Plant City’s decked-out downtown was the perfect backdrop for Downtown Plant City Sip & Shop last Friday night, when almost two dozen businesses stayed open late so shoppers could peruse their wares and check off items from their holiday shopping lists.
From cigars from Bruton’s Cigar Shop to bath salts from TubTreats Bath and Body and chocolates from The Kandy Shoppe to home decor from Sassi Home & Holiday Decor, there was plenty to see and lots of free food and beverages available in every shop.
Plant City resident of six years Zoe Flaks attended with her husband John and two young children, Lilly and Jack. “We found out about this event and wanted to see the Christmas lights so we said let’s go,” she said. Her daughter was excited to eat a chocolate creation from The Kandy Shoppe. “We just love this place,” she said.
The event was hosted by Plant City Main Street, who was also holding an open house at its new location at 110 South Collins Street. The non-profit was offering free gift wrapping of downtown purchases, giveaways and accepting letters for Santa.
“This was a wonderful way to entice more people to spend a festive evening at our historic downtown’s community stores and celebrate our new location,” said executive director Dawn Hyatt.
If you missed the action last Friday, it’s not too late to visit downtown. Plant City Main Street is hosting a Christmas Storefront Contest. Look for participating businesses that have special QR codes in their windows. To use the QR code, open your phone’s camera, center the QR code on your screen and hold your phone steady for a couple of seconds then tap the notification that pops up to open the link, which will take you to the site where you can vote for your favorite window display (one vote per person). The voting deadline is Dec. 22 and the winner will be announced Dec. 23.
For more information about the contest or Plant City Main Street visit www.plantcitymainstreet.org.