north side of Kalmia Street.

Rosen said that Festival Escondido, a Sept. 13 food-tasting event that also features live music and art exhibits, will probably get a publicity boost this year because she is close to booking an "American Idol" finalist as the headline act. Rosen declined to identify the performer, but she said the singer was a male from Tennessee.

The festival, which was staged for the first time last year, will be reduced from nine hours to six hours. Rosen said last year's format was "too long."

Rosen said that Fashion Week, which was held for the first time this spring, will move from an abandoned furniture store on Second Avenue to the California Center for the Arts, Escondido. The larger venue will allow attendance to increase from about 600 people per night to about 800 per night, she said. Fashion Week 2009 is slated for April 6-11.

Michael Wagman, the arts center's marketing director, said Wednesday that he hopes performances can be scheduled at the arts center using the same theme chosen for next year's Fashion Week. He said jazz combos, classical music or garage bands could be scheduled, depending on the theme.

Other changes for the coming year include a new chocolate festival on Valentine's Day and slightly adjusted routes for the downtown horse-and-carriage rides held in December.

The new recycling program was described Wednesday by Lisa Gulliver, owner of Architectural Relics. She said the key goals of the program were to increase the recycling rates of downtown businesses, placing recycling receptacles on Grand Avenue and eventually buying enough receptacles to support special events, such as street fairs.

Gulliver said the program would begin soon on a small scale in the blocks bordered by Kalmia Street, Maple Street, Second Avenue and Valley Parkway.

In other news, Officer Bill Havens of the Escondido Police Department told merchants that a man responsible for several recent downtown car burglaries had been arrested and will be serving a two-year sentence in state prison. But Havens warned merchants that they should remain vigilant in case another burglar emerges.

Contact staff writer David Garrick at (760) 740-5468 or dgarrick@nctimes.com.