Small Business Saturday is poised to kick off a wave of lively holiday events in the CSRA.
The City of Harlem, its Merchants Association and the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce will host the town’s Sip & Shop from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
No stranger to promoting small businesses with community attractions, the Harlem Merchants Association coordinated the Thanksgiving weekend bazaar as a means not only to celebrate the day (festivities will start with the proclamation of the Small Business Day), but to bring in the Christmas season, according to the event’s social media marketing.
There will be a sleigh set at the grassy square next to Main Street Treats ice cream shop for shoppers to take Christmas pictures, and the Harlem Library will have a mailbox for letters to Santa.
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The “sip” part of the experience will be thanks to bed and breakfast Red Oak Manor, which will be serving drinks at same spot next to Main Street Treats. The day is to culminate with a free concert at the library lawn.
Alongside Harlem’s downtown merchants, some 20 vendors will gather along N. Louisville Street. Among the small shops setting up will be the Earth Pantry, Mad Hatter Farm & Rescue, and even jewelry retailer Kendra Scott, which opened a pop-up store in the Augusta Mall earlier this year for Mother’s Day.
A similar event is scheduled for Sunday, for noon to 5 p.m., at the River Island community at 1570 River Island Pkwy. in Evans, called the “Holiday Sip & Shop.”
Likewise, antique shop Uptown Marketplace at Westtown, on 3830 Washington Rd., Ste. 15, is hosting a Sip & Shop event next Friday, Dec. 2, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., playing Christmas music, serving wine and hors d’oeuvres, offering door prizes.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
