CROWN HEIGHTS — ‘Tis the season to shop locally.
More than 160 neighborhood businesses are set to start the holiday shopping season this weekend with discounts, specials and giveaways for local shoppers in Crown Heights and Prospect-Lefferts Gardens.
Merchants from Nostrand and Flatbush avenues are kicking off “Shop Local CB9” on Saturday, named for the community board that encompasses the the Nostrand Avenue Merchants Association and the Parkside Empire Flatbush Merchants Association.
Participating businesses will post red balloons outside their shops and posters in their windows advertising specials and discounts offered for three days: Nov. 28, Dec. 12 and Dec. 13, said Pia Raymond, member of CB9’s economic development committee and organizer of the effort.
The “shop local” campaign began last year with a few dozen stores, but has grown in its second year, Raymond said.
“We have a lot of new businesses in the neighborhood,” she said. “It’s an exciting time.”
North of the CB9 effort, a group of merchants on or near Franklin Avenue — including wine store Wino(t), jewelry studio Barbara Campbell NYC and martial arts studio Elements Athletics — are putting together their own “shop local” campaign.
The event will kick off this weekend to coincide with the nationwide “Small Business Saturday” and continue through the weekend of Dec. 19.
All businesses taking part will have blue balloons out front, and offer discounts and a reusable tote giveaway, said Keri Cavanaugh, owner of Franklin Avenue gift shop Owl and Thistle, who encourages Crown Heights residents to think outside the big box store.
“You think, ‘Oh, I have to schlep to Target’ or something, but we have such a good variety of stores at different price points,” she said. “There’s so much in the neighborhood if you’re willing to walk an extra block or two.”
For more information about Shop Local CB9 or Small Business Saturday in Crown Heights, visit the Nostrand Avenue Merchant Association or Owl and Thistle Facebook pages.
