With Thanksgiving only just now out of the way, Elizabethton is already preparing for the winter holidays, and downtown businesses are rallying together to make the weekend memorable for everyone.

Small Business Saturday is not a new phenomenon or celebration for Elizabethton, but this year’s founding of the Main Street Program is working to make this year’s iteration even more special.

“We have this great platform to promote this now,” Main Street President and co-owner of the Coffee Company Frankie Bailey said. “It brings us together.”

Saturday will feature dozens of local businesses offering special deals or simply staying open longer the day after Black Friday, when stores around the country will be offering exclusive shopping deals ahead of Christmas.

“It is important for people to not forget about us,” she said. “This is giving back to the community.”

She likened the event to the Christmas Open House, complete with music and Christmas lights decorating downtown.

“It is so much fun,” Bailey said. “People are ready for the holiday season.”

Small Business Saturday, she said, helps promote the need for people to spend less time in national “box stores” and shop more locally, as most of that money remains in the local economy.

“It is an important day for our businesses,” she said. “There is this quaint, family-friendly feel that you cannot find in big box stores.”

Dozens of businesses have banded together to put this on, including Big Dan’s BBQ, Eagle Center Co-op, Simple Blessings and many more.

She said the timing is perfect to take the whole family out to see what they can find.

“Saturday is a really special day,” she said. “A lot of people will take Saturday as a family day. They can do their holiday shopping in a really authentic way.”

This kind of experience is important, she said, because Elizabethton provides a deeply personal experience.

“They are unique; it is an experience you might not see anywhere else,” Bailey said.

The celebration itself will last throughout the day Saturday, Nov. 30. For information on specific store hours and deals, go to the Elizabethton Downtown Business Association’s Facebook page.