Shoppers Finding Deals All While Supporting Local
November 27th, 2021
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Area merchants teamed up with Oskaloosa Main Street and the Mahaska Chamber and Development Group to help bring attention to local merchants again this year.
Plaid Friday and Small Business Saturday are two days where shoppers head out downtown searching for unique gift ideas and things that you can’t find in an online environment.
At Gardner Collier Jewelry, inside Penn Central Mall, a steady stream of shoppers were keeping the staff there busy.
The staff is pleased with the number of people they see, especially after a challenging time due to the pandemic.
Jessica Reuter, Oskaloosa Main Street Director, said that small businesses have continued to experience “a hard year for a lot of them.”
“I think it’s become apparent how important it is to support local,” said Reuter. “These are the businesses that make up our community, and they support the causes in our community. By doing our shopping local with them for the holidays, we’re keeping that money in our community and helping our neighbors and our friends.”
Local businesses also enjoy support from individuals when their items, sales, and more are shared on social media platforms, and most importantly, word of mouth.
Reuter and everyone else at the chamber are seeing months of work come to completion in the following weeks.
On December 3rd, Merry Little Downtown Christmas will take place on the square. There will be horse-drawn wagon rides, and Santa and his reindeer will be there as well.
Merry Little Downtown Christmas is just a warm-up for the big lighted Christmas Parade, which begins at 7 pm on December 4th.
It’s the 34th year for the parade, and it will follow the traditional format versus the pandemic version from the previous year.
This year’s theme is Miracle on Market St, and there will be horse-drawn wagon rides for $5 for each person to help support the ‘Painting with Lights’ project.
On Saturday, December 11th, and again on December 18th, 3 to 5 pm each afternoon, will be the inaugural Christmas Story Window Walk.
You can sign up inside Penn Central Mall to get your map, goodie bag, and a special edition coloring book.
For more information about these and many of the other events taking place in Oskaloosa, visit the Oskaloosa Main Street Facebook page HERE.
