COLORADO SPRINGS — The holiday season is launching in downtown Colorado Springs with a tree lighting party at Acacia Park.
It starts the fun of the season to promote community and encourage a boost to local shops and eateries.
Pop up shops are also part of the downtown holiday tradition.
“The pop up is really exciting and really appealing to me, because I really don't know if we'd be able to be downtown otherwise,” said 2023 Pop up retailer, Hannah Duffy.
Duffy’s shop on Pikes Peak Avenue near Cascade Avenue is called Idyll Manor.
It offers European inspired home goods and personal items.
“So our heart and soul is in this idea of being able to slow down kind of as the Europeans do well.”
The holiday pop up program is an opportunity to try out a business concept with less financial risk because of the shorter two-to-three-month commitment to a downtown storefront.
Duffy said, “The hope is that we do really well during this pop up season during the holiday season this year and we're able to stay downtown and make a permanent home down here.”
Pop up shopping is just one piece of marketing downtown for the holiday season.
“[We want to] ensure that they have an exciting, vibrant, unique experience,” said Carrie Simison with the Colorado Springs, Downtown Partnership.
Locally owned single shops do not have the budgets of national retailers, so in downtown Colorado Springs retailers combine efforts with promos and incentives
For example, the downtown holiday coupon book expands each year.
“It's everything from like a percentage off at a retailer, a free appetizer at a business, a BOGO at a brewery. a buy one get one half off at a clothing store,” said Simison.
Downtown also capitalizes on things chains struggle to duplicate.
There is an outdoor skate rink, street decorations, and fun store fronts to view.
“There's a personality to it and it's something that you go home and talk about like ‘oh my gosh, I was Christmas shopping, I got to hug Santa or I saw the Grinch trying to shoplift,” said Simison.
Click here for a list of downtown holiday events.
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