SALISBURY, MD - Shoppers and vendors in Downtown Salisbury kicked off the holiday shopping season with this year's Small Business Saturday.
The City of Salisbury hosted their annual Small Business Saturday event to celebrate and support local businesses in Downtown Salisbury. From 10:00am to 3:00pm today, downtown came alive with shopping, in-store promotions, and live entertainment. The community was encouraged to check off some holiday shopping all while supporting the community. The city says the event "celebrates local businesses and the community spirit that makes Salisbury special".
Brooke Madruga, one of many shoppers out today, says she likes shopping locally because the money is going back into the community, "it helps the families that run these businesses". She said, "I miss going to the store and actually seeing the things and taking it home that day instead of waiting."
City of Salisbury's Economic Development Manager, Derek Jarmon, highlights the importance of having local businesses downtown, saying local shops and businesses provide a central hub for entertainment. Jarmon says that it's vital to keep the local economy strong, thriving, and to support those in the community, "it's important for our local entrepreneurs here, showing support and love to them. This is something that they do each and everyday. They provide local goods and services. We want people to come out and support them and show that local matters."
Today's event featured vendors and shops from the community. Justin Morris (SheaJusPrints), a vendor participating in Saturday's event, says small businesses are essential to local communities. "Small businesses drive America." said Morris, "What we've really seen in recent years is how hard it is for the average American to survive based on corporate america. What small business does is it drives money into the community, gives people the opportunity to express themselves".
The event also featured a special incentive. The first 200 attendees got a special loyalty card. After their fifth visit, those attendees could return it to one of the designated locations to be entered into a drawing for a prize basket.