If they'd paved the sidewalks with bricks it couldn't have been a more Mall-like atmosphere around the Lafayette Public Square for both main and sidestreet merchants. The annual “Christmas On the Square” Friday evening event was an enjoyable success once more, as mild and fair fall weather contributed to a pleasant evening for couples and families strolling around the old town. The square was blocked to vehicle traffic from 6-9 p.m. to create the proper atmosphere for the festivities.
“More than twenty downtown merchants and businesses remained open Friday evening,” noted Chamber of Commerce secretary Lona Vinson. All of the businesses offered refreshments, and many held drawings for special prizes. Business was brisk, and although the beginning of the Christmas shopping season was still officially a week away, it certainly felt like “Christmas” on the Square.
“I only wish I could get more John Deer merchandise in stock,” said Indigo Blues owner Doug Holder. “John Deer green is really big this year, and I could sell 200 sweatshirts, if I could only get them,” he added, resigned to the inevitable shortage of the most popular items that seem to fly off the shelf at this most busy mercantile time of year.
Jewelry, winter clothing, fashionable dresses, honey baked hams, framed artwork, attractive and collectable glassware, a new riding lawnmower, party supplies or flowers, all this and much more was available within walking distance of the county Courthouse, whose offices were also open for the Christmas On the Square festivities Friday evening.
While many people will travel out of town to Rivergate or Bowling Green this Friday for such big-ticket items as flat-screen TVs, digital cameras, game consoles and iPods, shopping close to home is most attractive for the personal items like the watches, jewelry and glassware found in Stanley Johnson's jewelry store. “The younger people really love the silver jewelry, and older shoppers are looking for beautiful glassware, quality watches or gold items,” noted veteran sales lady Judy Tuck.
With hunting, farm work and winter sports comes the need for such staple drygoods as Carhardt jackets, coats and vests, and Macon Department Store's Terry Hudson has had to reorder his attractive and large stock of these long popular items more than once in the last month, even before the tradtional shopping season begins this week.
“Christmas on the Square is a great reminder of how easy it is to shop closer to home, and the Friday night festival gives these hometown merchants an opportunity to show off their wares,” said the Chamber of Commerce's Lona Vinson.
The next opportunity for folks to gather downtown in mass will be for the annual Lafayette Christmas Parade, another night time event scheduled for Saturday evening, December 2 beginning at 5:30 p.m.
While high gas prices, long walks due to huge mall parking lot problems and mobs of shoppers may be what you want for Christmas, local merchants are showing us how easy and pleasant shopping close to home can be.
Let the good people of Lafayette make your Christmas shopping stress free. Patronize our advertisers and your local merchants...and shop close to home this season. Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas 2006!
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