PORT ANGELES — A lucky shopper at any one of 30 Port Angeles businesses this weekend could win a $3,000 shopping spree during a celebration meant to kick off the holiday season and showcase the best of what the city’s retail establishments have to offer.
Port Angeles’ 2012 Holiday Extravaganza runs this Saturday and Sunday and is meant as a thank you to the loyal, local customers that make the city’s small businesses possible, said Edna Petersen, a store owner who is one of the organizers of the event.
The weekend celebration is also a chance to reacquaint residents with locally owned Port Angeles shops they might not even know exist, said Petersen, who owns Necessities & Temptations at 217 N. Laurel St., which she describes as a downtown department store.
“It’s just a good opportunity to reintroduce folks to Port Angeles, what we have to offer and how cool we are,” Petersen said.
“[Port Angeles] has everything from sewing machines to bikinis to hardware stores.”
Saturday and Sunday
The extravaganza, running from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, will feature 30 shops across the city where residents can enter to win $3,000 in gift certificates, Petersen said, with each of the stores donating $100 to the pot.
The winning entry will be drawn Monday morning, Petersen said, adding that a location for the drawing had not been determined as of Tuesday.
Petersen teamed up with Marilyn Lamb of the Cottage Queen clothing store at 119 W. First St. and Franni Feeley of Franni’s Gift Exchange at 1215 E. Front St. to take over the reins of the celebration from the owners of The Toggery clothing store after Mary and Roy Gotham closed it last year.
Last year, Petersen said she, Lamb and Feeley were able to secure $1,800 in gift certificates from 18 local businesses, and in later years, Petersen said, she hopes eventually to work up to having 100 businesses participating.
Petersen emphasized that retailers from all over the city will participate; the extravaganza will not be focused only on downtown as it was last year.
“Anybody can play with us,” Petersen said.
Lamb said she and her two co-planners have spent the past two or three months meeting with local business owners on how the extravaganza raffle promotion is a win for both customers and store owners.
Raffle drawing
Shoppers can enter their names for the raffle at any or all of the stores participating, Lamb said.
“It will increase the chances of winning if they go to as many businesses as possible,” she said.
Each of the three main organizers of the event took time out of her workday or met early in the mornings before her own shop opened to plan for the extravaganza, Lamb said.
Lamb and Petersen said the remaining work now lies in collecting the 30 gift certificates from participating businesses and organizing a raffle-drawing location.
“I don’t know if people really realize what it entails,” Lamb said. “It’s a lot of legwork.”
As part of talking with local shop owners about the extravaganza, Lamb said she and the other two main planners tried to encourage the owners to bring an air of celebration to their stores once the event starts Saturday.
Santa Claus visits
For example, Lamb said she will be hosting visits with Santa Claus at her store, which sells children’s clothing, and will be offering special sale prices on some of her most sought-after items, such as luggage.
As the weekend approaches, Petersen said she hopes this year’s Holiday Extravaganza will show that the local shops of Port Angeles still have surprises in store for their customers.
“We invite you to have fun, join us and experience what Port Angeles has to offer,” Petersen said.
For more information on the extravaganza, phone Lamb at Cottage Queen at 360-452-8878 or Petersen at Necessities and Temptations at 360-457-6400.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
