Blue Ridge Banks on Holidays

In anticipation of the upcoming holiday season, a host of community groups petitioned the city council for event funding at the September 13th city council meeting. Over the course of the evening, the council granted over $14,000 in support for these causes.Early in the meeting, Jack Morton spoke on behalf of the Blue Friday event. Morton explained that Blue Friday is part of a string of events that unfold during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The event is an opportunity for residents and visitors to begin their Christmas shopping early.

“Many of the merchants had record sales that day and were very positive about the impact it had on the businesses,”

Morton said, recalling last year’s Blue Friday event. He said that this year the event is planned for the Friday following Thanksgiving, when businesses will stay open late and offer discounts. To promote the event, Morton asked the council for $3000, which would cover the cost of advertising and entertainment for the month of December. In the prospect of potential revenue the event could bring to the city, the council voted to approve funding for the event.

The council also approved funds for the Light up Blue Ridge event, which also runs during the holiday season. Lynda Thompson petitioned on behalf of the event, asking the council for $8000. Thompson said that the money will be used mainly for advertising and entertainment, which includes $1500 for live reindeer. In addition to approving the Blue Friday and Light up Blue Ridge events, the council also approved $3694.95 for three pairs of loud speakers. According to the presentation given at the meeting, the speakers will be placed in various locations in town. One pair will replace the speakers currently located on Depot Street, while the other speakers will be positioned intermittently along Main Street. Installation can begin as soon as September 21 and will take two days to complete. According to the presentation, the speakers will be used to pipe Christmas music into the streets for shoppers in November and December and for other functions as well, such as emergency announcements.

The council approved the money for the speakers, but reminded residents attending the meeting, that all the funding that was granted did not come out of the general fund, but that it came out of the “Bed” Tax fund, another name for lodging tax. Perhaps one of the more controversial issues on the agenda was tabled, that of The Swan Drive-In lease. The council decided to table the issue to collect more information regarding the legalities of the lease.