Shop Local Victoria offers great prizes and special late night shopping for holiday shoppers

2012ChristmasEventShop Local Victoria is in the spirit of the season enticing locals to shop at member businesses with great prizes that would even make Santa and his elves jealous! Two
special evenings are planned for December 6th and 7th late night shopping where shoppers can win extra prizes.

With over 70 member businesses in Greater Victoria (full listing at www.ShopLocalVictoria.com and following), holiday shoppers can enter to win an iPad or dozens and dozens of $100 and $50 gift cards up until December 15th, 2012. Shop Local Victoria makes shopping easy when you can win extra gift cards the evenings of December 6th and 7th. Many businesses will be staying open late and some will offer extras such as give aways, prizes, free gift wrapping, hot apple cider, holiday cookies and more. And watch out for Shop Local Victoria elves rewarding local shoppers with gifts from their special Santa sack during the late night shopping evenings.

Teri Hustins, owner of Oscar & Libby’s and founding member of Shop Local Victoria, says, “We are so excited about our first Shop Local Victoria Christmas event! At Oscar & Libby’s, we are pairing up with a local animal rescue group, Cat’s Cradle… and we’ve got all kinds of fun and festivities planned for the evenings. Our crew are super excited about it!”

Natasha Crawford, owner of Brown’s the Florist and board member of Shop Local Victoria says, “This is a wonderful opportunity to explore the boutique shopping experience that independent businesses in Victoria offer. Each shop has unique and special items that will entice and excite shoppers. Late night shopping Dec 6th and 7th is a fantastic collection of locally owned businesses that have agreed to keep their doors open, offer deals and special treats… and not to forget that after 6pm parking on the street in downtown Victoria is free!”

Seven Reasons to Shop Local:
1) Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is… Support your friends, neighbours and yourself. Invest in our community; help create a stronger and healthier Victoria keeping our money here.
2) What Goes Around Comes Around… Two or three times as much money spent stays in the local economy when you buy goods and services from locally-owned businesses.
3) Community Sustainability… Local stores help sustain vibrant, compact and walk-able downtown centers – which in turn are essential to reducing sprawl, vehicle use, habitat loss and pollution.
4) Keep Our Community Unique… One-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of the distinctive character of Victoria.
5) Create Collective Prosperity… Locally-owned businesses invest more in local labour, pay more local taxes, spend more time on community-based decisions and create local events. In doing so, they create more opportunity for all of us here in our community.
6) Local Owners Care About Victoria… Local business owners live in and love Victoria. They are less likely to leave and are more invested in the future of our whole community.
7) Give Back and Take Care… Local business owners make more local purchases themselves. Locally-owned companies and employees are statistically more likely to give to local charities.

Member Businesses:
Abbeymoore Manor Bed & Breakfast Inn
Abstract Developments
Accent Inns
Adore Jewellery
AGB Properties
All Organized Storage
Alpine Group
ARK Solar Products Ltd.
Armeni Jewellers
Atlas Audio Video Unlimited
Baggins Shoes
Bolen Books
Brown’s the Florist
Calliope Learning
Capital Iron
Chateau Victoria Hotel & Suites
Chek Media Group
City Hub
Coastline Surf
Cook Culture Ltd.
Deborah Todd Law Corporation
Designhouse Salon Inc.
Dig This
Digital Direct Printing Ltd
The Dutch Bakery
Easy Job Quote.com
Eclipse Creative
The Finishing Store
The Finishing Store
Frontrunners Footwear
GEAZONE Ecocourier
The Good Planet Company
The Tuscan Kitchen
Green Horwood & Co LLP
Griffin Design Kitchens Ltd
Haute Cuisine Cookware Inc
Hemp & Co
Hotel Rialto
HTO Sun Surf Swimwear
Illuminations Lighting Solutions
Ingredients Health Food & Cafe
Inn at Laurel Point
Island Blue Print Co. Ltd
JC Scott Eco Design
Jones Emery Hargreaves & Swan
L.A. Limousines & Transportation Services
Leka Design
LL Brougham Inc, CA
Mangos Boutique & Accessories
Maximum Express
Maximum Furniture
Maycock Eyecare
Mayfair Optometric Clinic
Monk Office
Munro’s Books
Mothering Touch Centre
N.Co Cost Reduction
Nezza Naturals
Not Just Pretty Modern Clothing
Ocean River Sports
Oceanside Gifts
One Tooth Victoria Activewear
Oscar & Libby’s
Poppies Floral Art
RAND Automotive
Robinson’s Outdoor Store
Ruffell & Brown Interiors
Russell Books
Seeing is Believing
Selkirk Station Bicycle & Kayak
Silk Road
Spinnakers Brewpub & Guesthouses
Sports Rent
Unity Business Systems
VCM Auto Service
Victoria Alarm Service
Victoria Bullion Exchange
Victoria Transmission & Auto Care (2010) Ltd
The Vitamin Shop
Wild Coffee Inc.
Willie’s Bakery
Wilson’s Transportation Ltd