Despite the bitter cold of the evening, there was a sense of community and commerce in downtown Estevan, as shoppers flocked to the 1200-block of Fourth Street on Dec. 8 to partake in Moonlight Madness.
“We had a really good turnout, as far as people on the street taking advantage of the retail, as well as people enjoying the refreshments we had,” said Jennifer Pettitt, president of the Estevan Downtown Business Association. “From a retail point of view, it was a really good turnout, and a really good night.”
From 6 to 10 p.m., shoppers explored the1200 -block, checking out their favourite businesses on either side of the closed street. Some of the attractions featured downtown included a tree lighting and the opportunity for a photo with Santa Claus at Sears. The music that served as the backdrop to the evening was provided by Estevan Comprehensive School students, who busied themselves singing carols over the course of the evening.
Businesses offered a number of different attractions in addition to the promotions and sales. Guests were offered hot chocolate and snacks at some businesses, as well as gift wrapping services and even a game of Jenga.
“Faith on Fourth had a whole bunch of cookies and baking. It was really nice of them to supply that. We had a lot of people stopping to warm up there,” said Pettitt. Many of the offerings, such as the hot chocolate and gift wrapping gave proceeds collected by donation to local charities.
Unfortunately, due to the prohibitively cold temperatures outside, some of the events had to be cancelled, such as the sleigh rides, street hockey and food trucks. In spite of that, Pettitt said that all of the businesses involved with the night saw a steady flow of customers throughout the evening.
“It met and exceeded my expectations, even though the weather was miserable. It was surprisingly well attended,” said Pettitt.
Although it is difficult to provide an exact number of people who turned up for the event, Pettitt said, “The word on the street was that people had stores full of people, and people stayed out there late, which is nice too.”
Pettittt said she was “super impressed” with the turnout of the evening, adding, “People did a really nice job of supporting local businesses, and new businesses downtown on Fourth Street. You could tell they were doing their Christmas shopping in town, which is really appreciated by most merchants.”
