Downtown stores to stay open longer on Thursday

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, October 7, 2008

At least six downtown businesses will be open for business until 8 p.m. Thursday — instead of the usual 5.

“We’re trying to do something to help our customers out with shopping,” said Bobbie Marascalco, owner of Peterson’s Art and Antiques, one of the participating businesses. “We’re trying to give people an opportunity to shop when they get off of work. We’re going to try it out and see what kind of response we’ll have. The local people can come downtown, go out to eat and shop.”

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2nd Thursday, an extension of operating hours for some of downtown Vicksburg’s businesses, begins Thursday. Participating stores will be open until 8 p.m., instead of closing at the usual 5.

The extended-hours program is called 2nd Thursday.

Participating this week will be Peterson’s, Paper Plus, Willingham’s, Lorelei Books, Frederick’s Shoe Store and Moxi Hair Salon.

Lindsey Garrard, a ninth-grader, will play the violin and sing in front of Paper Plus, 1318 Washington St.

Vicksburg author and historian Gordon Cotton will be signing his newest book, “I Live in a Cat House,” at Peterson’s, 1300 Washington St.

“We want to get the community acclimated to remember the date — the second Thursday of every month,” said Rosalie Theobald, executive director of Vicksburg’s Main Street Program. “It’s a step forward in the direction we’ve been trying to go in for years. This is definitely a step in the right direction.”