'Come Home for Christmas': Brockville's festive plan to bring shoppers downtown
Downtown Brockville, Ont. got into the Christmas spirit on Friday afternoon, aiming to bring shoppers into the heart of the city.
The first-time initiative, called 'Come Home for Christmas', was created after hearing feedback from downtown businesses to promote shopping local.
"For years, we've heard that Brockville doesn't do as much at Christmas as we should so we kind of thought, 'Hey, let's throw together a little Christmas event'," said Sam Cowan, Downtown Brockville Special Events and Communication Coordinator. "Hopefully, as the years go on it grows and gets the community more involved."
King Street was closed to vehicle traffic between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., but it was still open for business, with 39 businesses extending their hours for the event.
"We're just trying to entice some shoppers to come downtown and maybe shop around, dine, eat and just enjoy the downtown and see what we've got," Cowan added.
Horse-drawn sleigh rides were available on the west end of King Street, and a reindeer farm was set up in front of Brockville City Hall.
Sleigh rides along King Street in Brockville, Ont. as part of the 'Come Home for Christmas' shop local campaign. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)
"The biggest question is, 'Are they real?" said Kendra Thomson of Sherwood's Reindeer Farm in Napanee. "They are Santa's reindeer, he lets us borrow them. Dancer and Prancer are here today."
Families and shoppers gathered around the pen, taking pictures with both.
"I think it's fantastic and great for the businesses," said Joan Lahey. "Given that we're still coming through COVID, to revive the downtown area and to bring people in families and children I think it's fantastic."
Pamela Robertson with the Brockville and Area Chamber of Commerce was promoting their shop local campaign, 'Shop Where Your Heart Is.'
"We've been doing this since the middle of October and it's really about all the businesses and the local businesses that support our community in every initiative, fundraising, sports teams and we really want to help them out," Robertson said.
"We're really excited about them staying open, 39 businesses is a big deal for downtown Brockville and we're here to support it all," she added.
The chamber is also handing out prizes every month for the campaign, which runs through the end of January.
King Street in downtown Kingston was closed to traffic on Friday as part of the 'Come Home for Christmas' shop local campaign. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)
"Everybody just needs to put three receipts in an envelope and we have the envelopes here and bring them down to the chamber office," Robertson said. "We do the draws on the first of every month."
Carollers could be heard singing holiday favourites, and as the sun set, the pedestrian traffic picked up. Santa was also on hand for photos.
Downtown Brockville also handed out 4,000 glow sticks to everyone that attended.
"Hopefully, we can have a nice little glowing group of people going down the road during the night," Cowan said.
"The people and the businesses are just so happy to hear that something is going on especially during a pandemic year. It's been really great and we're hoping for a great turnout."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Here's how much more Canadian landlords are asking for now, according to a just-released report
A new report says the average asking rent for a home in Canada in April was up 9.3 per cent compared with a year ago, while a slight month-over-month increase was also recorded for the first time since January.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
What is basic income, and how would it impact me?
Parliamentarians are considering a pair of bills aiming to lift people out of poverty through a basic income program, but some fear these types of systems could result in more taxes for Canadians who are already financially struggling.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
'I may have some nightmares:' Man survives being bitten by 2 sharks in Bahamas
A man who was bitten by two sharks in the Bahamas said Thursday he's 'thankful that I'm here' while sharing his story of survival.
Out-of-control wildfire burning near Fort McMurray
As of 9 a.m. on Friday, the wildfire burning 28 kilometres southwest of the northeastern Alberta city was 25 hectares in size.
Mexico's president accuses press and volunteer searchers for missing people of 'necrophilia'
The administration of Mexico's president has accused the press and volunteer searchers who look for the bodies of missing people of 'necrophilia,' comments that drew criticism this week.