Trollies, specials and more at Small Business Saturday in downtown Concord

“Clang, clang, clang went the trolley.”

Those are lyrics from the iconic “The Trolley Song,” featured in the 1944 Christmas film “Meet Me in St. Louis,” starring Judy Garland.

The words, or at least the atmosphere behind them, can also be applied to Small Business Saturday on Nov. 30 in downtown Concord, which will feature two trolleys parading people between the downtown, Southern Strain and Gibson Mills as part of the Holiday Trail. The trolleys, which will be free to the public, will be running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Small Business Saturday is a national marketing initiative created and promoted by American Express to encourage holiday shopping on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was first observed in 2010, and downtown Concord has taken part to some degree each year, according to Paige Grochoske, the city’s downtown development manager.

There also will be more than 50 indoor and outdoor pop-up vendors. The vendors will be located in three specific areas: District 1 (Union Street North), District 2 (Union Street sidewalks), and District 3 (Barbrick Avenue and The Lenz Studio).

“We are excited, again this year, to give those small businesses without a brick-and-mortar location an opportunity to sell their goods and products for this amazing event,” said Ashley Howell, owner of The Lenz Studio, who helped coordinate the vendors.

If people make at least two purchases in all three districts (from vendors or businesses), they will enter into a raffle for a chance to win $100 that can be spent in downtown.

“The weekend after Thanksgiving is where retail has seen their bottom line go from red to black,” Grochoske said, noting many of the downtown businesses will have their own promotions. “It’s always been a big focal point for shopping.”

As part of the Holiday Trail, there will be more than just shopping: Kids can have their pictures taken with Santa Claus, who will be by the large tree in front of the historic courthouse from noon to 3 p.m. There also will be a letter-writing station where children can write and mail letters to Jolly Old St. Nicholas.

Kathleen Reeder, owner of The Bead Lady, Cindy Sheppard, owner of ShoeBeDoo and Ashley Howell helped spearhead downtown Concord’s involvement with Small Business Saturday last year and played a key role again this year, with help from Grochoske and the city of Concord.

“We’re really excited that we helped grow the awareness of Small Business Saturday,” Reeder told The Independent Tribune, noting that for many of the businesses, the day is their “Super Bowl.” This year should be even better, she’s said, given that the Streetscape Project is largely finished, so the downtown has the capacity to welcome even more people.

“To me, I just love that the focus is on small businesses rather than the big box businesses that everybody knows about,” Sheppard said. “I would like to see really all the small businesses do well and get a lot of attention and focus.”