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If I was putting together a Top 10 List of reasons to celebrate Shop Small Business Saturday and participate in the Franklin Chamber of Commerce’s START HERE Open House, topping my list would be receiving FREE Chamber Cash to spend at our local businesses.

You may be asking yourself, “What’s Chamber Cash and how can I get some?” To answer that question, let me tell you about Shop Small Saturday. Shop Small Saturday is on the last Saturday of November every year and it's to show support and bring awareness to small businesses across the nation. This year, it’ll be on Saturday, Nov. 30, and in Franklin, the Franklin Chamber of Commerce will be holding their 12th annual START HERE Open House from 10 a.m. to noon to celebrate our very own small local businesses in Franklin.

Many of the local retail businesses participating will offer giveaways, coupons and discounts, and have other shopping incentives to entice shoppers to visit their store. In my opinion, the best part is that the Chamber Cash is free and you can spend it at any participating store.

“People who have participated in our START HERE Open House will be excited to come to the Franklin Chamber to start here and get their Chamber Cash,” said Rosie Chambers, president/CEO of the Franklin Chamber. “Chamber Cash is spent like a gift certificate at participating stores. The Chamber will give out Chamber Cash certificates to the first 100 shoppers 18 and older through our door. Chamber Cash comes in increments of $10, $20 or $50, are used like cash and are valid only on Small Business Saturday.”

Free Chamber Cash? Count me in! They also will have free doughnuts and coffee to share.

Some businesses are also holding events to celebrate Shop Small Business Saturday. Kristi Ott, owner of The Knitting Otter, is holding a special event with local Indianapolis artists to celebrate our small businesses and community.

“On the Shop Small Business Saturday, we’re going to have local dyers come in, Color Me Happy, and they’re going to be here with their pop-up shop along with fun things around the shop,” said Ott.

Ott opened The Knitting Otter two years ago and participating in Shop Small Business Saturday has helped her businesses grow and brought awareness to her store each year.

“It’s been a great thing for the businesses in the downtown to just have people come in that they’ve never seen before,” Ott said. “I think it’s very important to keep our community thriving. We’ve done such a fantastic job, in the past few years, just building up these small businesses, so I think it’s very important to support them and keep them going.”

Supporting our local small businesses year-round is important to our community for numerous reasons, but the most important part of Shop Small Business Saturday and the START HERE Open House is to celebrate our local businesses and show support for them that day. Don’t be afraid to visit new stores, look at what they offer, and who knows, maybe that could be one of your new favorite stores to go to in town.

“The START HERE Open House is an important reminder to start here…where you live and work,” Chambers said. “Start your holiday shopping locally from a neighbor before you jump online.”

Visit Festival Country Indiana at festivalcountryindiana.com for more information about other events in Franklin and our county.