Shop small and save big: Sidewalk Sales Days return to downtown Hampton

HAMPTON — “City sidewalks, busy sidewalks.”

To hopefully mirror those well-known lyrics while also shining a spotlight on the plethora of small businesses in downtown Hampton, the sidewalks will once again come alive for two days with the return of Sidewalk Sales Days.

The initiative set for Oct. 27 and 28 is also aimed at alleviating the stifling effects that recent road and sewer repairs on High Street have had on local commerce.

“With the construction on High Street, it has been tough for some of those businesses, and the downtown needed a little shot in the arm, so we decided to do it,” said Rusty Bridle, director of membership for the Hampton Chamber of Commerce.

The two-day event is sponsored jointly by the Hampton Chamber, the Hampton Parks and Recreation Department and Experience Hampton.

Bridle says the sale is a great opportunity to “shop small” and get a jump start on holiday shopping at a myriad of local businesses that often get overlooked.

“We have a lot of great businesses downtown, and some people don’t even know they are there,” said Bridle, who figures that it has been at least two decades since the town held the event.

Bridle expects there will be at least 20 local businesses participating.

“And it’s not just downtown,” Bridle added. “We are encouraging businesses in the main part of town to participate too.”

Along with specials from each of the shops, including raffles and other giveaways, there will be live entertainment in the gazebo Friday night from 5 to 7 p.m. by the reggae band Redemption. Parking will be available in the municipal lot on High Street. Cutting through that municipal lot this fall has been the only way to access a number of local businesses due to the ongoing sewer main work on High Street that has shut down large sections of the street during the week.

“It’s necessary work that has to be done, but it’s still making it tough on some of the local businesses,” Bridle noted.

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Dave Burns, the owner of Hampton Nutrition and Island Vibes Cafe, would surely agree.

The popular eatery is right in the epicenter of the construction work on High Street, adding more than a few twists and turns for those traveling to Hampton to get their favorite smoothie bowl or iced protein coffee.

“Nobody knows which way to go unless they get the memo,” said Burns of the somewhat circuitous route to his shop due to the construction. “There’s no in-and-out way other than knowing that you can go into the parking lot, so if you were from out of town and did a Google search on me you wouldn’t know what to do.

“I think it will be a good way to get people in who have not been here yet,” added Burns, who recently opened a second location in Exeter.

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Just six months into her new location at 428 Lafayette Road, Hampton Crafts and Creations owner Olga Campbell is also excited to hopefully get some more foot traffic to her shop.

“We were all excited when we heard that this was happening,” said Campbell, who just launched her store's new website, hamptoncrafts.com.

“We will be raffling off a gigantic gift basket for free of handmade items from the store,” said Campbell, who is also planning to add some gift cards and other items to the basket as well.

“By the end of Saturday, we will pick out a name and see who wins.”

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This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Hampton Sidewalks Sales Days: What to know about downtown event