FARMINGTON – As dusk fell early on Thursday afternoon, Calico Patch owner Marsha Planting and store employees hurried to finish decking Christmas trees with ornaments and gifts. Although almost two months remain until the holiday, seasonal shopping will start in earnest this Saturday morning, and Planting and co-owner Emily Hartung want the store to be ready for an influx of shoppers.
Starting at 6 a.m. on Saturday, everything in the Broadway store will be 20 percent off.
A few doors down, Reny’s employees were also in the process of preparing the store for an influx of customers as merchandise in that store will also be marked down by 20 percent on Saturday morning, although some items will not be on sale for the entire day.
Similar activities have been taking place all week long at most downtown Farmington stores in preparation for the annual Early Bird Special, when shoppers will have the opportunity to save money, visit with friends, and even shop in their pajamas from 6 to 9 a.m.
The event has been a Farmington tradition for at least 20 years, although shopkeepers have said they are not sure exactly when it started.
Held on the first Saturday every November, the Early Bird Special sale was begun as an activity for women while “the guys were out hunting” on the first day of deer season, Downtown Business Association President Mike Blanchet said Thursday. Now, however, it has morphed into an event bringing both men and women into town, many clad in pajamas, to begin shopping for the upcoming holiday season.
The special has become a Farmington institution, Blanchet said, and in addition to saving shoppers money on holiday gifts, it has become “one of the biggest retail days of the year for the stores that are involved.”
According to Reny’s Manager Carolyn Mayhew, the store made more than 1,000 sales between 6 and 9 a.m. during last year’s event. She said employees look forward to the event, and traditionally come to work in “nightclothes.” Reny’s will serve free coffee and doughnuts to shoppers starting at 6 this year, she said, and Mayhew herself will take her traditional place by the door to greet shoppers with gummy worms and the adage, “the early bird gets the worm.”
Comments are no longer available on this story