Castlegar’s downtown businesses want you to “shop, socialize and savour” the city’s central commercial district.
They’re setting up a whole lot of fun activities to attract you to the city’s core on Friday and Saturday.
I love Downtown Castlegar features 33 downtown businesses showing off their wares this year, a testament to how the commercial area is changing and growing.
It’s the third year the event’s been held, and one of the organizers says it’s made a real difference to the downtown shopping experience.
“The foot traffic on the I love Downtown Castlegar weekend is wonderful,” says Shawna Tarasoff, the manager of Mother Natures, a health food and supplies store. “It creates an exciting buzz. We hear more people talking about all the new improvements downtown and checking out the new businesses that are coming downtown.”
Tarasoff says she hopes locals will come to the city centre to experience shopping in their own community.
“We want people to see and discover what’s new and exciting,” she says. “We want them to enjoy the new sculptures that went up last weekend. And of course to encourage everyone to shop local.
Besides visiting shops and stores from the Kootenay Market to the Old Theatre, there’s going to be live music, a bake sale, horse-riding, face painting, and a whole lot more.
You could also win a grand prize of $1,000 in gift certificates from downtown Castlegar businesses, just by filling out a ballot at any of the participating stores.
“We are all local business coming together to support where we are located,” says Tarasoff. “And we just want to have some fun.”
