The holiday shopping season is now here and many people will, no doubt, flock to the shopping centers, big-box stores, malls and online to grab up the doorbusters and pick over the other specials—items most likely having rolled off some assembly line in some factory in some faraway locale.
Now with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday in our rearview mirror, shoppers will get back to their lists. We hope they consider our downtown businesses by shopping local and, one better, by shopping locally made. You will be helping our smaller local businesses that put your neighbors to work. At the same time, you will help reward the local talented craftspeople who turn out beautiful gift items that your loved ones, friends, and associates will enjoy.
Vineland has stores and vendors that stock locally made items for a wide variety of uses and tastes. Let us take a look at a sampling,
In the heart of downtown Vineland, at 618 E. Landis Avenue is The Spot, a marketplace containing over 80 independent shops—boutiques and vendors selling arts and crafts, antiques, vintage, shoptiques, homemade items, jewelry, and more.
“I don’t think that you will find so much of a variety of locally made and handmade items under one roof as you will find here,” said The Spot’s manager, Robin Hope. “It’s ideal and convenient for choosing the gift that’s a little different and shows the talent of some very talented artists and artisans.”
Our downtown shopping district also boasts other great retailers for gift giving such as Al’s Shoes, DeSoto Jewelers, Finer Flowers, NAPA Auto Parts, Health Food Plus, BOOST Mobile, Metro PCS, Cricket Wireless, Hidden Level Games, Lauro Jewelers, Rienzi Bridal, Pretty On Purpose, and Cheryl’s Uniforms, just to name a few.
Consider also a gift card for one of more than 15 restaurants or salons and haircare shops or tickets for a show at the Landis Theater.
You avoid the hustle and bustle, as well as the traffic and long lines of going to the big stores, and you’re putting money into the hands of the local people whose talents and energy go into making some very special gift items.
Shop these and any other of our local businesses. Support Vineland’s local businesses and look for locally made items to make your gift-giving extra special.
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This year’s Christmas Parade was one of the largest and best in years—both in terms of how many participants we had, the quality of the floats and the number of attendees. We were pleased to be able to honor the 150th anniversary of the Vineland Fire Department. Although it was a very competitive battle, here are the float winners for 2022:
GRAND DIVISION:
• First Place: R & R Flaim Next Generation Produce
• Second Place: Dixon Dance Studio
• Third Place: Dolores Romero Foundation
PETITE DIVISION:
• First Place: Johnstone Jaguars
• Second Place: Edgarton Christian Academy
• Third Place: Ambient Comfort
