Contact: Stephanie Johnson
(304) 720-3161
director@westsidemainstreet.org

Nov. 26, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

West Side Main Street wants holiday shoppers to “Go West! Shop Local!”

West Side businesses to offer special discounts during one-day event

CHARLESTON, W.Va.– ‘Tis the season to “Go West! – Shop Local” at a special holiday event hosted by West Side Main Street (WSMS) Saturday, Dec. 1. Shoppers are encouraged to visit stores on Charleston’s West Side for a day of exclusive deals and family-friendly activities.

“We would like to take the consumer back to their childhood, when they went to the West Side to purchase that train set at Fountain Hobby or that tool Dad had been eyeing from PileHardware,” said Stephanie Johnson, director of WSMS, a community revitalization program of West Virginia State University Extension Service.  

Shopping local provides consumers with quality materials that cannot be purchased at chain stores, while also improving the success of local businesses through increased revenue, Johnson said. “Shopping at community retailers results in a healthy economy and happy community.”

A trolley, with Santa Claus on board, will transport shoppers to stores in the neighborhood from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Businesses are encouraged to participate in a window-decorating contest, with shoppers voting for their favorites. The winning business will receive a gift package from WSMS and have their 2013 member dues waived.

The winner will be announced at a community gathering at Kelley’s Men’s Shop, on the corner of Washington St. and Pennsylvania Ave., at 3 p.m., where shoppers can enjoy complimentary hot chocolate, carollers, photos with Santa and a tree-lighting ceremony.

West Side Main Street was formed in 2005, in collaboration with WestVirginia State University Extension Service, the City of Charleston and theWest Side Neighborhood Association, to address the revitalization of the business district on Charleston’s West Side. All businesses in the area, not just those currently involved in WSMS, are encouraged to participate in “Go West! Shop Local!”

West Virginia State University is a public, land grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi-generational institution, located in Institute, WV. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.

-WVSU-