A popular event to help kick off the holiday shopping season early returns to downtown Jacksonville this week. The 2nd annual Jacksonville Main Street Sip n’ Shop is happening this Thursday on and around the Central Park Plaza.
Executive Director of Main Street, Judy Tighe says you can get some early holiday shopping checked off your list while buying local and supporting local businesses at the same time. “We have nineteen locations where you can shop and thirteen locations participating where you can sip or eat. And when we say sip, it doesn’t have to be an alcoholic drink. A couple of places are offering hot chocolate.
So just come downtown and see what’s going on. A lot of new stores have opened up in the last year on and off the square so you’re going to see some new things. A lot of businesses have been staying open every Thursday later to give working residents and shoppers a little more time to shop after they get off work. So this is kind of to celebrate their efforts and to follow up on a very successful event that we did last year.”
The Sip n’ Shop event also gives attendees the chance to try a sip of several libations along the way from downtown bars and restaurants so they can unwind after shopping. Tighe says you should expect the unexpected when it comes to what you can sip while you shop.
“You’re going to see some interesting pairings. We’ve got some of the drinking establishments that are offering a special within our stores. So you can go in and have a taste and you’ll know where to buy this particular drink, and then you can go down there and patronize both places.”
The 2nd annual Jacksonville Main Street Sip n’ Shop runs this Thursday, November 3rd from 4 to 7 pm in downtown Jacksonville. For more information, log on to jacksonvillemainstreet.com or the Jacksonville Main Street Facebook page.