July 15th, 2021 | Written By Kingsli Kraft
Downtown Sidewalk Sales kick off TODAY!! Sidewalk Sales always coincide with the Annual Michigan Brown Trout Festival and this year Sidewalk Sales start today, Thursday, July 15th and run through Saturday, July 17th, 2021. Businesses will be open their regular business hours and participating businesses include:
– Chippewa Valley Mercantile & Leatherworks
– Family Enterprise Embroidery, Inc.
– Glik’s
– Bella Rose Yoga & Fitness Studio
– The Holiday Inn Express & Suites
This year we at the DDA are introducing a new promotion alongside regular Downtown Sidewalk Sales—“Fishing for Downtown Dollars!” Since the Michigan Brown Trout Festival kicks off today as well, when you shop at participating businesses during Sidewalk Sales you can draw a “fish” from a fishbowl for a chance to win:
– 1 of 40 “Perch” which can be redeemed for $5 in Downtown Dollars at the DDA Office.
– 1 of 10 “Salmon” which can be redeemed for $10 in Downtown Dollars at the DDA Office.
– 1 “Big Brownie” which can be turned in for $100 in Downtown Dollars at the DDA Office.
There are also plenty of baby “Rainbow Trout” mixed into the bowls that will have no value and will have to be thrown back. Hey, we’re just trying to keep it realistic!
So that means we are giving away up to $400 in Downtown Dollars, and any winning fish that aren’t caught by Saturday, will be included in a giveaway on social media when Sidewalk Sales are over!
If you don’t draw a winner at one location, you can always try again one of the other businesses that is participating in Downtown Sidewalk Sales. There are 27 total places where you can Fish for Downtown Dollars. You can draw a fish once a day at each location, so ultimately you have up to 81 chances draw a winning fish!
If you DO draw a winner,
- WAHOO!! Congrats! We’re so excited for you!!
- Keep the Fish (do not return it to the bowl) and follow the instructions on the fish to redeem it!
- To redeem a winning fish you can call (989) 356-6422 and schedule a time to pick up your winning amount at our office which is located at 124 E. Chisholm St., Alpena, MI 49707.
This year we have a record for participation in this promotion with the twenty-seven businesses signed up to participate. Seeing our downtown continue to grow and welcome new businesses into our district has been amazing and we think Sidewalk Sales are going to be next level this year!
Personally, I am so excited for this new promotion we’re running during Downtown Sidewalk Sales. Fishing for Downtown Dollars is an idea I’ve had for a while and I think it’s going to be so much fun for customers and business owners alike. It puts a fun new spin on a familiar tradition and connects the rest of the downtown district to the annual tradition of the Brown Trout Festival in a new and more direct way.
Especially after last summer and the cancellation of so many favorite events, we really want to polish all of our events and bring them back bigger and better than before. Sometimes that means adding a fun new element like this one, which we hope to continue in the future!
We hope people join in on the fun of it, trying to catch a winning fish!
We definitely encourage shoppers to make a day (or three!) of it, maybe spice up your own summer tradition of shopping Sidewalk Sales by dressing up in your most fabulous outfit, stopping for a drink at your favorite spot for coffee/tea/wine/beer and snapping a picture at one of the downtown murals! (And if you post any cute pictures of you and your people shopping together and enjoying downtown, don’t forget to tag us on Instagram @downtownalpena and on Facebook as Downtown Alpena.)
No purchase is necessary to participate in the Fishing for Downtown Dollars promotion. The numbers of “fish” listed above are the total number that will be throughout all of downtown at participating businesses. There will be up to $400 in Downtown Dollars given away during this promotion.
For the most up-to-date information on this event and promotion, please visit our Facebook Event.
To find out more about the Michigan Brown Trout Festival and their schedule of events, visit their website.
Kingsli Kraft wrote this article for Blog Downtown Alpena. Kingsli is an Alpena native and a graduate of the University of Michigan. She now works at the Alpena Downtown Development Authority as the Marketing and Outreach Coordinator. She volunteers on Thunder Bay Theatre’s Board of Directors and is a dedicated advocate for the arts and environment. She enjoys reading, writing, yoga, hiking, caring for her numerous house plants and all things coffee. You can follow her on Instagram here.
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