Fest means cash for Marion retailers
Marion – One of Sherrie Haver’s favorite times of the year is a month away.
The Marion Popcorn Festival will fill city streets with downtown visitors Sept. 10 through Sept. 12, looking for elephant ears, stromboli, amusement rides and musical entertainment.
As a retailer, Haver knows some of the festival-goers also will peruse her shop, Home Again Stained Glass Ltd., 198 W. Center St., many of them seeing it for the first time.
“It’s wonderful,” she said, of the annual three-day festival’s impact on her business. “It’s long hours, but you know in those three days I did more than I do in several months.”
The event’s effect on a downtown retailer’s sales can depend on the type of business, but overall the presence of an estimated 150,000 potential customers walking a few feet away from a store’s front door “definitely does” help, said Downtown Marion Inc. Manager Lucinda Richardson.
“I walk around and talk to most of the store owners to find the results of promotions like (the festival),” Richardson said. “Books on Center, they host a sidewalk sale because of the
number of customers that are at our doorstep. … There’s a lot of opportunity.”
Location in relation to the festival’s offerings plays a factor in attracting foot traffic, too, said Richard Keefer, owner of Keefer’s Clothiers, 131 E. Center St.
