Michelle Ryan , owner of True North boutique in downtown New Albany , arranges jewelry ahead of Small Business Saturday in this file photo from 2017 . Photo by Tyler Stewart .
sanitation stations , and we ’ ll show that businesses are taking [ safety ] seriously .”
Develop New Albany recently started campaign called “ Love Local ,” and during the holiday season from Nov . 6 to Dec . 26 , it is offering an incentive program . As people text in their receipts from local New Albany shops , it is giving away “ Love Local Bucks ” in a weekly drawing to be used at participating stores . Some weeks it will be giving away $ 100 , and other weeks it will be giving away $ 200 .
However , Develop New Albany will not be offering its annual Jingle Walk on Small Business Saturday this year , according to Trueblood . The annual event includes tastings from local wineries at participating shops in New Albany , and it typically brings about a thousand people into downtown New Albany shops , she said .
“ Shops don ’ t have a lot of square footage , and with still having to do social distancing , we couldn ’ t figure out a way to do it responsibly ,” she said .
Michelle Ryan , owner of True North in downtown New Albany , said Small Business Saturday is the biggest single day of sales for the boutique .
Supporting small businesses allows people to “ spend their dollars thoughtfully ,” she said , and it is a " communityrooted ” action that allows for direct interactions between the customers and owners .
“ For businesses like this , there are many local makers involved , and you are supporting each one of those — it ’ s not just one person ,” she said .
32 November / December 2020