BERLIN—Illustrating
yet again that it’s never too early to get a head start on holiday planning,
Berlin Main Street has begun sales to raise funds for the downtown business
district’s Victorian Christmas display.
In addition
to its popular keepsake ornaments, the merchant group will also sell canvas
tote bags emblazoned with an illustration and the Main Street logo this year.
Helen Wiley,
of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church’s The Church Mouse Thrift Shop, said on Aug. 27
the tote bag fundraiser started earlier this summer as a project of the Main Street
Design Committee. The money raised will help pay for trees, wreaths, lights and
pretty much all of the decorations that will be used to festoon the downtown
business district with holiday cheer this December. Sales of the bags and the
town’s official holiday ornament for 2013 will continue through
the Christmas season, she said.
The sturdy tote bags with the
Main Street Logo are ideal for shopping, are very sturdy and offer an
environmentally friendly alternative to plastic shopping bags, Wiley
said. They can be purchased at Baked Dessert Café & Gallery at 4C Bay
St., the Berlin Coffee House at 17 Jefferson St., Sisters at 113 North Main
St., or TaDa at 18 North Main St.
and launch the sale of the 2013 holiday ornaments during the Fiddler’s
Convention Sept. 20-21, when the Berlin
Chamber of Commerce said thousands of bluegrass
musicians and fans from across the country will meet in Berlin. The musicians
will be there to vie for cash prizes in adult and youth fiddle, banjo, guitar,
mandolin and bluegrass band competitions.
The 2013 ornament is now being
designed, Wiley said. Future plans each year are for various Downtown Berlin
Stores to be featured on an ornament.
The bags sell for $10 each and
the ornaments will be available for a minimum $15 donation.
There are a limited number of the
2012 “Main Street” ornaments still available, Wiley said. For more
information contact her at 410-208-2818.