Shop Albert Lea Passport Tour
Saturday, November 30th is Small Business Saturday in Albert Lea and around the nation. Small Business Saturday was created to encourage people to Shop Small during the biggest shopping season of the year. It occurs annually, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
In Albert Lea, Albert Lea Economic Development Agency (ALEDA) and Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce have partnered together to create an exciting and engaging Small Business Saturday campaign – Shop Albert Lea. You can follow all the announcements and exciting stories on the Shop Albert Lea page on Facebook and Instagram.
We are most excited to announce the Shop Albert Lea Passport Tour. Organizers have invited small business retailers in Albert Lea and Freeborn County to participate in the passport tour. The passports are artist-designed and community-themed, featuring historic photos of downtown Albert Lea – designed by local artist, Elisha Marin.
Each page of the passport has the names of four businesses and space to have their passport “stamped”. Participants can take their passport to as many businesses as they’d like between November 30th and December 12th – the day of the Holiday Bazaar in Downtown Albert Lea. Each stamp received will count towards an entry in the grand prize drawing of $100 in Chamber Bucks! There will also be a $75.00 and $25.00 prize of Chamber Bucks – all graciously donated by the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce.
The passports will be available for pick up by the community on Small Business Saturday, November 30th, from 9:00 to Noon at the new collaborative downtown location of the Albert Lea Economic Development Agency and the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce. To celebrate the event, Shop Local t-shirts ($10) and ¼ length sleeve baseball shirts ($15) will be available for purchase at the event and afterward at the Chamber office. Come and pick up a passport, check out the new shirts, and enjoy cookies and cider before you head out to shop our great local businesses.
Passports are limited one per person and no purchase is necessary to receive stamps from businesses. We hope that in participating in the passport tour community members will have the opportunity to visit businesses they might have otherwise overlooked and to encourage the community to Shop Local!
Albert Lea Economic Development Agency is the local economic development organization made up of two separate entities – the City of Albert Lea Port Authority and Greater Jobs, Inc. If you are a new or expanding business looking for assistance, please contact Noelle Hagen at 507-373-3930 or visit www.growalbertlea.com.
Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce is committed to serving its 300+ members in Albert Lea and Freeborn County. If you are interested in joining the chamber, volunteering, or want to learn more please contact Geri Jensen at 507-373-3938 or visit www.albertlea.org.