With the holiday season upon us, the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) will once again be rewarding residents and visitors for supporting locally owned businesses with the return of the annual Holiday Shopping Passport program
Holiday Shopping Passports are now available at nearly 200 participating shops, boutiques, salons, restaurants, and cafes in the downtown core and — new this year — across the Hunter Street bridge in East City.
For every $10 you spend at participating businesses, you earn a passport stamp. When a passport is filled with 20 stamps, the completed passport becomes a ballot for one of three early bird draws on Wednesdays during December for a $500 Boro gift card and a grand prize draw for a $1,500 Boro gift card in January. Boro gift cards can be used at over 150 locally owned businesses.
“The Holiday Shopping Passport always brings such great energy downtown,” says Jacquelyn Craft, owner of The Neighbourhood Vintage on Water Street.
“It’s a wonderful program that brings people into small businesses and creates excitement around shopping locally during the holiday season. We love being able to reward folks for choosing to spend their hard-earned money where it truly makes a difference — in supporting our community. It really is such a special time of year in our downtown core”.
Also new this year, residents and visitors can complete their Holiday Shopping Passports even more quickly by shopping on Double Stamp Fridays. Every Friday from November 28 to December 19, participating businesses will reward customers by doubling the stamps on all eligible purchases. These bonus nights give holiday shoppers an extra incentive to explore downtown and support local businesses while filling their passports twice as fast.
“Our Holiday Shopping Passport program is about more than just prizes — it’s about celebrating the people and businesses that make downtown Peterborough special and unique,” says Peterborough DBIA executive director Nour Mazloum in a media release.
“Each passport stamp represents a meaningful contribution to our community and to our local economy. This year, we’re thrilled to grow our program into East City, welcoming even more businesses and more shoppers to experience the magic of shopping local.”
A report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has found that an average of 66 cents of every dollar spent at a locally owned business in Canada is recirculated back into the local economy, compared to 11 cents when you shop at a large multinational business — and nothing at all when you shop at internet giants like Amazon. That means that, for every $100 you spend locally, $66 stays in your community.
The Holiday Shopping Passport early bird draws take place on December 3, 10, and 17, with the grand prize draw on January 7.
Find out more about Holiday Shopping Passports and see a list of locations at theboro.ca/program/holiday-shopping-passports/.
For more information on businesses in downtown Peterborough and upcoming holiday events, visit theboro.ca and follow The Boro on Instagram and Facebook.
