Holiday Happenings 2020
The holidays are almost upon us! Click an image below to jump to a section and learn more about the Downtown Rutland Partnership’s 2020 holiday initiatives.
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window
contest
gift
promotion
holiday funds
additional
marketing
sign up for holiday
promotions
DOWNTOWN RUTLAND HOLIDAY STROLL
This year, Small Business Saturday is November 28th. Due to COVID restrictions, we’re extending the Downtown Rutland Holiday Stroll event for a whole week starting 11/28 and running through December 5th. That way, people have time to come downtown and not worry about crowds. This a great opportunity for you to get people in your door by offering something special to the community! Over 30 businesses participated last year and most reported an increase both in sales and foot traffic.
How can I participate?
Businesses and organizations have the opportunity to sign up to offer something special for the Downtown Rutland Holiday Stroll. Be creative! It’s your participation that will make this event a special day to kick off the holiday season.
What should I offer?
• Demo a new product or something you make
• Offer hot chocolate, eggnog or other refreshments
• Provide an informal class or workshop
• Offer a tour of your business
• Have a one-day sale
• Offer gift wrapping services
• Provide a tasting or sampling of your product
• Offer a gift with a large purchase
• For more ideas, check out last year’s list of offers here.
If you’d like to participate in this year’s Holiday Stroll, please fill out this form with what you’re offering. If you can’t run your offer for the entire week, please let us know what days you will.
Window Decorating Contest
The Downtown Rutland Partnership is excited to share the return of the Holiday Window Decorating contest, which will run November 28th - December 28th. This year, we have some new rules, prizes and fun to help spread even more holiday cheer throughout our historic downtown.
We’re now offering 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes to businesses. The first place winner will:
Receive a congratulatory ad in the Rutland Herald that promotes their business
Be prominently featured in promotions for 2021 holiday windows
The 2nd place winner will receive a $150 prize. The 3rd place winner will receive a $75 prize.
In hopes of awarding more businesses for their creative decorating efforts, the first place winner is no longer eligible to win first place again the following year. However, they are eligible to do so the year after that.
Requirements
Businesses must complete this form to let us know they’re participating
Have their windows decorated by the start of the contest on November 28th and keep them decorated through December 28th.
Participants must clearly post the voting information flyer we provide in their windows. This tells people how to vote. Voting will be strictly online this year and no paper ballots will be provided.
Official contest photos will be taken between 9am on December 1st and 7pm on December 2nd. Please make sure your window is kept lit those evenings! But most windows are best viewed in the evening anyway, so we suggest keeping your windows lit through the evenings by use of timers.
(We know it has been a tough year. That’s why we’re offering small grants for holiday decorating and advertising. To learn more about that program, click here.)
Voting
Voting is limited to one entry per person. Voters can scan the code on the flyer in windows using their smartphone camera and clicking the link that pops up. This approach allows us to collect email addresses and grow our community newsletter audience. Plus, voters are entered in to win prizes of their own throughout the holiday season.
Questions? Email us at info@downtownrutland.com.
Holiday Gift Guide
Shoppers have a lot on their minds this year - why not make gifting easy! The Downtown Rutland Partnership is creating promotions with $50 worth of items from retail shops.
How it Works
Businesses (you) pick out an assortment of merchandise totaling $50
The DRP picks up those items and photographs them with a professional camera, background and lighting so that we can have consistent looking, high quality images that will get people’s attention
The DRP returns the items, and sends you the pictures
Your product photo is used on our website, in holiday social media promotions and in a direct mailer going out to local households.
We also recommend putting these items on display, so customers can easily find them.
Please have your items ready for pickup by Wednesday, November 18th if you are participating.
Advertising and decorating funds
This holiday season the Downtown Rutland Partnership is offering downtown businesses up to $150 to support holiday advertising and decorating. This opportunity is open to businesses located in downtown Rutland that advertise their business or decorate their windows for the holiday season.
To complete this application, please submit clearly labeled receipts of applicable expenses dated between November 1st and December 31st, 2020. As always, funds will only cover purchases for which there are receipts, and we can only provide financial support on a reimbursement basis.
A few examples of expenses a business could apply these funds towards: an advertisement in a local newspaper or on a local radio station, a paid Facebook promotion, lights or decorations to be put on display in windows. Funds are available on a first-come, first-served basis. This application will remain open as long as funds remain.
Downtown General Holiday Marketing
New this year! The DRP will host weekly giveaways on Facebook throughout the month of December. We’ll be buying gift $25 gift cards at each local retail shop, restaurant, salon, and gym throughout downtown Rutland. The gift cards will be given away at random to downtown shoppers, local organizations, and more.
General holiday marketing for the entire downtown district include:
Radio advertising on Catamount Radio and WEXP
Print ads in the Mountain Times and Rutland Herald
Sponsored promotions on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
Free Shop Small™ materials from AmEx
Direct mailer to local households
Billboard at the New York border
Free holiday specs for businesses
Trash can inserts promoting support for local business