[ad_1]
The Holiday Shopping Carnival kicked off the holiday shopping season in downtown Battle Creek in early November and now kicks into overdrive with the two-day Winter Roaming event on Friday and Saturday.
While city and downtown businesses have always hosted a variety of holiday-themed events and activities, the emergence of Shoptacular and Winter Wanderland this year involves a collaboration that lays the groundwork for these signature events that city and small business development leaders hope to develop in the future. , said John Hart, Director of Small Business Development for the City of Battle Creek.
holiday shopping was launched in the first week of November as a “local shopping phone,” Hart said.
Not only will customers find one-of-a-kind merchandise and a variety of food and drink at locally owned shops and restaurants, they’ll also have an extra incentive to spend in the city’s inner-city district every Monday leading up to Christmas in a weekly raffle.
To enter the sweepstakes, shoppers must visit at least three participating stores or restaurants, make a qualifying purchase at one of the locations, and post photos on Facebook of their visits or purchases or purchases at the three locations.They are also encouraged to mark Battle Creek City Center And use the hashtag #BCShoptacular.
Aspidistra’s shelves are filled with soothing items.“Some of the winners of these drawings have told me they come downtown to buy specific things, but haven’t been here for casual shopping in 20 or 30 years,” Hart said. “Shoptacular is committed to supporting inner-city businesses and making the community accessible to all it has to offer.”
The plan sets the stage for the two-day Winter Roaming Park on Friday and Saturday, which will feature a series of holiday-themed events in and around downtown Battle Creek. Hart said the event is a collaboration between the city’s small business development organization, Café Rica/Breaking Bred, Penetrator Events, Sprout, Kellogg Arena, Battle Creek Farmer’s Market and Invigorating Touch.
“This is the first time we’ve done these events together. We didn’t want to always create things from scratch, we thought it made sense to build on those events and campaigns that we’d been doing,” says Hart. “We decided to do two days of programming. Our goal was to work with three or four different teams who were doing things independently of each other but working together.”
The event kicks off Friday at the Night Bazaar inside the Kellogg Arena from 4-8 p.m. Hart said the free holiday-themed event is a fusion of the Night Bazaar, hosted by the Battle Creek Farmers Market, and the Breaking Bred Bazaar, hosted by Café Rica, Hart said.
It will include a maker market, a pop-up market, and indoor activities for kids, who will be able to meet and greet Santa, participate in an indoor snowball fight, and slide down an inflatable slide.
A cooler at Simply Sensational Berries at 80 West Michigan Avenue is filled with a wide variety of desserts to choose from.“Our goal is to bring most of the manufacturers that people expect to find at Café Rica to the Kellogg Arena as part of their hotel group, Breaking Bred,” Hart said. “These will be fun activities for kids to do while their parents shop.”
Off the stage at the Festival Square Marketplace, visitors can walk through the Holiday Tree Village, where there will be more than 25 Christmas trees, each decorated by local agencies and organizations.These trees are donated fireman casino, Adoptions will be available on Sunday, Hart said, and those trees that have not been adopted by individuals will be given to those who need them.
Hart said visitors will be able to take advantage of the city’s social areas and enjoy adult drinks while enjoying the festive atmosphere and the chance to browse the shops outside. They can also sign up for a free horse-drawn carriage tour of the city. Horse-drawn carriage tours will be offered on Fridays and Saturdays.
“If you show up and put your name on the list, we’ll give you a time slot, which gives you time to hang around and come back,” Hart said.
Adrianna Brown at Aspidistra at 32 West Michigan Avenue, Ste., a store that specializes in high-quality natural skin care products. 4. Brown helps with the day-to-day operations of a business owned by her mother, Lori Olsen.Saturday’s festivities begin with a festive craft and vendor show at the Kellogg Arena from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $3.
Hart said he expects the craft and vendor shows to draw large crowds downtown for the second day of Winter’s Roam and the city’s Christmas Parade, which begins at 6:15 p.m. Saturday.and also Battle Creek Brass Band Holiday concert at Kellogg Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. The concert will feature the vocal talents of Battle Creek native and Broadway star Doug LaBreck and the musical talents of internationally renowned trombonist Joseph Alessi.
The Battle Creek Community Foundation also hosted a flash mob at 32 West Michigan Avenue from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Lori Olsen said. She is the manager of 32 Enterprises, a new social enterprise overseen by the Battle Creek Community Foundation, and the owner of Aspidistra, a downtown Battle Creek store specializing in high-quality natural skin care products. The pop-up will feature more than 10 vendors and free hot chocolate handed out by BCCF President and CEO Brenda Hunt and BCCF staff, Olsen said.
“I hope people will be pleasantly surprised by what they see in our downtown area,” Hart said. “We sometimes hear that nothing is happening in Battle Creek. We want people to know that if they look around, they can see that a lot is going on here, and there will be more.”
[ad_2]
Source link