Dowagiac’s three-part Christmas celebration that kicks off this weekend, received some national attention this month as it was profiled by the Downtown Research & Development Center, headquartered in New Jersey.

Vickie Phillipson, program director for the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Development Authority, said Dowagiac’s Christmas Celebration was profiled in the November edition of the Downtown Promotion Reporter, a publication of the Downtown Research & Development Center. She said the center provides news, information and data for successful downtown revitalization through its newsletters, books, reports and website.

“It’s always an honor to have our programming featured by the research center, knowing that our peers across the country are taking notice of the community programming and marketing we offer right here in Dowagiac,” Phillipson said.

The article entitled, “Capture Consumer Attention Pre-Holiday Season,” detailed Dowagiac’s three-part holiday celebration that includes Christmas Open House Weekend and its Family Activities Day, which is this Saturday; Dowagiac’s Dec. 5 Candle-light Christmas Parade, which in recent years has been more than 100 units strong; and Small Business Saturday.

“By the time Thanksgiving rolls around, many shoppers have already developed their shopping strategy for the holiday season,” the article said. While Shop Local campaigns capture some of those dollars on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, some communities are kicking off the shopping season even in November. Dowagiac Michigan hosts a series of events designed to hold onto consumer attention.”

Phillipson said the two-page article and separate sidebar on Dowagiac’s Small Business Saturday also depicted photographs of last year’s Open House performances by Positively Dance and Jeff Robinson’s choir students, along with staff from Vincent J. Jewelers that featured the community’s Small Business Day signage.

“Being featured in the national publication for downtown marketing personnel also speaks well for our corporate sponsors, who have partnered with the Chamber to bring this holiday programming to Dowagiac,” said Phillipson, who each year oversees and raises funding for the holiday promotion.

Corporate sponsors of the 2014 Christmas event are Burling & Gillesby DDS, Chemical Bank, Clark Chapel, Family Fare, Front Street Crossing, Mahar Insurance, The Timbers of Cass County and Vylonis Contracting.

For a full schedule of events for this week’s Open House Weekend or to enter a unit in the Dec. 5 Candle-light Parade call the Chamber at 782-8212, visit DowagiacChamber.com or contact the office by e-mail at vphillipson@Dowagiac.org