Pirate Day Gives Kids a Chance to Explore Downtown Holly
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Aug. 1, 2016)
Holly, MI – The cozy historic strip of Saginaw Street that makes up Downtown Holly was reportedly over-run by pirates Friday evening.  Thankfully they were only children (and some adults) dressed up like pirates. And while they were not pillaging the Village, they did go home with booty bags full of prizes from a store-to-store treasure hunt.
In the middle of the street kids could bowl, jump in a bounce house, crawl through a maze, and walk the plank (over a sheet painted with squiggly black lines instead of the ocean).
Toni Barnett, one of the owners of Cupcakes and Kisses, helped coordinate the event.  “We’ve been here six years and we noticed there are a lot of kids around, but we don’t really see them downtown in the stores much,” she said.  “This is their town. This is where they’re growing up.  We want them to come in the stores and get to know us.  We want them to feel like the community is here for them.” Barnett and her family wore pirate costumes as they helped the youngsters decorate cupcakes.
Nicole Kilpatrick of Morgan’s Consignment Boutique said Pirate Day was created in response to Fairy Day, which took place earlier this year. Another Fairy Day is planned for the fall.
“It’s nice to do something for the kids that they’ll remember.  And it gives the parents a reason to go in the different stores and check them out,” Kilpatrick said.
Dick Rossell, chair of the Holly DDA, said Fairy Day and Pirate Day were put on by business owners who collaborated to organize and promote it.  “They did this just by working together,” Rossell said.  “We were supportive of it but they took the initiative and they did the work.”  He explained that having active business owners helped make the Downtown Thrive.  “Five years ago this was a different place,” he said. “Now Downtown is full and there’s a waiting list.”
Learn more about Downtown Holly at www.mainstreetholly.com.
For more Holly stories go to   http://oaklandcounty115.com/category/news-by-city/holly/.