Mishall RehmanFor the first time, ever Downtown Kingston is hosting Shop After Dark, a way to give Kingstonians a taste of the holiday season, both literally and figuratively, while checking off some items from their Christmas shopping list.
On Dec. 4, shoppers can visit downtown Kingston and enjoy carolers and free samples from retailers, either small gifts, food or beverages. Santa and his elves are rumored to make an appearance, possibly accompanied by Mrs. Claus.
“It’ll be lots of great fun little things, lots of Christmas music, lots of holiday spirit and lots of great shopping in downtown Kingston,” said Erin York, Project Manager for Downtown Kingston!
Weather permitting, the crowd can enjoy a photo booth and festive music playing in the background.
The city decided to hold this event to showcase what downtown Kingston had to offer. A big part of the event is the returning favorite, holiday windows.
“We started this because we wanted to show off what makes downtown Kingston a really special place to shop at Christmas time. And one of the great things is we have these beautiful holiday windows that will be out…they’re amazing. The retailers here are so creative with what they’re doing with their windows,” said York.
Dec. 4 will be the last night locals can vote on their favorite holiday window by voting online or in stores. Each vote gets locals closer to a $500 gift card to downtown Kingston locations.
The event will both add a little holiday spirit to the city while supporting local shopping.
“It’s not Christmas without the amazing Christmas windows that add to the holiday spirit. I think that’s one of the big things that people get really excited to see it really kind of tips them off to see it’s really the holiday season,” noted York.
Shop After Dark runs from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Free parking is available on the street after 5:30.
