Mandan Businesses Invited to Participate in Holiday Promotion

Mandan storekeepers are encouraged to sign up now for the 2009 “Shop in Mandan — Over the River and Through the Shops” holiday promotion. Between Nov. 21 and Dec. 11, patrons will have opportunities to win and earn more than $5,000 in Mandan Bucks gift certificates through special shopping activities.

· “Shop Hop ‘Til You Drop” Customer Appreciation Weeks —Nov. 21 to Nov. 27, Nov. 28 to Dec. 4, and Dec. 5 to Dec. 11. Merchants throughout the community are asked to offer special discounts. “Shop hoppers” receive Holiday Shopping Passports at participating stores. Shoppers who have their passports stamped at 10 businesses are eligible to win $250 in Mandan Bucks each week.

· “Santa Shop Hop” — Nov. 28. Again, merchants are asked to offer special sales. Shoppers who have passport cards stamped at five participating stores become eligible to win $500 in Mandan Bucks. Entertainment is planned at the Mysteria Theater from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The day culminates with Santa’s Arrival at 5 p.m. at the Mandan Community Center, 901 Division Street.

· Register to Win. Businesses are asked to serve as registration sites. Fifty dollars in Mandan Bucks will be awarded to a lucky shopper for each day of the festivities, from Nov. 21 to Dec. 11.

· Bonus Bucks. Customers who are among the first to buy $100 in Mandan Bucks between Nov. 21 and Christmas will receive an extra $20 certificate. The offer is limited to the first 150 purchases with no more than five purchases per customer. The gift certificates will be available at the Mandan Progress Organization, 411 W Main Street, and financial institutions.

Participating businesses also have opportunities to receive discounts through cooperative advertising packages and to win prizes for best decorated storefronts. Celebrity judges will select winners from downtown, Memorial Highway, and elsewhere. Shoppers can vote between Nov. 28 and Dec. 4 for a “People’s Choice” winner when they submit a completed Shop Hop Passport. Each winning business will receive $100 in Mandan Bucks.

The City of Mandan’s Business Development Office and Mandan Progress Organization created the holiday promotion in 2006 to improve awareness of Mandan businesses and the products and services offered in the community as well as to generate customer traffic.

Sixty-seven businesses participated in 2008. This year, the MPO hopes to have 80 to 100 businesses participate to better showcase what Mandan has to offer. Mandan has nearly 500 businesses with approximately 200 having a retail component and another 100-plus being service-related.

All Mandan businesses are welcome to be a part of the “Shop in Mandan” promotion. The cost is $50 for businesses that are members of the Mandan Progress Organization or $125 for non-members, which includes the $75 annual membership fee). To register, download response forms from www.mandanprogress.org. For more information, call the Mandan Progress Organization office, phone 751-2983, or the City of Mandan Business Development Office, phone 667-3485. Registrations are encouraged by Oct. 16. The deadline to have all information submitted is Nov. 1.