BLOOMINGTON (25News Now) – The City of Bloomington is celebrating Small Business Saturday with over 40 participating stores and restaurants. Many Downtown locations will offer perks for shopping on Saturday.

A participating store, La La Boutique, is co-owned by a mother-daughter team. The boutique is giving in-store discounts, and gifts with purchases of over $50.

Since opening its’ doors in 2020, the boutique has found a community of business owners.

“The business owners are wonderful down here. We all work together for the greater good, trying to come up with new and exciting events to keep people coming back to downtown. You don’t get places like this very often,” said Erika Zilm, co-owner of La La Boutique.

Bloomington started participating in Small Business Saturday five years ago, after the Downtown Bloomington Association disbanded and the city took it over.

This year, the city is bringing back a program where shoppers get a passport that features participating businesses. Those stores will stamp the passport when customers make a purchase.

At the end of next week, people with enough stamps on their passport will be entered into a drawing for a giveaway from local shops.

“They’re the heart and soul of our community. So, they’re not chains or anything like that. All that money goes to them to help build the community, so we take it upon ourselves to help highlight them and get their names out,” said Taylor Kern, a downtown development specialist for the city.

As the holiday season continues, Downtown Bloomington businesses are preparing for their next big events: a Mistletoe Market and a Krampus Market on Dec. 14.

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