Thousands of shoppers will converge on northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin once again for the fall edition of the popular Vintage Shop Hop™ on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 4-5.

The event is a self-guided road trip for vintage and antique lovers in the northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Between 350 to 400 locally-owned vintage shops, antique malls, women’s boutiques, occasional and pop-up shops, home décor stores, upscale consignment shops and vintage barn sales in the two-state region participate in this one-of-a-kind event, according to a news release.

Shops in Sycamore, Woodstock, Oregon, Marengo, Crystal Lake, Cary, Harvard, Hampshire, Aurora, Batavia, Elburn, Geneva, Oswego, Yorkville, St. Charles, West Dundee, Plano, Downers Grove, Lisle and more are expected to participate.

What started with 180 shops ten years ago, the Vintage Shop Hop has increased in popularity with each event.

“The past four years in the retail world have been difficult for brick-and-mortar stores, especially small businesses. These shop owners sometimes need an economic shot in the arm to boost their sales in what is a traditionally slow retail season, not to mention the competition of the online shopping craze,” said Ann Campos, founder of the event. “This event gives shoppers a reason to leave the house to shop small and shop local.”

The event is only open to locally-owned, for-profit shops, and no big box stores, franchises or chain stores participate. The two-state event has grown organically over the past 11 years and now stretches from the Mississippi River on the west to Lake Michigan on the east, and north to Wausau and Green Bay in Wisconsin and south to I-80 in Illinois.

Each shop is required to have an “in-store” promotion for the weekend, and many shops offer more than complimentary refreshments.

“We encourage the shops to create a day unlike the other 363 days of the year,” Campos said.

Shoppers will find fun promotions like “pop a balloon” or “spin the wheel” to determine their discount, door prizes, meet-the-maker, paint demos, live music, food trucks and free swag bags just for stopping in. Others create punch-cards promotions, offer live music and invite food trucks, the release stated.

Many of the shops are set in historic and unique buildings, in downtowns, villages, and the countryside brimming with history. Shoppers will find stores located inside century-old barns, historic schoolhouses, banks and churches.

For shoppers, the road trip planning for the Vintage Shop Hop is made easy with an interactive Google Map and Master List of Shops. The Google Map includes all shop details that can be accessed on mobile devices while shoppers are traveling the area. The list and map are both found on the event’s blog page and can be printed off www.vintageshophop.blogspot.com or follow the facebook page at www.facebook.com/VintageShopHopEvent.