Nov 29, 2021 4 min read

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Enjoying breakfast Saturday at Thistledown Boutique are, clockwise, from left, Kelly Stover, Amber Taylor, Shannon Dulaney and Michelle Stepp.

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Shana Brown, Main Street Manager, pauses for a photo with daughter Annaleigh, 10, on Saturday.

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A youngster decorates an ornament in the Main Street pavilion in downtown Washington during last year’s Small Business Saturday.

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People line up in the pavilion to get their “passports” for Saturday’s breakfast crawl.

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Children eagerly await the start of a puppet show held as part of Saturday’s festivities in downtown Washington.

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Ignite pop-up event

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April Plants and Diane Welty of Washington chat with Jen Lucas, certified vibrational sound and energy therapist of Yang & Yin Health, during Saturday’s pop-up event at Ignite business incubator in Washington.

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Washington Mayor Scott Putnam lights the City Hall Christmas Tree to culminate Small Business Saturday.

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Fern Sibert of Washington puts tickets in bags for raffle baskets during Small Business Saturday.

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Crowds of folks walked the streets of downtown Washington Saturday, undeterred by the day’s chilly weather.

“We’ve exceeded expectations,” said Shana Brown, Main Street Manager for the Washington Business District Authority. “We had a mad rush right at (9 a.m.)

It was Small Business Saturday in the city, as the event returned after a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The goal is to get the community downtown, get them excited, get them back down here to see what we have to offer,” Brown said. “We have fabulous, fabulous businesses. We have fabulous restaurants, fabulous venues. It’s really just our chance to show off.”

Small Business Saturday was first observed in the United States in November 2010. The concept was introduced by American Express to boost smaller community operations. Shoppers are encouraged to patronize businesses that are small and local.

“We try to do everything we can to support local businesses,” said MaryAnn Bohner of Washington, echoing the theme of many who took in Saturday’s events.

There were many activities offered as part of the day, including a breakfast crawl, puppet show, raffles, activities for kids such as decorating their own cookies or Christmas ornaments and the lighting of the holiday tree by Mayor Scott Putnam.

As part of the breakfast crawl, patrons entered each participating business and had their “passport” was stamped. They could return their fully stamped passport at the pavilion to enter a raffle to win prizes.

Shannon Dulaney of Marianna was enjoying breakfast of locally made foods with a few friends at Thistledown Boutique during the crawl.

“We saw it on Facebook and it just looked like a great way to celebrate the holidays and support local businesses,” she said of the Small Business Saturday event.

Unfortunately, one planned event – horse and wagon rides – had to be postponed due to illness of those who were to operate the rides.

Main Street was festively adorned for the holiday season. Plus, there was a competition of sorts. There were decorated trees at 16 downtown businesses and patrons voted for their favorite tree. The winner will be announced Dec. 6. All proceeds will go to charity.

Pop-up events featuring numerous vendors took place at Ignite business incubator and Venue 54.

“People are dying for something to do,” said Jodi Rhodes, whose parents own Venue 54. “We have just been stifled because of COVID for almost the last two years.”

Venue 54 featured 17 vendors whose wares ranged from cat towers to blankets and pillows to custom-made T-shirts.

“I’m glad to be a part of a community that always tries to better themselves,” said Trevor Jones of Flight Photography. “It’s always good to be able to come together in times like this and look forward to bringing joy to other people.”

One vendor was ONEHOPE Wine, a company of which portions of sales go to charity. The company was fundraising for the Washington City Mission Saturday.

There were 11 vendors at Ignite business incubator and co-working space with wares such as wood products, candles, jewelry, do-it-yourself balloon kits and double-dipped confections.

“We’re really excited to support the local businesses,” said Lauren LaGreca, manager of Ignite. “Bringing people back together and being able to support these small businesses (is great). We’re looking to do more of these events in 2022 as another way to support the businesses.”

Most of the vendors at Ignite sold out of what they had on hand Saturday.

A large crowd was already on hand at The Marketplace at Emerald Valley, shortly after 9 a.m.

“Just look at the room, look at the street,” said Alisa Fava Fasnacht, owner of The Marketplace. “Any time the businesses here on the street can work in that collaborative fashion to organize something for the consumers, it just works, the community just responds. We know the businesses appreciate it, we know the vendors appreciate and we also know the community and the people who come do. We have so much here to showcase. Sometimes that gets lost in the message of what we don’t have and what we need to do. If all we’re going to do is look at what we don’t have and what we need to do, we’re really going to miss what we already have, which is actually pretty impressive.”

Brown was thrilled Sunday morning over how Small Business Saturday transpired.

“I’m very, very happy,” she said. “I’ve gotten multiple emails from small businesses saying it was a success for them. That’s what it’s all about. As long as they’re happy, I’m happy. It was a fantastic day. I enjoyed every second of seeing people downtown. Everybody was happy. We’re so proud of our small businesses.”