Selling the family experience
Annual day-after-Black Friday event draws festive grandparents, parents, children to check out local businesses and all the trimmings year after year
David and Jennifer Feaster walked closely behind their 4year-old granddaughter, Loveella, as she petted as many fantail doves as possible.
“Can I touch a fluffy one?” Loveella asked, as she approached the birds in the small petting zoo in downtown Easton.
Small Business Saturday in Easton, across the Lehigh Valley and in hundreds of communities around the country drew shoppers and strollers to an assortment of activities. Unlike Black Friday, which is geared toward serious bargain-hunters, Saturday’s event was more for families. Besides the petting zoo, the Feasters were planning to take their granddaughter on a horse-drawn carriage ride around downtown and stop at Crayola Experience.
“We come every year,” David Feaster said.
A day after shoppers swarmed malls and big-box stores, small businesses in Easton welcomed them with open arms.
Small Business Saturday is the brainchild of American Express, which launched the promotion in 2010 when local merchants were struggling to rebound from the Great Recession. After one year, participation had spread to all 50 states and the U.S. Senate recognized the day with a resolution.
Since 2010, patrons have spent $85 billion at local shops and restaurants on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, American Express estimates.
But in Easton, it was so much more than a day of shopping. Families listened to live music, rode in old-fashioned carriages and drank hot chocolate to keep warm.
Early in the afternoon, Santa Claus walked through Centre Square as a band played “Here Comes Santa Claus.” Santa did a little jiggle to the music, and waved to boys and girls who stood and stared in awe of the jolly man.
Compared with previous years, turnout was light Saturday, likely because of the cold weather and the postponement of the Peace Candle lighting, which is now set for 5:30 p.m. today.
Kim Kmetz, manager of the Easton Main Street Initiative, said despite the small numbers, she hoped shoppers would return to their community businesses throughout the holidays. By supporting local businesses, shoppers see their dollars stay in their communities, she said.
“You can press a button and get things delivered to your home, but it doesn’t feel quite the same,” Kmetz said. “I think that our shops offer things you can’t buy on Amazon, like a lot of handcrafted items.”
Rick Jackson of Phoenix, Ariz., watched his three granddaughters jump around in a “Frozen” bouncy house as his wife stopped in the CarmelCorn Shop on the square.
Jackson and his wife were visiting their son and daughterin-law for the holidays in Easton and decided to attend the familyfriendly event. The family ate at Maxim’s 22 restaurant before the children rode ponies and played in the bouncy house. In between, the adults did some light shopping.
“It’s awesome,” Jackson said. “The town is just so welcoming. I love this little downtown area where everything is going on.”
The Coulombe family — who live in the area and come to the event every year — also like Easton’s “small-town feel,” as Megan Coulombe calls it.
It’s not so much that she and her husband, Richard, come for the shopping, because it’s hard to wander through stores with their three sons, ages 14, 9 and 2. But they enjoy the activities that the children can participate in, such as arts and crafts and seeing Santa.
Marcel Bedoya, owner of Terra Cafe, has been participating every year. His stand was set up near the small train ride and petting zoo.
Over the years, he’s seen the same families come to the event.
And there’s one thing on his menu they look for: “The hot cocoa,” he said, laughing.