Tampa Downtown Partnership’s Winter Village market helps local businesses launch and thrive

TAMPA, Fla. – The holiday shopping season is in full swing, and if you’re looking to buy local on Small Business Saturday, the Tampa Downtown Partnership has a one-stop shop for you.

Visit the Winter Village at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and check out holiday gifts from ten local boutiques all in one spot. In addition to the shopping, you can enjoy Tampa’s only outdoor ice skating rink, specialty drinks and treats, a light show to holiday music, and much more to get you into the holiday spirit.

“The Tampa Downtown Partnership helps to create fun experiences to grow local businesses downtown. We’ve spent countless hours organizing this year’s Winter Village, which will bring thousands of visitors downtown to support the unique shops and restaurants that make Tampa so vibrant,” said Lynda Remund, Tampa Downtown Partnership President and CEO.

Not only does the Partnership’s Winter Village help downtown shops reach new customers, it also gives entrepreneurs a chance to test their business ideas. For example, Modern Paws was a pop-up shop at last year’s Winter Village, but after seeing a strong demand for their specialty pet products at the holiday market, the owners opened a boutique shop downtown.

“Seeing small businesses get their start with the help of the Tampa Downtown Partnership is a rewarding part of our job. There is nothing better than having these types of success stories,” Remund said.

Small Business Saturday is expected to be a big hit. Last year, U.S. shoppers spent a record $17.8 billion on that day alone, and this year, the National Retail Foundation is expecting holiday sales to increase up to 4.2 percent due to the booming economy.

After you finish your shopping on Saturday, you can watch “The Muppets Christmas Carol” movie on the Great Lawn of Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park for free. The movie will start at 7 p.m. and it’s made possible by the support of the F.E. Lykes Foundation.

You’ll have until January 5 to enjoy Winter Village at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. For a full list of holiday events all season long visit WinterVillageTampa.com.  Follow @WinterVillageTampa on Facebook and @WinterVillageTampa on Instagram for updates and alerts.