Pink is the New Black
Tim Holmes
The Ashland Beacon
Ashland area shoppers preparing for “Black Friday” savings now have a brand-new tradition and color to celebrate this holiday season. The “Pink Weekend” is Ashland’s newest “shop local” event, beginning Friday, November 17 through Sunday the 19. Pink is more than just a prelude to the shopping season. It’s a true picture of collaboration over competition among Ashland area local businesses.
Through a partnership between SoAsh Haberdash, Local Mercantile, and Visit AKY, Pink has brought together 46 locations to shop from in the areas of Ashland, South Ashland, downtown Russell, and Camp Landing. This First Annual Pink Weekend encourages shoppers to think local first when approaching the holiday season.
Through thoughtful and creative planning, these businesses also agreed to offer shoppers valuable incentives for participating in the Pink Weekend. With the help of a “passport,” shoppers can chart which stores they have visited as evidence of their support and qualify them for available prizes. Using this passport is important in order to be included in the various drawings for prizes during the course of the weekend. Participating locations will have a limited number of “official” passports, so you will want to get yours today by stopping by any of the stores listed. There is also a digital option with a leaderboard found on Visit Ashland KY website: www.visitaky.com/pinkweekend.
While most businesses during the holidays are focused on how to win out over the competition, the local business owners participating in Pink celebrate the inclusive nature of this event. A very thankful participant, Jackie Slone, of West End Jewelers in downtown Russell voiced, “Being a resident of Ashland while owning a business in Russell, Pink has afforded me a chance to collaborate, as opposed to competing with other jewelers in the area. This event empowers all of us to work and market together as a team, rather than compete.”
The Pink Weekend began as a vision by Laura Geremia of South Ashland’s SoAsh Haberdash. Collaborating with her colleagues Christina Wamsley and Haley Layman, Geremia found inspiration for Pink through her involvement with The Boutique Hub. The Hub is the world's largest boutique community in the industry. It’s primarily an online community where boutique retailers find support and resources, sharing ideas on industry trends, eCommerce approaches, wholesale brands, and more.
So… what is the true value found in shopping locally or taking part in the Pink Weekend? Basically, our city wins when we choose to shop locally. Local consumers shopping local first is literally a gift to the city. This helps to stimulate our regional economy, which in turn aids in helping to create and retain valuable jobs, supports families, and overall strengthens Ashland’s sense of community and culture.
Making the decision to shop local by being a part of the Pink Weekend is truly an expression of our community being proud of our past, and consciously choosing to thrive for a bright future. In other words, everyone wins when a community shops locally first.
For more information on The Pink Weekend and to prepare for this ultimate local shopping weekend, reach out to participating businesses listed, or log onto Facebook and follow Visit Ashland KY.