5 Reasons you should shop small this holiday season

It's that special time of the year when our community comes together to show our support for local businesses. As the holiday season gets into full swing, you may often come across the phrase "shop small." But what does it truly entail? Shopping small means choosing to buy from local, smaller businesses, either in-store or online, rather than opting for large retailers. In a broader context, it signifies the act of nurturing our community by keeping our spending within it. This not only has a positive impact but also adds a delightful element of enjoyment to the shopping experience!

Here are 5 Reasons you should shop small this holiday season! 

1. You get unique shopping experiences - need help finding the perfect gift? Want to create something special? Need help wrapping? Small businesses offer these unique and helpful shopping experiences! You will not find these services in large retail stores.

2. You create memories and traditions with your family and friends - Special memories aren’t created just anywhere - choose to shop in our historic downtown where brick buildings line the streets and house so many of our friendly local businesses. Take pictures with the trains downtown, grab lunch while you shop, and enjoy visiting new business! It's not only enjoyable, but it might also mark the beginning of a new shopping tradition for you! 

3. You find hand-crafted and unique products - Numerous local businesses are either founded by or lend their support to local artists, craftsmen, and creators. This means you can discover one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted, or locally-sourced products and services that are simply unavailable elsewhere!

4. You encourage the entrepreneurial spirit of our community - Supporting small businesses means supporting the dreams of our local entrepreneurs. These businesses are started by your friends, family, or neighbors who have a passion for their work and contribute to a vibrant business ecosystem. Let’s make sure our community is the best place to follow your dream! 

5. You make an impact on the community - Supporting small businesses in person or online means you keep your dollars circulating within our local economy.  Buying local keeps sales-tax dollars within our county, supporting the wellness of our Laramie community. Revenue captured locally supports city services such as parks, road and water infrastructure, as well as our local fire and police departments - your dollars go further when you keep them local!

This holiday season, we extend a warm invitation to embrace the happiness, influence, and enthusiasm that comes with shopping locally during Small Business Weekend and beyond.

~ Your Small Business Champions: Laramie Main Street, Laramie Plains Civic Center, and Visit Laramie

Laramie Main Street Alliance Encourages Downtown Parking, Offering Surprising Rewards

Downtown Laramie has recently unveiled a series of newly named parking lots as part of an initiative to enhance parking options for residents and visitors alike. These four distinct parking lots, the Moose lot on 4th and University, the Bison lot on 1st and University, the Trout lot on 1st and Garfield, and the Sage Grouse lot on 2nd and Custer, offer a combined total of 175 parking spots to serve the community's needs.

The newly named Moose lot on 4th and University boasts an impressive capacity of 50 parking spots, providing easy access to surrounding businesses and services. With its convenient proximity to the heart of downtown Laramie, this lot ensures greater accessibility for both locals and tourists.

To celebrate the introduction of these parking lots and to promote their usage, Laramie Main Street Alliance is proud to announce an exciting reward program for individuals who choose to utilize these new downtown parking lots instead of street parking. On October 25, Laramie Main Street Alliance staff and dedicated volunteers began randomly awarding the public with downtown gift certificates as a token of appreciation for their support.

Located on 1st and University, the Bison lot offers an additional 20 parking spots. Its strategic location caters to individuals seeking a hassle-free parking experience while exploring the vibrant downtown area.

For those looking for even more parking options, the Trout lot on 1st and Garfield provides an expansive parking area accommodating up to 80 vehicles. Its optimal location near prominent establishments guarantees a seamless downtown experience.

Lastly, the Sage Grouse lot situated on 2nd and Custer offers 25 parking spots to further enhance downtown accessibility. This lot is an excellent choice for visitors wishing to enjoy Laramie's unique businesses, restaurants, and cultural attractions.

Laramie Main Street Alliance's parking initiative aims to alleviate the challenges associated with street parking by encouraging individuals to utilize these newly named parking lots. By doing so, the community benefits from increased convenience and efficiency within the downtown area.

