Shoppers in the Jacksonville area are reminded to shop local as the holiday shopping season heats up.
Black Friday savings start a week early today and tomorrow as downtown businesses host the second annual Pinkmas to help shoppers kick off the season by shopping small businesses first. The event, presented by the downtown business group, runs from 10 am to 5 pm today and tomorrow with great deals to be found in your favorite local businesses.
Executive Director of Jacksonville Main Street Judy Tighe says you can increase your savings by going to Pinkmas, and also by picking up a Main Street Santa Stroll Hat.
“Come downtown and be prepared to encounter a lot of specials and see what’s all available for Christmas. Santa Stroll is going on now all the way through the holidays. You can pick up a hat for ten dollars and it’s filled with more than thirty-five coupons to different businesses throughout town, but a lot of them are downtown. I mean you’ll save hundreds of dollars with these coupons.”
Tighe says the coupons can be used at Pinkmas as well as the many other events happening soon downtown that include the Mistletoe Market on December 1st and 2nd, and the Santa Mile also happening on December 2nd.
The Santa Parade returns the evening of Black Friday giving shoppers another chance to support small businesses in Jacksonville. Tighe says the need to support your local businesses can’t be emphasized enough.
“It’s absolutely crucial for our entire community and our small business owners. It’s a really big deal, it’s make or break. Small Business Saturday really isn’t just one day a year, it’s got to be spread throughout the year, and you know, we have so many shops it’s hard to hit them all in one day.
So come many times. Buy that Santa hat full of coupons, they are available at the Jacksonville Chamber of Office, our office (Jacksonville Main Street), the Convention and Visitors Bureau, and also both Farmers State Bank and Trust locations.”
Tighe says a major reason to shop local is because the majority of your money stays local. “Studies show that over seventy percent of the dollar you spend in a local business stays in your community.
These are the businesses that sponsor local sports teams for kids. They are the ones donating prizes for raffles and benefits. They are the ones supporting all of the community events that happen here in our town, and they deserve our appreciation for all of those efforts.”
For more information on local business shopping opportunities this holiday season, go to Jacksonville Main Street’s website and Facebook page, as well as Pretty City Jacksonville’s social media and your favorite local business pages.