NISSWA — Over the past few weeks, Nisswa shop owners have been stocking the shelves and hanging decorations in preparation for the winter equivalent of the Fourth of July.
The day after Thanksgiving, locals and tourists alike flood the town for City of Lights. Food vendors open at 11 a.m., but things really kick off in the afternoon when Main Street closes. Then, bonfires will be lit, Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive and carolers stroll the area, all in anticipation of downtown lighting up for the holidays.
It’s a huge event for Nisswa and part of what makes it feel like “a happy place.”
“You just walk into the town, especially during the winter when it’s all cozy, all the Christmas lights are up, I just feel like it’s like something out of a Hallmark movie,” said Ally Weldon, who helps run Lake Latitude Boutique with her mom Stacy and sister-in-law Molly.
“Everybody’s happy. It’s all great. It’s just fun.”
While City of Lights draws a crowd to the Nisswa, Stacy Weldon said it’s pretty much all people are there for.
“They’re really not there for a lot of shopping, so I think as business owners we do need to work to entice those people to come into our store,” she said.
It helps that it’ll be cold, she added, and people will be coming into the store to warm up. But for the Weldons, the key to running a successful business is creating experiences and making memories.
“From the moment that you step into our store, from the moment that you walk up to our store — I want you to feel welcome,” Stacy Weldon said.
“I want you to feel like we care about you. I want to build a relationship with you. I want to have a connection with you, way beyond you buying a piece of clothing or a home good from me.”
City of Lights may not be Crazy Days — Nisswa's big shopping event — but Chamber of Commerce President Kalie Jay said the traffic boosts Small Business Saturday the next day.
"Maybe if they’re not shopping that night while they’re taking part in all the activities, they’re still window shopping or perusing, and they’re coming back on Saturday or Sunday to make those purchases,” she said.
Jay said she likes to think of every day as small business day in Nisswa. Even a chain like the A&W is locally owned and operated. She acknowledged that once upon a time, downtown Nisswa might’ve gone into hibernation after the busy summer tourist season, but she said that’s no longer the case.
"Keep coming back and keep supporting these businesses, because they are carrying a lot of the same kind of things that you might find in a big box store, but you’re supporting a small business, you’re supporting a family, you’re supporting a community by shopping here,” she said.
Stonehouse Coffee General Manager Brittany Ohman said things are slower in the winter but for many, it’s a welcome lull.
"We get to actually engage and get to know our customers who do live here full time, and they also love that: When the tourist season ends, and they get to kind of come back out of their shell again and live in the town that we call home,” she said.
Ohman also said people aren’t really in Nisswa to shop during City of Lights; they’re there to celebrate. She wishes a bigger emphasis was put on Small Business Saturday.
"Invite those people to stay in town and shop the next day,” she said
“Enjoy themselves for City of Lights on Friday and do all the fun food and stuff, but then invite them to come back on Saturday and support our businesses who are doing this celebration for them.”
Ohman said at a recent City Council meeting, there was a discussion of Nisswa’s uniqueness.
"Although people have been going online shopping and the walk-in retail is slowing down, Nisswa is this special place that people have in their heart, and the memories that they can make here, and then the small-town shopping that they get,” she said.
Molly Weldon shares the same sentiment.
"I feel like it has more heart,” she said. “ ... It just feels more personal. Even though it is a lot of people that aren’t local, you do have a lot of locals, too.”
