With Thanksgiving over and all the turkey gone, Lansing’s Old Town is celebrating the shopping season with a family event Saturday.
Holidays in Old Town will feature many children’s activities, such as ornament-making, cookie decorating, a tree lighting ceremony and pictures with Santa Claus. The activities are an effort to get the entire family down for shopping in Old Town businesses.
“This is a retail event,” said Jamie Czekai, assistant program manager at Old Town Mainstreet. “The idea for this event is that you can shop with your family. You don’t necessarily need to drop your kids off at a relative’s or at a baby sitter. The kids can come shopping with you.”
Czekai said all Old Town businesses will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for shopping different from typical mall fare.
“This event calls to attention the hard work that Old Town has been doing to redevelop itself and change itself around,” he said. “It also brings to light a lot of the different retailers we do have here in Old Town. Their products are unlike any other products you can find in malls.
“It’s a very unique shopping district.”
Mary Roszel, a partner at Global Orange Development, 201 E. Grand River Ave. in Lansing, said the holiday program brings increased profits to the business and restaurant owners in the district. Roszel is also one of the founders of Beaner’s Gourmet Coffee and is president of the Old Town Commercial Association Board.
“It does benefit the business owners,” Roszel said. “It lets people in surrounding areas come down here to enjoy the festivities here and lets them see the businesses that are down in Old Town. Anything that brings people down here gives them a chance to see what we have to offer.”
Roszel said Global Orange Development is hosting ornament decorating from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. because she likes to be involved in the community.
“We really like Old Town and this area and we like to be a part of it and we like to participate in whatever functions are going on down here,” she said. “This area of town is really interesting.”
Another Old Town business owner said Holidays in Old Town gives the businesses a chance to interact with the community.
“Holidays in Old Town is a promotional tool for the businesses here in Lansing,” said Robert Busby, owner of the Creole Gallery, 1218 Turner St. in Lansing. “It’s just our attempt to connect with the neighborhood and the Greater Lansing community.”
Busby said the district is very family-friendly, something it’s working hard to stress.
“One of the things that we have been striving for in this community is to stress the fun part of it,” he said. “I think we want people to realize that this is a great neighborhood.
“There’s something here for everyone.”
