Thorold City Hall isn't the only one gearing up for the big return of the Santa Claus Parade this Saturday. The Thorold Business Improvement Area Association (BIA) is hard at work, setting up their own side activities.
“We’re doing a boutique crawl that day,” says the BIA’s secretary and treasurer, Marsha Coppola, in an interview with ThoroldToday. “It’s an event to encourage people to come downtown and shop. You can have little sweet treats as you shop, you can get some great deals, supporting local businesses.”
There will also be a raffle with many prizes to be won.
“We have a passport,” says Coppola. “You get a little card and when you go to each door that’s participating you get a stamp. Then we have 300 dollars worth of prizes to give away.”
Coppola owns Da Bomb Bath Co. On Front St and she’s been getting her store ready for the parade.
“It’s like a winter wonderland in there,” she says. “[Like] the movie ‘Elf’ where they’re in the toy store and Buddy the Elf turns it into winterland with all the snowflakes and fake snow, we literally did that. It looks awesome. People are always in awe when they come in.”
On the day of the parade Da Bomb Bath Co. will be offering free hot chocolate.
“I’m literally coming into work right now to do more decorating, and figuring out the hot chocolate,” says Coppola. “Did you see our Santa? He’s an animated Santa. He’s six feet tall and he moves. He is amazing. The kids are going to love him on Saturday.”
The Boutique Crawl is the third event this season put on by the Thorold BIA.
“I’m excited to get people down here,” says Coppola. “We’ve had great momentum with the BIA having so many events. We had a huge success with the puppy parade. We’re seeing more and more people. It’s been awesome. It’s been nice to see people’s faces again and reconnect with our regulars and people who maybe never knew that there was a downtown.”
Coppola credits the success of the Thorold BIA to the new businesses that have moved in downtown.
“We don’t have a lot of empty storefronts,” she says. “When people were coming downtown three or four years ago it was patchy. They did the construction which made it prettier, it is a nicer view, but if we didn’t have those new businesses we’d still be in the same place. I was here when we had nobody down here and it was a ghost town. I’ve seen the development and it’s been really nice to see.”
The Downtown Thorold Boutique Crawl will take place this Saturday, Nov. 26 from 12 p.m. until 6 p.m. The Thorold Santa Claus Parade will start at 4 p.m. and go until roughly 6 p.m.