BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Many shoppers are taking advantage of Black Friday deals and sales during the busiest shopping days of the year.
In Bakersfield, local business owners are reminding the community of Small Business Saturday and the importance of the affair.
The event occurs after Black Friday to encourage consumers to shop at small and local businesses.
Encore Boutique is a resale clothing shop and extension of the Mission at Kern County.
The store offers a free training program that teaches individuals marketable skills for the future.
Cat Skow, director of resale development for the Mission at Kern County, says that shopping at small businesses is good for them and Bakersfield as a whole.
"Shop Small Business Saturday is a reminder that if you don’t support small businesses, like Encore Boutique or other small businesses, they are going to go out of business," Skow said. "The big chain businesses can’t even stay in business."
The boutique has been bustling with shoppers ahead of small business Saturday.
Skow hopes the community continues to shop at small businesses, especially in the downtown area.
"When you come to a local business like ours not only are you supporting men and women by keeping them off the street, but the funds that we make goes to our ministries," Skow said.
Several other businesses around Bakersfield are participating in the shop Small Business Saturday, including the Bakersfield Art Center.
The center says they offer hands-on experience, a hometown feel, and attentive service. The center says they can celebrate their 75th-year thanks to the support of the community.
"If we lose that village feeling and it's only going to be big box companies what’s going to happen to those people who are trying to make a living," said Iva Fendrick, President of the Bakersfield Arts Association. "[They] offer special things to the public that you can't get in big box stores."
Fendrick says the non-profit will offer a free activity at the center for visitors on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Many participating stores have signs hanging in their windows that show they are participating in the event.
