Area businesses team to promote local holiday shopping

Life in Montana almost inevitably includes long drives. Many shoppers will travel to Kalispell or beyond for holiday items, but those looking for local options are in luck.  

Five years ago, Allen Olsen, the owner of Antler Tree Nursery & Gifts, came up with an idea to encourage people to shop locally before hitting the superstores on Black Friday. In an effort to keep Libby dollars in Libby, Olsen teamed with other local gift shops to create the Annual Open House.

This year, 15 businesses each contributed $25 worth of store items and grouped them into two gift baskets to be given away Saturday. Residents are invited to stop in at every participating store and drop their names into baskets for a chance to win.

“The goal is to make people aware of the fact that they do not need to go out of town for holiday shopping,” Rocky Mountain Music & Collectibles owner Debbie Hersman said. “There are a lot of cool shops in town.”

No purchase is necessary for participation in the drawings, but storeowners encourage shoppers to peruse the aisles before heading out.

“This is about businesses promoting each other,” Olsen said. “It seems like if you are in the same business as someone else in town, you’re supposed to hate them. I want to change that.”

Olsen counted 1,723 names in last year’s drawings, an all-time high in participation.

“We had good results in past years,” Good News Christian Books owner Roxanne Escudero said. “We can’t compete with the Black Friday specials at the big shops. This is an opportunity to work together.”

Shannon Edwards-Myslicki, the owner of Libby Floral, is participating for her third year in a row.

“I see it as an opportunity to get more people out to local shops all at once,” Edwards-Myslicki said. “It is a great idea.”

The following is a list of the businesses involved: Antler Tree Nursery & Gifts, Mountain Meadows Gifts, The Liquor Store & Back Room Gifts, Studio 3 Ten Salon & Scentsy by Stephine LaCoss, God’s Mini Mall, Managhan’s Furniture, Rocky Mountain Music & Collectibles, Fresh Beginnings Spa, Rivermist Home Decor & Frost Creek Boutique, Cabinet Mountain Furniture & Gifts, Yaak River Creations, Libby Floral, Joy of Books, Montana Gallery USA & Scentsy and Irbie’s Workshop.