By Adam Frisk Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A shift in tradition and a good dousing of summer rain weren’t enough to stop shoppers from taking over the main street for Haliburton’s annual Midnight Madness this past Saturday (Aug. 1).
While the event was a success for many downtown shops, the move from its usual Friday night timeslot became a bit of a debate over local tradition and tourist foot traffic.
In the past, Midnight Madness was held on Friday nights, but this year it was shifted to Saturday (Aug. 1) evening. The move, backed by heavy advertising and promotion on social media, had some business owners feeling anxious as opening hour approached, especially when rain rolled in.
“We were worried at first with the weather being the way it was,” Delancey Sports co-owner Erika Mozes told The Highlander on Monday.
Mozes said she texted her partner and business co-owner, Josh Karam, just before 7 p.m., thinking aloud that maybe moving the big sale to the following day might be a better option.
“And then 15 minutes later, the store was just hopping. There were so many people coming in, it was really great,” she said.
The rain pushed people directly into downtown stores, with businesses reporting shoppers right through to the late hours of the event.
“It worked out to be one of the best Midnight Madnesses that the store has ever done since we’ve been located in Haliburton,” Hywel Lee, store manager at Algonquin Outfitters, said while adding he welcomed the move to Saturday. “It gave the cottagers time to get up on Friday and come in to shop on the Saturday as planned.”
Over at Mixtape Vintage, foot traffic stayed steady past the typical wind-down time.
“During the weather, it was a really good turnout; I had people right until 11,” Heidi Hudspith said. The store owner noted that the later hours brought a spike of “younger shoppers from nine to 11 p.m.”
Glecoff’s Family Store was also steady with customers right up to Saturday’s curtain call. “I think everyone that was in town was in the store and a lot of local people, which was great,” Emily Glecoff said. “It started at about 8 p.m., and we were busy until about 10:30 p.m., so it was really good.”
While sales were strong, matching or exceeding previous years, some businesses said there was a bit of a shift in customer demographics with the move to Saturday night.
“We had a lot of people ask us why it was moved. I think some people were a little bit upset about it,” Mozes said, but noted that overall traffic into the store was great.
“I felt like the people that were most upset about it were the people that have been coming for 50 years and always come on the Friday,” Hudspith explained.
When asked about whether the new home for Midnight Madness should be Saturday night, Algonquin Outfitters gave a resounding “100 per cent” vote while Mixtape suggested ramping up live music past 10 p.m. to keep the street party vibe alive, while acknowledging that the weather was a factor on Saturday.
Delancey Sports said they would be happy to defer to the public.
“In terms of traffic and people coming out, we saw the same levels of support that we’ve seen in past years,” Mozes said. “I would rather just let the people of Haliburton decide, because for us, we’ll be open, we’ll be here, and we’ll do our Midnight Madness stuff for them.”
