Black Friday
Big box retailers, step aside. Small businesses aren’t waiting until Saturday to join the holiday shopping frenzy. As you’re already following your favorite local shops on Facebook, do a FB search for “Black Friday” and support their cause. When I did that, I found several interesting promotions, including some from former Best Of winners. Artisan Vapor & CBD (4821 Bryan Irvin Rd, 817-370-7710), Fort Worth Dental (4620 Citylake Blvd West, 817-592-8763), Marksmen Mansfield (8100 Rendon Bloodworth Rd, 817-453-8680) and Wandering Candid (Facebook.com/WanderingCandid, 817-694-6283) all have offers you should check out.
Area brewers and distillers also have offers Friday. BENDT Distilling (225 S Charles St, Lewisville, 214-814-0545) is releasing its new UNBENDT Straight Bourbon Whiskey at Bourbon Bash noon-6pm, featuring food from Righteous BBQ, bottle engravings, a caricature artist, live music by Kendi Jean and Carlos Ramos, and tastings. Maple Branch Craft Brewery (2628 Whitmore St, 817-862-7007) is offering 20% off Mug Club Memberships in-store this Friday only. Members receive a personal 20-ounce mug that is stored at the brewery and used for drinking discounted beer all year, plus early access to special releases and invitations to quarterly VIP events. Membership is usually $125.
Record Store Day
Friday is also Record Store Day’s Black Friday from the same folks who curate the annual Record Store Day to support independent record shops everywhere. From special releases for the hardcore music fan in your life to stuff for your mom — like the 40th-anniversary special edition of “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield on vinyl — there’s something for everyone. Local independents that participate in Record Store Day include Born Late Records (2920 Race St, 817-984-1255), Doc’s Records & Vintage (2628 Weisenberger St, 817-732-5455), CD Warehouse Records & Tapes (1213 S Cooper St, Arlington, 817-460-2392), and Forever Young Records (2955 Hwy 360, Grand Prairie, 972-352-6299), to name a few. For the complete list of releases and locations, visit RecordStoreDay.com.
Small Business Saturday
Created by American Express as a marketing initiative, Small Business Saturday has taken on a life of its own. While big-box retailers take a lot of the attention on Friday, small business owners shine on Saturday. While you’re checking out the tree in Sundance Square recently decorated by some of Fort Worth’s favorite artists and creatives, we recommend stopping at Colección Mexicana (406 Houston St, 214-893-4409), a shop specializing in hand-crafted artisanal goods from Mexico. Before or after, head to Ol’ South Pancake House (1509 S University Dr, 817-336-0311) for some delicious German pancakes and pick up some gift cards or gift sets at the same. For $29.99, score a gift set with either Ol’ South’s signature mug and coffee or pancake mix with syrup and preserves.
Museum Store Sunday
Founded by the Museum Store Association in 2017 to encourage support for museums and cultural nonprofits, Museum Store Sunday has become an annual shopping tradition the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The curated items at museum stores — many sourced from local artisans and small businesses — make for thoughtful, philanthropic gifts. Six of our cultural institutions right here in Fort Worth are participating, including the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (3501 Camp Bowie Blvd, 817-989-5007), the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (1600 Gendy St, 817-255-9343), the Kimbell Art Museum (3333 Camp Bowie Blvd, 817-288-3248), the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (3200 Darnell St, 817- 840-2136), the National Cowgirl Museum (1720 Gendy St, 817-509-8980), and the Fort Worth Aviation Museum (3300 Ross Av, 855-733-8627).
Courtesy Amon Carter Museum
Cyber Monday
Local Avon lady Pearl Armstrong isn’t waiting until Monday to offer discounts on the innerwebs. Now thru Friday, she has codes for free shipping when you spend $40 or more and a gift with $60 or more. Find the codes at Facebook.com/PearlAvonRep, then place your orders at YourAvon.com/PearlArmstrong. As for actual Cyber Monday deals, Fort Worth-based mother/daughter art duo Amy Jenkins and Maggie Oliveira of Janky Art Studio (Facebook.com/JankyArtGallery) offer 40% off art prints and merchandise on Friday and Monday with a special code that will be emailed on Thursday. Sign up at JankyArt.com. (For more art and music gift ideas, read Big Ticket in our special year-end Music Issue on Wed, Dec 14.)
