Intown Concord, Chamber Launch ‘Spread Joy, Shop Concord’ Effort

CONCORD, NH — Two of Downtown Concord’s business organizations are putting together a new initiative to support shops and promote events while also showing off all of the great things happening in Concord during the holiday season.

On Monday, Intown Concord and the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce launched their “Spread Joy, Shop Concord” initiative in an effort to “spread the word” about “the importance of shopping locally” during the season. Between Nov. 26 and Jan. 1, 2022, the orgs will be promoting their usual events like Midnight Merriment and the chamber’s holiday party. At the same time, they will be offering promotional information about businesses, nonprofits, and community members, and employees, friends, and family involved who may be impacted by the shopping decisions of others.

Jessica Martin, the executive director of the organization, said it was an opportunity to collect all of the downtown initiatives and promote them at once, which will lead to support for everyone.

“This year many organizations, including Intown Concord, are excited to bring back holiday traditions that had to be shelved in 2020,” she said. “The goal for us is to create safe opportunities for people to visit Concord and celebrate this magical time of year, while also supporting local businesses and nonprofits.”

Martin said the orgs will be sharing “inspiring gift ideas, community events, special deals, and much more.”

For more information on how businesses can get involved, visit this Chamber link.

Business owners, residents, and visitors can also have some fun along the way with all kinds of events and even some new things like Spread Joy Bingo, linked here.

Use the hashtag #SpreadJoyShopConcord to share your celebratory activity.

Upcoming Events

• Nov. 20: Annual Concord Christmas Parade at 9:30 a.m., Loudon to Canterbury Roads
• Nov. 20: Fez-tival of Trees at Bektash Shrine Center, Pembroke Road (live and online viewing).
• Nov. 26: Plaid Friday
• Nov. 26: Concord’s Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration at 4 to 6 p.m. at the Statehouse plaza
• Nov. 27: Small Business Saturday
• Dec. 3: Midnight Merriment 5 p.m. to midnight
• Dec. 3: Holiday music downtown from 5 to 9 p.m.
• Dec. 4: Holiday music downtown from 1 to 5 p.m.
• Dec. 11: Holiday music downtown from 1 to 5 p.m.
• Dec. 14: Holiday Party to benefit the Capital Region Food Program from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
• Dec. 18: Holiday music downtown from 1 to 5 p.m.

The Chamber has posted a list of shops and what their specialties are here.

For Plaid Friday, shoppers are asked to wear plaid when while downtown. Use #PlaidFridayConcordNH when shopping.

During Small Business Saturday, the orgs will be sharing unique gift ideas available at local businesses.

At Midnight Merriment, Nazzy will be spinning tunes and there will be hot chocolate and s’mores, carolers, the Concord Arts Market Winter Giftopolis, and dining opportunities. The orgs are looking for volunteers, too, to help out.

In lieu of canned goods for the Chamber holiday party, the Capital Region Food Program is collecting donations on GoFundMe.com.

Concord businesses can also receive promotional and marketing help from Patch. Contact Chris Towle by email here for advertising information or click on the Advertise link here.

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