Downtown Turlock businesses are once again ready to help shoppers get into the holiday spirit with the annual Shop the Blocks event set for Saturday and Sunday.

“This is the 10th year of Shop the Blocks and we are extremely excited about that,” said Candace Gonsalves, owner of the home décor and gift shop Farm House and creator of the Shop the Blocks event. “We created it as a way to bring downtown businesses together for one giant kickoff to the holiday season. As far as I know, it’s extremely unique to our downtown and a wonderful way to gather our community in a fun and festive environment.”

The event has been so popular that organizers decided last year to add an “Early Access Night.”

“Basically, Shop the Blocks has grown so large that we heard shoppers saying it was too crowded, that they couldn’t get into some of their favorite shops, or that they started to avoid it in general just because of the thousands of people who came out. And so a Saturday Night Early Access night was started last year,” Gonsalves said.

Shoppers can purchase a $25 ticket that gains them access to almost every participating business from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday. The regular Shop the Blocks event will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday and is free of charge.

“The night is really neat because it highlights just how beautiful our downtown is in the evening but also allows a much nicer, calming shopping experience than what Sunday provides for. The champagne limo shuttle will escort shoppers to every location, just like on Sunday. And the best part, all the money raised from the ticket sales goes to help fund future downtown projects and events,” said Gonsalves.

Along with the opportunity to browse local shops on a day they are usually closed, Shop the Blocks also offers guests special discounts and promotions.

“Holiday sales are huge for Farm House,” Gonsalves said. “We do the majority of our sales for the entire year in the next few weeks. We start planning and ordering for our holiday season in January and will start receiving inventory as early as July. It’s a good thing we have a deep passion for the season because we plan for it almost all year long.”

Despite the increase in sales Farm House sees during the holiday shopping season, Gonsalves said that overall sales have been down.

“This has been one of our toughest years in business when it comes to sales, but I personally don’t believe that is due to online shopping. When gas prices are high, groceries are more expensive and everything in general is costing more. Shopping at a small business or eating out at your favorite local restaurant is typically the first to get cut out. And that’s completely understandable. I would just like to encourage all shoppers not to forget all us downtown businesses this holiday season or in the future… It takes all us businesses to make downtown special, losing even one would be devastating to the overall. In addition to Shop the Blocks, many businesses also do a huge Black Friday sale and Small Business Saturday promotion. A lot of us have better deals than big box stores. So, it’s a great time to shop downtown and any support makes a huge impact to a small business owner,” said Gonsalves.

According to a recent survey, holiday shopping overall is expected to see an uptick this season.

Consumer spending on the winter holidays is expected to reach a record $902 per person on average across gifts, food, decorations and other seasonal items, according to the National Retail Federation’s latest consumer survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics. The amount is about $25 per person more than last year’s figure and $16 higher than the previous record set in 2019.

“The winter holidays are a treasured time for Americans, and they are prioritizing spending on family this holiday season,” NRF Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen said. “Despite the shorter window of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, retailers are prepared to meet the needs of consumers by providing holiday shoppers with earlier deals and sales and by ensuring inventory is available for the most in-demand items this year.”

The increase in holiday spending is largely attributed to gifts for family members. Of the $902 shoppers plan to spend, approximately $641 is on gifts for family, friends, co-workers and more, which is an increase from $620 last year. The remaining $261 will be spent on other seasonal items such as food or candy, decorations, greeting cards and other holiday items.

To purchase tickets to the Shop the Blocks kickoff event on Saturday evening, visit: https://bit.ly/3A1STSZ.