"Laramie Main Street has an exciting plan to reinforce good parking behavior. They will randomly select people parking in All Day lots to receive a Downtown Gift Certificate.  How fun! Fun and important to provide short term parking for downtown customers.” said Karen Voigt, business owner of Second Story Books. "“You have a great downtown.”  I hear that a lot from visitors.  We do have a great downtown!  People love walking around, exploring the shops, we know where we can get this or that and we all have our favorites for a coffee, lunch or dinner. “It was really hard to find a parking spot.”  I hear that too.  Laramie Main Street is encouraging business owners and employees to take advantage of all day parking in one of the 5 lots around downtown by randomly handing out downtown gift certificates.  By parking in one of the lots, you might soon enjoy that coffee, lunch, new…free, plus as you come and go from the parking lot you can check out the windows being transformed for the HOLIDAYS!  Thank you for saving the spaces on the street for customers, especially our older ones, they really appreciate a short walk.” Said Carrie Hansen, business owner of The Chocolate Cellar. 

Laramie Main Street Alliance encourages all residents and visitors to take advantage of these newly named parking lots in their commitment to the growth and prosperity of downtown Laramie. Together, we can create a vibrant community that thrives on pedestrian-friendly, accessible spaces.

For more details and updates on Laramie Main Street Alliance's reward program, please visit

Laramiemainstreet.org.

Farmers Market Feature: Curry Time

Today's vendor highlight is brought to you by your award winning Main Street.

Curry Time started as a booth vendor at the market and slowly gained the love and support of the community to open their food truck in 2020.  This week's special is Chicken Biryani which is a layered chicken and rice dish that is slow cooked and served with yogurt and cucumber Raita.

Their goal is to not only bring popular Indian dishes to our community, but also to share the wide variety of Indian street foods and regional homestyle cooking.  Vegetarian thalis is a platter meal that is a great way to taste regional dishes that change weekly.  

Stop by at today's market and give Curry Time's flavors a try!

Farmers Market Feature: & J Second Chance Small Holdings

J & J Second Chance Small Holdings is a Wyoming non-profit goat sanctuary run by Army veteran Jennifer and her daughter Janna.  Together they rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome goats and other animals.   

Have you visited their booth at the Farmers Market?  If not, be sure to stop by soon; the Laramie market runs through September 29th.   Don’t hesitate to step into the enclosed area where Second Chance’s specially trained goats welcome young and old alike.  You will see goats dressed in fairy wings and some without.  And don’t be dismayed if you see them display their habit of plopping on the ground…don’t worry they are just fine.  They get right back up! Some of Second Chance’s goats are the famous fainting goats.

The goats are so tame and well trained. They will sit in your lap and are very gentle. Within just a few minutes you will be amazed at how relaxed you can feel just hanging out with them; it’s like free therapy.

In fact Second Chance does provide goat therapy in group sessions and one-on-one too.  They travel throughout Wyoming for events, community services, and advocacy/education.  Check out their website  www.jjsecondchancesmallholdings.com where you can learn about all they do in our community, see their events calendar, sign up to volunteer and more. 

Today’s vendor highlight is brought to you by your award winning Main Street. 

Farmers Market Feature: Gem City Nights

It's last call for Gem City Nights! Don't miss out...Friday, September 1, 2023. 

Tonight's performance features De Grigons Y Gremmies and Banshee Tree from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. - at the North side of Depot Park.

This FREE concert is presented by the Laramie Plains Civic Center's Gryphon Theatre!

Stop by the drop-in art workshop too at the Laramie Plains Civic Center tent from 3:00 - 7:00 p.m. 

This week's vendor highlight is brought to you by your award winning Main Street.

Parking lot Name Winners

Public parking lots and on street parking spaces are precious commodities in bustling commercial districts. In August, Laramie Main Street Alliance (LMSA) asked for your help to rename the 5 FREE ALL-DAY parking lots downtown in order to highlight the availability of public parking in the district. LMSA had an overwhelmingly positive response to the survey with 242 community members responding.

