WISCASSET — Wiscasset small business owners are banking on holiday shopping to provide some relief in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic that has hampered this year’s sales, and their livelihoods.

Marketfest Coordinator Lucia Droby said next weekend’s annual Holiday Marketfest is meant to remind people to shop locally during the holidays, especially after shops were forced to close for months this spring due to the pandemic.

“Some of our shops, like many small businesses, are just hanging on,” Droby said. “Anything we can do to support our local businesses now is critical.”

According to a 2020 report from the U.S. Small Business Administration, Maine has 149,355 small businesses, accounting for 99% of the state’s total businesses. Those small businesses employ 293,872, or roughly 57%, of Maine’s employees.

Wiscasset Chamber of Commerce Chairman Chip Davison said that the decision to shop locally can be the difference in a shop owner’s livelihood, especially during a pandemic.

“Here in New England, I think we’re trained to be thrifty, but we need to retrain our minds a bit and shop at the local stores, even if it costs us a few extra dollars,” said Davison. “It’s always a struggle to compete against big box stores that offer lower prices, but if we don’t support local places, they might not be there next year. When we shop at local stores, we’re helping our neighbor with their dream.”

The three-day Holiday Marketfest runs Dec. 4 through Dec. 6 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will take place in downtown Wiscasset. The Wiscasset Creative Alliance and Wiscasset Area Chamber of Commerce have coordinated attractions and activities for families that meet COVID-19 safety precautions.

Droby said while Santa won’t be there to meet children and shoppers won’t be invited to sing Christmas carols together this year, she hopes an ice carver on the sidewalk and a local musician in Wiscasset Commons will be just as enticing.

“Almost everything we had last year we had to cancel,” said Droby. “Instead we have much simpler events because safety is our primary concern.”

Greg Uthoff, co-owner of Birch Home Furnishings on Main Street in Wiscasset said he hopes to see a turnout for Holiday Marketfest similar to what he saw last year.

“We all know online shopping is very popular and safe, but we really appreciate the people who make the effort to come into our shop,” said Uthoff. “Brick and mortar is a completely different experience, especially during the holiday season because everything is decorated. It’s the experience of touching, smelling products and you can’t do that through a computer screen.”

He said about 100 customers visited the shop during Marketfest last year compared to the 40 to 50 customers he sees during an average winter weekend. The Marketfest event is also a good boost to the holiday shopping season, which brings in about 20% of the store’s annual revenue, Uthoff said.

Uthoff said a steady holiday shopping season would help end the year on a good note, especially after business fell over the summer tourist season. He said last summer, anywhere from 80 to 100 people would visit the store daily, but 60 to 80 people visited daily this summer.

Rob and Marianne Barry, owners of Old and Everlasting, said they, like Uthoff, had slower summer and fall seasons for their home goods store. Although they aren’t on the brink of closing for good, they said they hope to see a strong holiday shopping season, but aren’t sure what to expect.

“It’s hard to know what kind of a holiday season it will be,” said Rob Barry. “We may not have the influx of out-of-town customers we had last year, but we’re hoping locals choose to shop at local businesses.”

Rob and Marianne Barry said holiday shopping accounts for about 30% of their annual revenue.

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