“Shop Small,” also known as Small Business Saturday, is this weekend in downtown Washington C.H. along with the Christmas Parade.
“Shop Small” is a program sponsored by American Express which partners with local Chambers of Commerce, according to Washington Court House Director of Economic Development Chelsie Baker. This means that small businesses that are part of the chamber get access to certain “swag” items from the program such as door mats, posters, etc.
Although the program is geared toward Chamber of Commerce members, those involved locally are pushing the event to support all local, small businesses.
This national event is this Saturday.
During a recent Washington C.H. City Council meeting, council member Kendra Redd-Hernandez was talking about the “Shop Small” event and said, “As a small merchant, you look forward to that day because one, it’s an opportunity to see and gain more customers, but also it’s usually the financial day to get you started in the right direction for Christmas because it’s busy.”
“There’s so much opportunity for great deals in our downtown and in local businesses in general,” said Baker. “If you want to avoid any traffic and crowded malls, then the downtown shops are going to be a much more pleasant experience.”
The Christmas Parade will kick off Sunday at 3 p.m. It begins at Washington High School and will travel through downtown Washington C.H.
This year W&W Dry Cleaners is sponsoring a horse and buggy carriage ride before the parade from 11:30 to 2:30 p.m. on North Main Street, according to Baker.
The new speakers that are up downtown will be used during the parade by local radio personality, Harry Wright. Wright is acting as the emcee for the event.
“He’s done this in the past when we’ve had emcees set up right outside of the city building,” explained Baker. “But this year, instead of just having a couple of speakers, the speakers will be all the way down Court Street. So everyone on Court Street should be able to hear him.”
Reach Jennifer Woods at 740-313-0355 or on Twitter @JennMWoods.
