As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, Downtown Gadsden, Inc would like to remind everyone of the importance of shopping and dining local this season. The traditional post-turkey shopping frenzy known as Black Friday can feel overwhelming and impersonal. This year on Friday, November 26, opt for Plaid Friday as a way to slow down and shop with your friends and neighbors in a relaxed environment downtown.

Plaid Friday is a movement to offer an alternative to the fast pace of big box shopping while showing support for local merchants. It is followed by Small Business Saturday on Saturday, November 27.

The Small Business Saturday campaign was begun as a way to remind shoppers to devote part of their holiday shopping weekend to the small businesses that make up the backbone of our communities.

“Shopping in downtown Gadsden with our decorated historic storefronts, walking along the sidewalks, just puts you in the perfect holiday state of mind,” said Kay Moore, DGI director. “We know that everyone is looking forward to getting back into Christmas traditions, the things we had to put aside during the pandemic, and we want to remind them that our downtown businesses need their support now and throughout the year.”

Moore added that shoppers should check with each store to confirm their holiday shopping hours and that DGI is encouraging all downtown businesses to update their social media with that information as well. For a list of DGI-member businesses, please visit downtowngadsden.com/all-members.