Most shopping enthusiasts are familiar with the long-running retail holiday known as Black Friday, but this year a group of downtown businesses are hoping Turlockers will embrace a new event featuring smalltown sales and a pop of color.
Pink Friday is the antithesis of its predecessor and encourages customers to shop local before Thanksgiving, taking place exactly one week before the big-box extravaganza known as Black Friday. It’s a fairly new endeavor and reminds the community to shop at its small boutiques first before heading to Target and Walmart in the days that follow.
This year, seven businesses are joining forces to bring splashes of pink to the downtown core: Dolly Boutique (formerly B.three Boutique), Bella Forte Boutique, 1507 Boutique, Aesthetic Lab, California Couture, Rustic Roots and Glitz Fine Clothing. The collaboration came about after California Couture owner Stephanie Torres saw the trend, first started by The Boutique Hub, on social media.
“It gives people the opportunity to shop small before they shop at corporations,” Torres said. “They’re trying to start a worldwide movement with it, so I jumped on board then reached out to everyone downtown to see if we could all do it.”
The participating shops are decking the halls with pink, pink and more pink to celebrate the occasion and will be providing deals all day long; for example, all participants are offering free merchandise items with purchases of $100 or more. Central Valley Party Bikes will also be on site offering free rides to some of downtown’s restaurants.
Torres said she wanted to bring the businesses together for an event like Pink Friday so that they can help each other out during the current economic uncertainty.
“I'm really big on community over competition, so it's really nice to bring us all together. We all understand what it's like to own a boutique, and to get together as business owners is so cool,” Torres said. “We really look out for each other's businesses because that's what's important.”
While business throughout the pandemic has been good for Torres, who also sells her clothing through her online boutique, she hopes the community remembers to take advantage of deals at locally-owned stores this holiday shopping season.
“When you shop small, you’re helping a business owner put groceries on our table or a Christmas gift for their family under the tree,” Torres said. “You’re helping someone more individually than you are at a big corporation store.”
The downtown Turlock Pink Friday event will take place at participating businesses from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, with some businesses staying open until 7 p.m.
