KELLOGG — The holiday season is upon us, and the Silver Valley Chamber of Commerce (SVCC) is running its Shop Small campaign to encourage residents to check out local businesses.

The chamber has held this campaign for the past few years, coming up with the idea after many local shops were hit hard during the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For the past few years, the Silver Valley Chamber has created a campaign to encourage patrons to shop locally during the holidays. We have created a coupon card of participation businesses, each business provides a discount or deal to be used exclusively with the cards,” said Tara Lodi, committee chair.

This year, the coupon card has more than 20 local businesses participating, from Silver Peak Espresso in Smelterville to Silver Valley Tire in Kellogg and Johnson’s Gems in Wallace.

“Some of the businesses might be considered slightly unconventional to think of for holiday gifts, and that’s exactly why we want to promote them,” Lodi said. “We want to promote shopping locally and we provide incentives to those individuals that take advantage of the deals being offered.”

This year, the SVCC Winter schedule will look slightly different than years past, as the Lighting Festival Parade will no longer be taking place due to a lack of volunteers.

“The parade is a fan favorite, but it is difficult to acquire volunteers due to the event taking place on the Friday after Thanksgiving. If any organizations would like to take that on, we would certainly be open to that discussion,” Lodi said.

The Silver Mountain Tree Lighting ceremony and fireworks show will continue to take place as they kick off the start of their winter season.

The Shop Local Coupon Card will be available this Saturday, Nov. 12, at the Silver Valley Chamber’s Winter Market at Kellogg Middle School from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“This market is designed to help out vendors that do not have a storefront, giving them an opportunity to sell their products in preparation for the holidays.”

Shoppers can turn in their stamped coupon cards to the SVCC by Dec. 24 to be entered into a prize drawing of locally purchased gift cards from the participating businesses.

If you have questions regarding the Winter Market or the Shop Local Coupon Card, please reach out to the SVCC Chamber Coordinator Becca Holehan at [email protected].