NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, Nov. 7.
PORT ANGELES — The Christmas shopping season has already begun, and the fourth annual Port Angeles Holiday Extravaganza will give area shoppers a head start beginning today.
Shoppers who show up at any of the 47 participating Port Angeles stores will be entered into a raffle to win $5,000 in gift certificates, without a fee or a need to make a purchase.
Businesses also will offer sales, surprises, refreshments and drawings for store prizes.
The event, previously over two days, has been expanded this year to three days: today, Saturday and Sunday.
Participation also has grown from the 34 stores involved in 2013.
A retail thank-you
The 2014 Holiday Extravaganza is meant as a thank-you to the loyal, local customers that make the city’s small businesses possible, said Edna Petersen, one of the organizers of the event.
It is also “a good opportunity to reintroduce folks to locally owned Port Angeles shops, what we have to offer and how cool we are,” said Petersen, who owns Necessities & Temptations at 217 N. Laurel St., a gift and department store.
The extravaganza is the result of business owners working together, Petersen said.
“They were troupers and really worked hard,” she said.
The 2014 lineup of shops includes offerings for a wide variety of tastes, from western wear to baby and toddler supplies, hardware, power sports equipment, shoes, electronics and food.
See what’s on offer
“It’s a chance for people to get out and see what businesses have to offer, to get out and see what they can get when they shop locally and don’t have to drive to Silverdale or shop online,” said Linda Cameron, customer service manager at Jim’s Pharmacy, 424 E. Second St.
Many people don’t know what is available at local shops, and in some cases don’t know what stores are in town, Cameron said.
Jim’s Pharmacy, located behind the post office on First Street, is often overlooked because of its location, and other stores are similarly “hidden” or are new, Cameron said.
“People come in and say, ‘I didn’t know you were here,’” Cameron said.
Many businesses taking part in the extravaganza aren’t traditional holiday shopping locations but are worthwhile for area residents to know about, Cameron said.
This year, businesses include restaurants, furniture stores, a car wash, a spa and hotels.
The more businesses shoppers visit, the better their chances of winning prizes, since many stores offer their own.
Grand prize
The $5,000 grand prize is made up mostly of donated $100 gift cards, one from each business taking part in the extravaganza, Cameron said.
Each customer can enter the drawing once each day at each business, she said.
On Monday, each business will draw a single entry from the entries they collected.
Those will be entered into a common pot from which the grand-prize winner will be selected.
Odyssey Bookshop, one of the businesses that will offer prizes, will give a $50 gift certificate, said April Bellerud, owner for the shop at 114 W. Front St.
The extravaganza weekend typically brings 200 to 300 people to her shop each year, Bellerud said.
“It’s just fun. There are a lot of people out, and it’s high-energy,” she said.
A 20-page insert listing the 47 participating stores and highlighting special events and sales during Holiday Extravaganza 2014 was part of Wednesday’s Peninsula Daily News.
A map of the stores’ locations also is included in the insert.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
