Looking for a way to avoid the crowds when you do your Christmas shopping this year?
Bower Place shopping centre is offering a $10 solution that will also support local charity. It’s staging a special shopping night on Sunday, Nov. 23, when participants will have exclusive access to the mall and its stores from 6 to 9 p.m.
The cost to take part is $10, with all ticket proceeds going to designated charities. These currently consist of Central Alberta Women’s Emergency Shelter, Habitat for Humanity Red Deer, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Waskasoo Environmental Education Society.
Each of the charities is selling tickets for the event — which will be called Red & White Night — and can keep all of the money they generate. The proceeds from ticket sales at Bower Place guest services will go to the Central Alberta Women’s Emergency Shelter.
Dallas Hand, retail manager at the shopping centre, said the charities pay nothing to obtain Red & White Night tickets. Other charities are welcome to take part, he added.
“The more we can help, the better,” he said, urging interested groups to contact him at dhand@bentallkennedy.com.
In addition to after-hours access to Bower Place, attendees will find product discounts, live entertainment, food samples at the food court and more than $10,000 in door prizes.
Those worried about the crowds that Red & White Night will attract can opt for an even more exclusive shopping experience. For $25, they can buy a ticket that will gain them entry to the mall at 5:30 p.m. — and earn them additional items and a $10 Bower Place gift card.
Hand said similar charity shopping events are held elsewhere, including in Toronto and Vancouver. Bower Mall plans to make Red & White Night an annual pre-Christmas event, he confirmed.
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com