Park Avenue Stores to Hold Shopping Crawl

 This story was written by Lauren Urban.  

Some Long Beach business owners are urging locals to forget the mall and opt for the Park Avenue Shopping Crawl, scheduled for 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 21.  

Thirteen Park Avenue stores will be participating in the event, including a salon and spa, surf shop, florist, yoga studio and several boutiques. When shoppers register for the event, they will receive a map detailing the special sales and deals available at each participating store.  

Trish Daly originated the idea for the shopping crawl. She and a partner opened The Blue Bungalow, a gift and jewelry shop at 248 W. Park Ave., in July.  

“It’s going to be a relaxing day of shopping with great discounts,” Daly said about the crawl. “It’s a nice opportunity to offer the local community leading up to the holiday season.”  

Daly mentioned her idea for the shopping crawl to Melissa Barnett, a partner at Salvage Chic, thrift shop that opened at 156 E. Park Ave., in September 2010. Barnett immediately got on board with the project. Her store will offer shoppers 25 percent off their entire purchase during the crawl.  

“I hear from a lot of customers they never knew a store was here or they had no idea a store offered a certain item,” Barnett said. “The purpose of the shopping crawl is for people to see what kind of shopping we have here in town. And I think it’s a nice way to bring all the stores together.”  

Following the shopping crawl, Sutton Place will host an after-party from 6 to 8 p.m. The party will feature drink specials, as well as numerous raffle drawings. Each participating store has its own raffle, which shoppers are eligible to win if they visit the store during the day and have their map stamped. In addition to each stores’ individual raffles, there are two big raffle prizes that are being kept a surprise.  

Daly and Barnett are unsure how many people will turn out for the shopping crawl.   “Even if each store got 10 people to come out, that’s 130 people,” Barnett said. “All people have to do is participate. We’re not asking anybody to spend any money. If they do spend money, there will be incentives. If they don’t, they’re still eligible to win prizes and have a good time and check out all the stores.”  

Interested shoppers must pre-register by emailing parkaveshoppingcrawl@gmail.com on or before Oct. 18. They should include their full name, address, phone number and any guests they would like to include in their party. You can also “like” the event on Facebook for more information.