Successful debut for Shelburne’s ‘Super Saturday’ despite brutal winter weather

March 5, 2020 · 0 Comments

Written By MARNI WALSH

Despite some of the worst weather of the season, the Shelburne Business Improvement Area (BIA) bravely held its first Super Saturday Sale on Feb. 29 throughout the downtown core.

According to BIA member, Melissa Hooper, the event was inspired by a single business owner who had tried out the idea and found it to be quite successful.

“I thought why can’t the BIA get behind this and make it a whole downtown event and advertise it,” Ms. Hooper told the Free Press.

Melissa Hooper is from Grand Valley, however, she became involved with the Shelburne BIA while working at H&H Tax Management on Main Street Shelburne.

The 2020 Shelburne BIA board includes, Chairman, Ed Crewson of Crewson Insurance; Vice Chair, Jodi Jones of Being in Balance; Secretary, AJ Cavey of Cobwebs and Caviar; Administrative Assistant, Megan Timmins, Marketing Manager for the Shelburne Farmers’ Market; and Melissa Hooper as Treasurer.

Melissa Hooper says the BIA’s goal for Super Saturdays includes, “Making this event an opportunity to bring people to Shelburne’s downtown to enjoy the day and bringing exposure to some of the great businesses we have here; maybe even inspiring people to want to open their own store and fill some of the empty downtown business spaces.”

Most downtown core businesses participated in the event, with some holding special events to accompany their Super Saturday sale prices.

Business, such as Cobwebs and Caviar, which had a “Stuff It Saturday Sale” in which participating customers could buy a reusable bag and receive a discount on everything they could fit into the bag, including clothing, gifts, and quilting. Other businesses, such as Impact Martial Arts, offered a free month of Judo classes to anyone who called in to sign-up for classes at their facility on Super Saturday.

So far, Melissa Hooper says the feedback from the several businesses which responded to the event, is that they “saw an increase in traffic through their stores with people who knew of the sales.”

She says, those business owners feel, “It is definitely worth running again, which we are super pleased to hear.”

The next date for planned,by the Business Improvement Area, for the next Super Saturday event is Saturday, May 30 – when the weather promises to be more inviting for shopping and strolling downtown Shelburne.