Pictured are Geraldine Castillo, First American Bank Branch Manager and Operations Officer and Joel Schram, Market President holding the Love Local totes sponsored by the bank.Local residents are invited to downtown Silver City on Saturday, September 1, 2018, to enjoy the downtown Love Local Celebration. Twenty-nine downtown merchants are offering great deals, drawings, and discounts because they love our local community. The promotion is sponsored by Silver City MainStreet to encourage more local shopping.

A Love Local Celebration table with free drawings and free Love Local tote bags sponsored by First American Bank and Morningstar will be located at The Hub at the corner of Bullard St and 6th Street from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The totes are limited so stop by early to get your tote, a list of participating businesses, and enter the free drawings.

Patrick Hoskins, MainStreet board president states, "We have 145 independently owned businesses in downtown including retail, coffee shops, restaurants, lodging and services. That is a big tax base that helps all of Silver City and Grant county. The businesses are owned by people who live in our community and they are invested in our community's future. You can't have a healthy community without a healthy downtown."

The purpose of the Love Local Celebration promotion is to encourage local residents and visitors to come downtown, discover businesses they may not be aware of and shop downtown. Overall, buying local is a chance to support small business owners who take great pride in their work, experience handmade, one-of-a-kind and meaningful gifts, and support our community.

If you spend $100 at a local business, roughly $68 stays in our local economy. If you spend the same at a large business, only $43 stays in our local economy.

If you have not been downtown recently, this is a great day to shop local. Look for the Love Local posters in the windows of participating merchants.

The Taste of Downtown will also be on Saturday, September 1, and tickets will be available at The Hub. The Taste of Downtown offers tastes from seventeen downtown eateries for only $20 a ticket.

The mission of Silver City MainStreet is "To encourage a vibrant, historic downtown Silver City which is recognized as the heart of our diverse community." Please visit our website, www.silvercitymainstreet.com to learn more.