With football season around the corner, and sports of all sorts kicking off soon, downtown Columbus is also gearing up for game day with a new event and scavenger hunt.
Main Street Columbus Executive Director Barbara Bigelow said downtown merchants are participating in the first Game Day Kick-Off from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, inviting shoppers to shop local for their gameday essentials and to potentially win prizes in the process.
“We want people to come downtown and support our small local businesses and shop,” Bigelow told The Dispatch on Monday. “… Our merchants do carry gameday paraphernalia. They carry clothing and all kinds of things related to games, whether it be specific to a school or whatever. I think everybody can find something downtown to help them show their … team spirit.”
Throughout the event, shoppers exploring downtown can enter two separate drawings, each with a different prize, Bigelow said. In the first game, for every $50 spent at a participating business, shoppers will be entered into a drawing for four tickets for the Arizona State vs. Mississippi State football game on Sept. 6, Bigelow said.
For the second game, shoppers will go on a scavenger hunt throughout downtown, where a sports ball will be hidden inside each participating business, Bigelow said. Players can start at any of those businesses, and they will be given a scorecard to begin their search.
“It may be a football, it may be a soccer ball, it might be a basketball,” Bigelow said.
When a shopper finds a ball in a store, an employee will stamp their scorecard. Once the shopper reaches six stamps, Bigelow said, they will be eligible to enter a drawing for a grand door prize worth about $300 donated by Cafe on Main, Zachary’s and Justin’s Jewelry.
Drawings for both prizes will happen the following week, Bigelow said, with winners announced on the Main Street Columbus Facebook page.
“Play one game or two, the choice is yours,” Bigelow said. “I like to say, ‘you’re always a winner in downtown Columbus.’”
Besides the overarching games, Bigelow said some participating businesses are also offering their own individual door prizes, along with in-store sales, promotions and games. Best Academy of Martial Arts will have an agility ladder in store, for example, she said.
Between shopping and searching for sports balls, Bigelow also encouraged downtown visitors to come out at 11 a.m. to Leadership Plaza at the corner of Fifth Street South and College Street, where members of the Columbus High School football team, cheer team and band, along with Columbus Middle School cheer members will be making an appearance for a “mini pep rally.”
“Come show your support and school spirit!” Bigelow wrote in an email to The Dispatch.
Stephanie Studdard, owner of women’s clothing boutique Bella Blu, was one of the downtown merchants on a committee that came up with the idea for the Game Day Kick-Off, Bigelow said.
Studdard said her store started stocking gameday merchandise for nearby teams about three years ago, to meet the demand they saw from customers. But with the Game Day Kick-Off on the books, her boutique has spent the past few months stocking options for Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Alabama fans, including everything from dresses and sleeveless tops to jewelry and other accessories.
Studdard said she can see the sports-themed scavenger hunt drawing new customers into her business, including customers from surrounding cities like Starkville and Tuscaloosa.
“I’m very excited about it, because it brings them in to shop for gameday, but then, they can see all the other great things that we have throughout the store,” Studdard said. “So it’s a great thing for our whole downtown community, to get people to come in the store. And you know, with the little footballs, it may bring in people that have never stepped in before, and they’ll see what we’ve got and hopefully come back.”
Participating Businesses
■ Ali Kat’s Boutique
■ A Southern Gathering
■ Bella Blu & Garrett & Co.
■ Best’s Academy of Martial Arts
■ Bubble the Day Spa
■ Cobalt’s Boutique
■ Coffee House on 5th
■ Columbus Arts Council
■ Fired Up Studio
■ Florals on 5th
■ Friendly City Books
■ Lavender Lemon Clothing Co.
■ Little Magnolia Co.
■ Mira Mira Boutique
■ Southern Lux
■ Sweet Magnolia and Three Sweet Stitches Boutique
■ The Prom Shop
■ The Southern Exchange
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