The City of Crookston will be celebrating Small Business Saturday on, November 27 this year. The event is being put on by the Crookston Area Chamber and Downtown Crookston Development Partnership.
Executive Director of the Crookston Area Chamber Mark Landa provided some background on Small Business Saturday and why the City of Crookston will be celebrating it. “Small Business Saturday was started nationally as an answer for smaller communities and businesses to compete with big-box stores doing Black Friday,” said Landa. “American Express was the one that decided they wanted to help small businesses because small businesses are the backbone of American business and the economy. In 2010 American Express focused their efforts on supporting small business and picked the day after Black Friday and decided to call it Small Business Saturday.”
Small Business Saturday has quickly begun to grow and is nationally recognized as people have realized how important it is to support local businesses. While American Express can provide some help to communities, most communities like Crookston come together on their own and put on Small Business Saturday in their own communities.
The hope is to promote shopping in Crookston not only around the holidays but year-round as well. Landa says the event has received a great response from the Crookston community, and most businesses will participate. “It has gotten a great response so far. We are well over twenty businesses, and it continues to grow,” said Landa. “This includes retail stores, restaurants, and even some home-based businesses that will have some pop-up shops in the downtown area.”
Just about every participating store will be having and promoting a special just like the larger chains on Black Friday. A list of all the stores participating will be sent out through the Crookston Area Chamber Facebook page sometime next week.
This year in Crookston, Small Business Saturday will also have a theme. “The theme this year is going to be “Shop and Sip,” said Landa. “Just about every location will have a beverage to enjoy like coffee, cider, and hot chocolate. This way, you can wander around and shop with something to drink and check out the different businesses.”
One last fun thing will be going on during Small Business Saturday, and it is carrying over from “Crazy Days in Crookston.” “Similar to what we did for Crazy Days, we will have a bingo card for all the different stores,” said Landa. “You just need to get one signature from the store to prove you were there, and then if you bring it over to the Chamber by 4:00 p.m. on that Saturday afternoon, you will be entered into a drawing to win $100 worth of chamber bucks.”
According to Landa, most small businesses need holiday shopping to survive, and he’s hopeful of getting an excellent turnout for Small Business Saturday on November 27. If you have any questions or for more information, you can also check out the Downtown Crookston Development Partnership Facebook page or go to www.visitcrookston.com/.