The winning parking lot names are as follows:

Parking lot #1, at Garfield and 1st: TROUT, with 42% of the vote. 

Parking lot #2 between Custer and Garfield on 1st, JACKALOPE, with 72% of the vote. 

Parking lot #3 at Custer and 2nd, SAGE-GROUSE, with 72% of the vote.

Parking lot #4 at University and 1st, BISON, with 57% of the vote.

Parking lot #5 at University and 4th, MOOSE, with 65% of the vote. 

Located throughout  the district, the all day parking lots are perfect for downtown employees, visitors who are participating in community events, and people who want to spend more than 2 hours downtown.

Congratulations to Linda Valenti who won the drawing for a $25 downtown gift certificate for completing the survey. Linda is excited to use the lots when she comes down to shop local!

LMSA is planning further enhancements to the parking lots. With the help of the  Laramie Public Art Coalition, LMSA will put out a call for artists to design new parking lot signage and beautify the lots. In addition, LMSA’s Parking Committee is developing incentives for downtown employees who utilize the lots during their shifts. If you are interested in volunteering for this initiative, contact Kim Jessen, LMSA Volunteer Coordinator at kim@laramiemainstreet.org or visit www.laramiemainstreet.org/volunteer to fill out a volunteer application.

Farmers Market Feature: ACRES Student Farm

This week’s vendor highlight recognizing ACRES Student Farm is brought to you by our award winning Main Street.

This Friday, August 25th be sure to stop by the ACRES Student Farm booth on the corner of Harney and 30th Street.  Grab a free canvas tote bag  with your $10 purchase too!

School has started back up…this Friday is the last day ACRES is scheduled to be at the Laramie Farmers Market for the time being.  Be sure to follow their socials https://linktr.ee/ACRESstudentfarm for the most up to date information about any possible additional market days this Fall.

We want to give a loud shout out of thanks to the students who run our local Laramie ACRES Student Farm, to all the volunteers who help out, and the faculty advisors at the University of Wyoming who support and guide this treasured local initiative!

Farmers Market Feature: Twigs & Aloe

Twigs & Aloe is a local Wyoming business that specializes in hand-crafted candles, apparel, accessories, some skin care items, and more.  You won’t find a long list of ingredients on their products; owner Tayla Davis makes each all-natural, small batch by hand.  Designs for their apparel and accessories line are all original.  

Stop by the Twigs & Aloe table at this Friday’s Farmers Market or visit www.twigsandaloe.com to buy online.  This Friday the 16th you can also pre-order their Fall 2023 featured Pumpkin Patch candle or Spooky SZN sweatshirt.  Small batch items do sell out at times so pre-ordering is a great idea!

This week’s Vendor Highlight recognizing Twigs & Aloe is brought to you by your award-winning Main Street! 

Name That Lot!

Downtown parking lots and on street parking are precious commodities in small towns that rely on locally owned businesses as economy engines. In order to increase awareness of where the free, all day public parking lots are located downtown, Laramie Main Street Laramie is launching a Wyoming wildlife themed, “Name That Lot” campaign. 

Located centrally, and on both the north and south ends of the district, all day lots are perfect for downtown employees, visitors coming for events, and people who want to spend more than 2 hours shopping or dining. 

Public parking lots are conveniently located at First and University Avenue, Fourth and University Avenue, First and Garfield, Second and Custer, Fifth and Grand (City Hall) and north of the historic train depot (where the Farmers Market is hosted). Together, these lots provide 284 parking spots.

With this in mind, help us “Name That Lot” to increase awareness of the locations and availability of parking downtown. 

The survey opens August 4 and closes at midnight on August 18. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/namethelots

As a thank you, participants will be entered into a drawing for a $25 downtown gift certificate. 

Winning names will be posted on signage at each lot. 

Learn more at: https://laramiemainstreet.org/parking