The streets of Mount Gambier are set to open in a late night shopping extravaganza next week as part of an after hours VIP festive shopping bonanza.
The Mount Gambier Chamber of Commerce Christmas Wrap Up event will be held next Wednesday from 5pm-9pm with more than 60 traders taking part.
The shopping event has been initiated by the Chamber through consultation directly with the local retail community to promote Mount Gambier as a vibrant and exciting place to shop.
Shoppers will be encouraged to purchase a $10 ticket to attend the community event, which will provide access to discounts and prizes on the night.
Mount Gambier Chamber of Commerce board member Matt Kain said the event had received overwhelming support, exceeding the Chamber’s target of a minimum of 40 businesses.
“We were initially targeting the retailers first and foremost and then we moved to a second stage and started to incorporate the food operators,” he said.
“A $10 ticket will give you entry to the cash draw, but also it gives people access to the specific discounts and specials all the traders are going to be offering on the night.
“We have already sold a good portion of those tickets, but we do expect there will be a lot of late sales with that right up until the day.
“If someone came shopping that night and did not know what it was all about, they can even buy a ticket right there in the store.
The event will feature a variety of activities and attractions, including a map featuring each participating business and their in-store promotions as well as buskers and street performers.
Various “Drop and Shop” childcare services will be available during the evening, including a collaboration between Rachel’s Childcare and MJ Dance, Creatives and Kids Spot Mount Gambier.
Christmas present wrapping by the Lions Club of Blue Lake City Lioness will be available at The Fat Frog Kitchen and San Piero Coffee Roasters, with money raised donated to the Mayor’s Community Christmas Appeal.
Mr Kain said the Christmas Wrap Up was being held to help regenerate and rebuild Mount Gambier’s CBD shopping culture while promoting the benefits of buying locally.
“This event has been done in lots of different iterations from lots of other separate organisations but this is the first time it has been holistically done in a neutral sense that is open to all traders that operate in the Mount Gambier area,” he said.
“It will actually be this next period that’s going to be hard and absolutely more than ever the Mount Gambier shopping district will need to band together to really put its best foot forward and for the locals to support that shopping precinct and also attract shoppers from outside of Mount Gambier.
“We also have that element where this is going to be some charity fundraising for the Mayor’s Community Christmas Appeal.
“The Chamber would absolutely support the retailers working together and collaborating more on not just a future Christmas event but other seasonal events that would promote Mount Gambier as being a major regional shopping centre.”
