CARIBOU, Maine — The city of Caribou officially kicked off the holiday shopping season on Saturday, creating its own spin on the tradition of Small Business Saturday.
A long line of around 40 people quickly grew at the Caribou Recreation Center, as folks were eager to grab one of 200 ornament maps that the city made available. People who shopped at any of the 12 stores that took part in the official Small Business Saturday activities with the maps received free ornaments from the “Classic Caribou” or “Cute Caribou” collections.
Caribou events and marketing director Christina Kane-Gibson said she expected to run out of the ornament maps — 100 for each ornament collection — in an hour and a half or less, as that’s what happened last year when city businesses gave away free holiday-themed bracelets. The ornaments were designed by local artists Gallant Artwork and SoulStrike Studios.
“This is the second year that we’ve put on an official Small Business Saturday event,” Kane-Gibson said. “We wanted to do something different to put people in the holiday spirit and encourage them to support the wonderful businesses we have here in Caribou.”
At Brambleberry Market on Sweden Street, owner Debbie Sutherland welcomed dozens of customers into her store in the late morning hours, all of them carrying ornament maps and eager to purchase holiday gifts.
Sutherland has owned and operated Brambleberry Market for the past eight years and sells items such as country and inspirational-themed clothing, jewelry, prints and greeting cards. She has always taken part in Small Business Saturday and said she is glad to see the city of Caribou come up with fun ways to encourage people to shop locally.
“When people shop at local retail stores they’re also more likely to support local grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations and car repair shops and do all their business in town,” Sutherland said.
Wanda Hale of Caribou was one of many city shoppers who looked forward to checking out what Brambleberry Market and other local stores had to offer.
“This is one of my favorite places to go when I’m looking for something special,” Hale said of Brambleberry Market.
Just down the street at Aroostook Stitches, a quilting supply store, owner Susan Maley was busy helping customers find the materials they would need to create handmade holiday gifts. Maley marked her second year in business this year and noted how grateful she is for the people who regularly come out to support local entrepreneurs.
“I think there are a lot of different businesses in town people might not know about if the city didn’t put on events like this,” Maley said of Small Business Saturday. “It’s wonderful that the city has gotten involved with promoting small businesses.”
While many shoppers were from the Caribou area, others traveled from farther away to browse the city’s stores. Cheryl McGari lives in Houlton, and though she is not able to visit Caribou often, she wanted to see what unique products she could find at Aroostook Stitches and neighboring businesses.
“Small businesses are the heart of our country,” McGari said. “It’s up to us to help keep them going.”
