People who jump-start their holiday shopping on Friday, Nov. 10, during the three-day opening of the Dowagiac Christmas Celebration will have an opportunity to win $600 in Universal Dowagiac Gift Cards, as shopkeepers present their finest in holiday merchandise.

The four-fold Christmas event, presented by the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce and Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital, features the annual Christmas Open House Weekend Nov. 10-12; Small Business Saturday; and the 100-unit Candle-light Christmas Parade on Friday, Dec. 1.  New this year, the Chamber of Commerce will be teaming up with the Dowagiac Elks to host Breakfast with Santa on Saturday, Dec. 16.

The Chamber of Commerce, which is co-sponsoring the weekend drawing for adults, is teaming up with 12 participating locations to award a $50 Universal Dowagiac Gift Certificate to each of the 12 winners, which they can use to supplement their holiday budgets.

According to Vickie Phillipson, program director of the Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Development Authority, and chairman of the Christmas Celebration, shoppers can register for the holiday drawing during Open House Weekend.

At most locations, shoppers will enjoy extended hours on Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.  On Saturday, shops are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as family events are headquartered in and around the Beckwith Park at Front and Beeson streets. Most shops are open Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

Phillipson said organizers included Friday in the special weekend of in-store and community events, as a means to extend their holiday specials to those people who work in Dowagiac and live elsewhere, as well as to local residents, who may have family commitments that Saturday and Sunday.

“Registering for the Christmas Open House Drawing is easy,” Phillipson said.  “Patrons can sign up for the drawing every time they make a purchase at one of our participating locations.”

The 12 host sites of the drawing include: The Baker’s Rhapsody, Booth’s Country Florist, Imperial Furniture, The Marshall Shoppe, Mud-Luscious, Olympia Books, Rosy Tomorrows, Shabby Bou-Chic, Who Knew? Consignment, Vincent J. Jewelers, Yarn on Front and at Dowagiac’s newest specialty shop, Deck the Halls, which opens this week on Commercial Street.

Family activities on Open House Saturday get underway downtown at 10 a.m. and will be hosted in and around the Beckwith Park and within Wood Fire Italian Trattoria, and at Who Knew? Consignment and the Dowagiac Area History Museum, where interactive events are also featured.

“As a means to provide families with a warm and comfortable setting in which children can meet with our Old-World Santa, Wood Fire Italian Trattoria has graciously allowed us to use its Pompeii Room,” Phillipson said.  Located downtown across the street from Beckwith Park, our true-to-life Santa will greet families within the elegant indoor setting of Wood Fire, where children will receive a Christmas coloring book and can sign up to win one of two giant gift baskets of toys, plus the chance to ride with Kris Kringle in the Dec. 1 Candle-light Christmas Parade.”

Corporate sponsors of the celebration are: The Business Center of Southwestern Michigan, Casual Tees Inc., Chemical Bank, Clark Chapel / Starks Family Funeral Homes, Cass County COA / Front Street Crossing, Dowagiac Area Federal Credit Union, Dowagiac Area History Museum, Edward Jones’ Office of Kim MacGregor, John A. Vylonis Custom Building, Mahar Insurance, The Marshall Shoppe, May Oberfell Lorber, The Timbers of Cass County and Vincent J. Jewelers.

For a full schedule of events or to register a unit in the Dec. 1 Candle-light Christmas Parade, call the Chamber of Commerce at (269) 782-8212, or visit DowagiacChamber.com or its Facebook page.