City DDA handing out $140K in gift cards at Arts, Beats & Eats event
Royal Oak’s Downtown Development Authority is doing some high-priced marketing in the form of free $10 gift cards to use at local businesses during the Soaring Eagle Arts, Beats and Eats Festival.
Up to 5,000 visitors Friday through Sunday will get the cards to use at about 30 downtown retail shops.
The cards, called Royal Oak Retail Dollars, will be good to use at the participating businesses through the end of Monday when the festival closes.
“This is an opportunity for more individuals in metro Detroit to gain insight in the dynamic shopping experience available in downtown Royal Oak,” said Tim Thwing, executive director of the DDA, in a news release.
All told, the gift cards have a value of $140,000.
During Arts, Beats and Eats, festival goers who get the Royal Oak Retail Dollar gift cards can use them at a majority of downtown retailers.
There are roughly 50 retailers in the district. Those that are taking part in the gift card program will have signs in front of their shops during the festival.
DDA officials said the cards can be used at an eclectic mix of business — from unique fashions at Blu Jeans Blues, Pitaya and Chrome, one-of-a-kind gifts at Rail & Anchor, Made in
Michigan, and La Roche to crafts for children at the Creative Arts Studios, exclusive designs at Elements Custom Jewelry Studio, and Metals in Time.
City and DDA officials have said two of the benefits of the Arts, Beats and Eats event is that hundreds of thousands of festival goers spend money at local businesses and many are exposed to the downtown and return after the event ends.
“It’s a win-win for festival goers, they will enjoy everything Arts, Beats and Eats has to offer and at the same time they’ll have the opportunity to support local retail businesses,” Thwing said.
The DDA has poured about $1.5 million into helping local businesses since the COVID-19 pandemic hit last year.
Many businesses got grants ranging from $5,000 to to $32,000 to use for everything from covering payroll expenses to building improvements last year.
On top of that, the authority has done promotions with its Downtown Dollars e-gift cards, spending more than $400,000 since last year.
For its efforts, Royal Oak’s DDA was one of only six such organizations nationwide to get a Main Street Forward award from Main Street America this spring.
The award was given for the group’s programs that helped nearly 100 local restaurants, bars and retailers survive the pandemic.