Visitors to an antiques store in Historic Downtown Clinton check out the merchandise during Shop Small Saturday on Thanksgiving weekend in 2024. The event will return to downtown Clinton this coming Saturday, and despite Market Street construction, the stores will be open and accessible to customers. - G. Chambers Williams III
Patronizing small businesses is encouraged year-round, but that idea is the focus of this coming weekend’s “Shop Small Saturday” event, which aims to boost Clinton’s small businesses on the busiest holiday shopping weekend of the year.
It’s among a long list of holiday events coming up in Clinton, Rocky Top, Norris and Oak Ridge beginning this week.
Shop Small Saturday is promoted by the Historic Downtown Clinton organization, but it is among similar events nationwide, called Small Business Saturday, celebrated annually on Thanksgiving weekend.
Small Business Saturday was founded by American Express in 2010, and has officially been co-sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration since 2011.
It’s described as “a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities,” according to the SBA website.
“Small Business Saturday has become an important part of small businesses’ busiest shopping season,” the SBA says.
Spending among U.S. consumers who shopped at independent retailers and restaurants on Small Business Saturday reached an estimated $22 billion in 2024, according to the Consumer Insights Survey commissioned by American Express, the SBA said.
Families check out the toys for sale in the gift shop at the Museum of Appalachia during last year’s Candlelight Christmas event, which will return this year on Dec. 12-13 from 4-9 p.m. - G. Chambers Williams III
The Museum of Appalachia’s annual Candlelight Christmas event, whose aim is to bring the nostalgia of Christmases past, will return on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 12-13.
In an announcement, the museum invites guests “to step back in time and experience the warmth and wonder of an old-fashioned Appalachian Christmas.”
Tickets are already on sale for the event, which features “an evening tour of the museum grounds, beautifully illuminated for the season,” the museum said.
“Visitors can stroll through the pioneer village, where historic log structures are adorned with simple, handcrafted decorations inspired by 19th-century holiday traditions,” the announcement reads. “Select exhibits will highlight artifacts from the museum’s collection that are tied to Christmas, offering a glimpse into how early settlers celebrated the season.”
The special holiday event, which will run from 4-9 p.m. each day, annually draws thousands of visitors to the museum on Andersonville Highway in Norris.
Hundreds of young racers turned out for the Oak Ridge Schools’ annual Turkey Trot on Tuesday, Nov. 11. The race was held at A.K. Bissell Park.
Oak Ridge Schools celebrated another successful Turkey Trot on Tuesday, Nov. 11, as pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade students bundled up and hit the trails at A.K. Bissell Park.
In the morning chill, there were plenty of students taking part in the annual fall tradition, according to a school news release.
“Despite the cold, spirits were high — and so was participation — with an impressive 288 student runners hitting the trail,” the release stated.
“Students showed tremendous energy and determination across all grade levels.”
The event drew 83 runners from kindergarten and younger, 100 from first and second grades, 91 from third and fourth grades, and 14 from fifth grade.
“This event is always a highlight of the fall season,” Marcia Wade, school health coordinator, said in the release.
This section of Main Street in downtown Clinton remains closed for street and sidewalk reconstruction during Thanksgiving week. - G. Chambers Williams III
During Thanksgiving week, the section of Main Street from Leinart to Broad streets remains closed to traffic as road and sidewalk construction continues.
Also, most of Market Street continues to be closed to vehicles, but the Clinton Christmas parade, set for 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, will still use Market Street, although no pedestrians will be allowed on Market in the construction zone.
The parade route will be the same as last year’s, beginning at Jaycee Park, then coming down Eagle Bend Road and then Market Street, turning left from Market Street onto Main Street, and ending at the courthouse.
While Market Street continues to be closed to vehicles, improvements that have been promised under the downtown street and sidewalk project have begun showing up. New curbs and some low brick walls are being installed over the past few days, and sidewalk repaving is not far behind, city officials say.
The current Main Street closure is a continuation of a schedule announced in mid-August that said it would be shut down in three sections and phases, two times each, from Aug. 24 through mid-December.
