By MELISSA BEVERIDGE
Bradley Beach will host a holiday weekend bursting with activities from Nov. 27 through the 29. The weekend kicks off with a community bonfire at the 5th Avenue beach from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 27.
The weekend will continue with sales and specials on Small Business Saturday presented by the Bradley Beach Chamber of Commerce with participating local businesses. On Sat., Nov. 28, new and established local businesses will be featuring sales and specials all day long with sidewalk sales and extended hours.
“The Chamber is very excited about Small Business Saturday,” said Brenda Connolly, president of the Bradley Beach Chamber of Commerce. “There are a lot of new businesses in town and a lot of businesses are offering discounts.”
During Small Business Saturday, participating businesses will be serving complimentary refreshments to shoppers for “Sip & Shop!” Participating local eateries will also be offering grab and go coffee and lunches.
Shoppers will be invited to “Win Big in Bradley.” Participating businesses will be giving out free tickets for raffle drawings at their shops for a chance to win a new beach cruiser and Bradley Beach Beach Badge for the 2016 season donated by local businesses. Bradley Beach Tourism Director, Nicole Kienlen, said Brigitte McGuire, owner of Intentional B. Gift Shop on Main Street, came up with the idea. The winner will be announced during the tree lighting ceremony on Sunday, Nov. 29.
“The concept is like Black Friday, but to shop small and local on Saturday,” Kienlen said. “American Express started “Shop Small” to help small businesses join together and market the start of the shopping season. They suggest small towns collaborate to make incentives to keep people out of big box stores and to be unique.”
The holiday weekend will culminate with the borough’s Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony on Nov. 29t from 4 o 6 p.m. in Riley Park. The event will include live music with performances by Pam Flores, Elya Vasiliev, and TAK “Totally Awesome Kids.” The event will also include horse drawn wagon rides and Santa Claus will be arriving on a borough fire truck. Kienlen will also host pet pictures with the Abominable Snowman at Paws & Anchor.
