Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Bath’s Main Street will twinkle under the lights on Dec. 7 as the village hosts A Very Merry Main Street, running from 5-8 p.m.
Now a holiday tradition, the event is akin to a holiday outdoor block party as local merchants come together to create a festive atmosphere while promoting small businesses. Stores stay open beyond their regular hours of operation and shoppers are encouraged to explore what’s available in the heart of the village.
“When we first started it was literally just me and two other of the rural businesses and I hosted them in the Lodge,” recalls Cassandra Rendell, owner of The Lodge Coffee House, who first launched the holiday event in 2019. “We had a little celebration but now there’s so many more businesses on Main Street and everybody gets involved. It’s a much bigger event.”
Along with businesses offering great deals on holiday gift ideas, there will be lots of other yuletide fun taking place to draw people into the lake-side village. Outdoor heaters and fire pits will be stationed along Main Street to keep people nice and toasty as they visit the shops.
“In partnership with the Bath Gardner’s Club there will be carolling as well as we have local musicians performing, Loyalist Township provides visits with Santa and wagon rides through the village and then of course all of our businesses are open as well as we’re hosting our rural businesses like MacKinnon Brothers, they come down and set up as well as well as other local businesses. There’s lots of opportunity for shopping local all in one place in one evening,” added Rendell.
Like Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree, the event started small but has now transformed into a major happening for Bath.
“Since then Bath has grown so much and we’ve got Loyalist Township onboard as well, so it’s really grown,” said Rendell. “Now this year it’s being called A Very Merry Main Street, because we’re very merry, not just a little merry anymore.”
Supporting local businesses has always been important, but Rendell noted this year in particular has been a challenging one for small business.
“We’re still here and need support and have really amazing offerings,” she said. “You’re not going to be able to find these in the big box stores.”
Along with Loyaist Township, the event is funded in part by the province of Ontario and RTO 9.