By Justin Aufdermauer
Executive Director
After a marvelous summer, fall is finally here. I think the change in weather is welcomed by many of us, as well as the new routine of taking kids to school and grabbing an extra jacket before leaving the house.
Fall also means its time to launch Downtown Sweepstakes 2.0.
Last year was our first time trying this new shopping incentive to encourage people to come downtown and spend a little time and hopefully a little money. It started as a way to mitigate the effects of construction that many of our downtown business owners were feeling, and worked similarly to an old-fashioned cash mob but extended the shopping period over several months.
When we had this hair-brained idea last year, we had no idea how well it was going to take off, or how many people it would bring downtown. Over the course of the sweepstakes last year we had 1,493 entries; this year we’re hoping to see more 2,000.
And while the construction project is on track to wrap up this fall, we still want to encourage people to enjoy our newly remodeled downtown area, so we’re launching Downtown Sweepstakes 2.0.
The rules are simple, and similar to last year: Whenever you shop downtown between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, bring in your receipts to the TIllamook Chamber to be entered into a weekly drawing. You can enter once a day. Each week a downtown business will sponsor a giveaway and we will draw from that week’s tickets to pick a winner. Then, every ticket will be entered into a grand prize drawing of $1,000 shopping spree in downtown Tillamook, sponsored again this year by US Bank. The more you shop, the better your odds are of winning the grand prize. It’s that simple, and it’s that fun.
So if you go out to breakfast at The Rendezvous, gift shopping at Sunflower Flats, or pamper yourself with a pedicure at Shear Bliss, bring us your receipts. The possibilities are endless but each time you shop – for special occasions or the things we do on a regular basis – you could be entered to win all kinds of amazing prices right in time for the holidays. Then, after the holiday rush has passed and we start settling into a new year and a new routine, one lucky winner will have $1,000 extra dollars to enjoy in our downtown.
Let’s celebrate the end of the construction and the beautifully remodeled downtown by spending time here and enjoying the new sidewalks, the newly planted trees and foliage, the renovated Sue H Elmore Park and walking trail through Hoquarten Slough, and reminding our downtown business owners why we love it here. You can follow along with the sweepstakes and all of the weekly drawings by following the Tillamook Area Chamber of Commerce facebook page.