James Might has sold plenty of jewelry and art during the holidays, but having a store in a quaint shopping district makes it a much more enjoyable experience for him.
Might, who owns Renaissance Celebration in Fairhaven, has sold a vast array of art for about 30 years, with several of those years in a mall setting. The quaintness of the shopping district is one of the reasons he's enjoying the holiday season, but it's also the attitude of everyone he sees when they walk into the store.
"People are so much more relaxed (than at a mall) and it's less frantic," Might said. "When I get off work and close the store for the evening, I still find myself enjoying Fairhaven. I'm so glad I found Fairhaven after being in the malls."
While thousands of shoppers will be venturing out late on Thanksgiving night and into the early morning hours of Black Friday in Bellingham, many local retailers are offering alternatives to make shopping a more relaxed, traditional experience. The Old Fairhaven Association has organized a holiday festival that features a variety of events each weekend leading up to Christmas.
On Friday, Nov. 25, many Fairhaven merchants will be open until 9 p.m., offering afternoon and evening events, including the official lighting of the Village Green, horse-drawn wagon rides, a holiday art walk, the arrival of Santa and carolers strolling through the district.
"It's exactly the opposite of (the national) Black Friday," said Annette Bagley of the Old Fairhaven Association. "People will get that old-fashioned holiday feel and be able to get in some shopping in the evening."
What's different about Fairhaven's holiday festival from past years is the expansion of events on Black Friday and each December weekend through Christmas Eve. The association also has a variety of events Saturday, Nov. 26, known as Small Business Saturday.
"It's nice to have it stretched out over the holiday season," Might said, adding that it gives people the flexibility on when they want to enjoy the Fairhaven holiday experience.
Local merchants beyond Fairhaven also are finding ways to provide an alternative experience to big-box store shopping. On Friday, Nov. 25, hundreds of businesses will kick off Buy Local Week, which goes through Sunday, Dec. 4. Buy Local Week encourages community members to shift at least 10 percent of their nonlocal shopping to local, independently owned businesses. Organized by Sustainable Connections, the week includes many participating businesses offering discounts and deals.
In the downtown Bellingham district, Black Friday is being left up to retailers on what specials to do, but the area is organizing a variety of events throughout December, said Rob Camandona, executive director for the Downtown Bellingham Partnership.
In December the downtown organization will host a Shop.Dine.Celebrate! event. Shoppers who purchase a certain amount of items in downtown stores will receive a Downtown Bellingham sticker on the gift receipt that can be used at participating restaurants for a special treat, discount or drink.
"We wanted to reward shoppers that shop in the downtown stores with an opportunity to stick around and enjoy some of the restaurants we have," Camandona said.
The downtown merchants also will have special events planned for the art walk on Friday, Dec. 2.
Free parking throughout the downtown district will be available Dec. 12-26; for shoppers who have trouble finding parking on the streets, the Parkade usually has empty spaces available, Camandona said.
The goal is to eventually create an atmosphere where downtown holiday shopping has the same kind of pedestrian traffic as some of the popular one-time events, such as Bite of Bellingham.
HOLIDAY SHOPPING DETAILS
For more information about:
• Fairhaven's Holiday Festival, visit Fairhaven.com.
• Buy Local Week, visit sustainableconnections.org.
• Downtown Bellingham events, visit downtownbellingham.com.
