Small Business Saturday to kick off holiday season

The Findlay-Hancock County Convention and Visitors Bureau will kick off holiday shopping on Small Business Saturday with a ribbon cutting across Main Street at 9 a.m. Santa and his elves will be on hand to cut the ribbon marking the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Small business owners and Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors will join the celebration. Many small business owners will then return to their stores to open early for the day. The ribbon cutting will take place across Main Street between Sandusky and Crawford streets. Main Street will temporarily be closed for the event. Many local stores, restaurants, coffee shops and bars will offer extended hours and specials in celebration of Small Business Saturday. In addition, local businesses are also offering discounts and special hours on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday. A complete list of hours and discounts is available at VisitFindlay.com/Support-Local-Week. First introduced by American Express in November 2010, Small Business Saturday encourages holiday shoppers to take advantage of the local businesses in their community. Since then, the event has grown as an official day recognized by the U.S. Senate and championed in all 50 states and territories. According to a 2016 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey, 15.4 billion dollars were spent at independently owned business and restaurants on that day.