’Tis the Season to Shop Local

Oceanside’s holiday celebration of local retail exploration returns for a third year.

There are many reasons to shop local this holiday season: to support the local businesses you love, to keep more of the dollars you spend in our community, to have a memorable interactive shopping experience and to find locally made gifts you won’t find anywhere else, to name a few. Here’s one more: When you shop local for the holidays in Oceanside, you get rewarded!

Back for 2018, ’Tis the Season to Shop Local is a fun, distinctly local holiday celebration inviting our community to explore Oceanside retail establishments and to shop local this holiday season. From Small Business Saturday, Nov. 24, through the South O Walkabout on Wednesday, Dec. 12, this unique and dynamic lineup of holiday programs and events will feature a passport program with prize giveaways, two craft beer and wine tasting events, a makers fair offering handcrafted goods, and a tree lighting celebration — all amid decorated shop windows, the glow of holiday lights and the cheerful sounds of live holiday music and carolers.

With 53 participating locations throughout Oceanside and 56 businesses in all listed in this year’s Shop Local Holiday Passport , 40-plus makers participating in the Merry Makers Fair and two Sip & Shop events, ’Tis the Season to Shop Local is bigger than ever before. Participating locations include not only local boutiques, surf shops and retailers of all kinds but also experience-based businesses, yoga and fitness studios, tea and coffee bars, restaurants, salons and museums.

Locals and visitors this year will have the chance to explore 21 businesses new to ’Tis the Season to Shop Local. These include both new and established businesses such as Bare Brush Tan, Communitea Yoga and Meditation, The Gentlemen’s Den, Lagree Fit, Oceanside Museum of Art Museum Store, Ride O’side, Sea Hive Marketplace, Sonora Refillery and UP Sports. See the complete list of participating locations at www.ShopLocalOceanside.com.

Looking to upgrade your holiday shopping experience? Shoppers will have two opportunities to sample local beer, wine and craft beverages — at 12 downtown businesses on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 24, during Sip & Shop Downtown Oceanside and at 14 South O businesses on Wednesday, Dec. 12, during the South O Walkabout at Sip & Shop South Oceanside. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ShopLocalOceanside.com.

Popping up in Artist Alley for two days only, Nov. 24-25, the Merry Makers Fair will feature a record number of makers of handcrafted goods, artists, photographers and local brands. These include Oceanside’s own Arielle Vey Photography and Design, Harwood Photographic Art, COBO Bottle, Hen House Apparel, Oceanside Candle Company, MAK Glass, suspend.it and many more.

During the month of December, Oceanside will be looking more festive than ever with a new tree to be unveiled at the Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony & Gift Market, additional light pole decorations by MainStreet Oceanside downtown and potentially the most competitive ’Tis the Season Window Decorating Contest yet. Businesses participating in the contest this year will be highlighted on the Shop Local Holiday Passport.

’Tis the Season to Shop Local is an annual holiday campaign to support local retail businesses and artisans by encouraging residents and visitors to shop local during the holiday season. The campaign is a partnership between MainStreet Oceanside, Visit Oceanside, City of Oceanside Economic Development, the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce and South Oceanside Business District. For more information, go to www.ShopLocalOceanside.com.

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