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Cindy Jones, left, and Deborah Peterson are co-chairwomen of the second annual for New Smyrna Beach "Christmas on Canal," which continues Wednesday with "Girls Night Out." The two are merchants on Canal Street.
Editor's note: The following story was submitted by contributing writer Dale Smith:
NEW SMYRNA BEACH – It’s "Girls Night Out" on Wednesday as Christmas on Canal continues to celebrate the start of the holiday season.
Organizers of Spark the Spirit on Friday nigh, which included the lighting of the Christmas Tree, and the Coastal Christmas Market on Saturday said if the crowds from the first two events are any indication, Girls Night Out will be another big success.
Cindy Jones and Deborah Peterson, chairwomen of Christmas on Canal, said they were more than pleased with this past weekend's turnout for the start of the 2010 Christmas on Canal holiday shopping campaign.
“We definitely doubled in size from a year ago,” Peterson said. “From what we hear the merchants had a banner day on Saturday.”
Jones said they had not analyzed the surveys from the merchants asking for their comments, but anecdotally, “the responses have all been positive."
Peterson said the committee responsible for all of the events will evaluate both the good and the not-so-good things that took place this past weekend.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve things,” Peterson said. “We’ll refine things as we go along and hopefully find the right combination so everyone is happy.”
Peterson said one thing they may look into doing is having more activities centered around where the Christmas tree is located at the intersection of Riverside Drive and Canal Street.
“As soon as the lighting of the tree took place, everyone moved away from there. We had entertainment lined up for that area but hardly anyone stayed for the music,” Peterson said. “Next year we will make sure the headliners will get top billing so the audience can enjoy the music.”
Both Jones and Peterson said their No. 1 goal was to bring people downtown to Canal Street and to support the merchants.
Dominic Damato of Volusia Patio & Home Accessories at 320 Canal St. said his store saw lots of foot traffic on Saturday. “It was a good day for us,” he said. “The vendors in front of my store were busy and many people stopped by the store to shop. I’m happy with the traffic we got.”
Damato and his wife Terri Ann, have been on Canal Street for just over a year, having moved from the K-Mart Shopping Center on State Road 44.
“We do like it better here,” Damato said. “The street is vibrant and it feels like a neighborhood.”
Organizing an event like Christmas on Canal takes a lot of time and personnel. Jones is the first to point out that without volunteers and dedicated people, events like this is hard to put together. The credit goes to everyone.
“It’s not just me and Debbie (Peterson),” Jones said. “It’s about everyone who gets involved with promoting the historic district.”
Jones credited Betty Kopp, organizer of Girl’s Night Out; Mary Farmer, caroling; Mark Monteson, entertainment coordinator; and Martha Nighswonger (Night-Swan B&B) and John and Dee Green (Longboard Inn) for coordinating the carriage rides and the B&B tour and taste event on Dec. 12, for making the kick-off to the holiday season as successful as it was.
Kopp has been working with Applause Salon to get ready for Wednesday's Girls Night Out.
From 5-9 p.m., merchants and restaurants will be open to welcome the crowds. Highlighting the night will be the fashion show on the second floor of the Chamber of Commerce building.
Fashions from the shopping district’s merchants will be on display by models provided and sponsored by the salon.
Following the show, live music and refreshments will be available at several merchant locations on Canal Street.
Funding for Christmas on Canal was made possible through a $3,000 grant from the Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority, with the hope of attracting out-of-town shoppers, and with several thousand more from the Community Redevelopment Agency, with Canal and Flagler Avenue as its core areas.
About the contributing writer:
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Dale Smith is a resident of New Smyrna Beach, who has reported on local news in Volusia County since October 2009. His writing background includes a mix of journalism and public relations in several community newspapers and a p.r. firm in northern Virginia. He attended Barton Academy in Barton, Vt., and the Cambridge (Mass.) School of Broadcasting for radio & TV broadcasting.