I think it’s safe to say that most people aren’t fans of Black Friday – the stress, waking up early, standing in long lines, fighting the crowds, etc. Well, thank goodness for Decatur’s shops. A number of local retailers are offering discounts this Friday (hello Fab Friday!), which means you can actually enjoy your holiday shopping walking along the city’s tree-lined streets, experiencing great customer service, and taking a shopping break at one of the local restaurants.

I’ll continue to add to this list throughout the day. Feel free to leave a comment if I’ve left anything off!

>Whit’s End will be open early on Friday with all leftover summer items just $15 or $9.  Other sales items include frames, golf tees, Docker’s slacks and Patagonia shoes. Columbia upper body wear is 20% off and all other non sale items are 10% off.

>Mingei World Arts has some great new items including hand-made woven products from Burma and Bhutan, more Decatur Banner Bags (tote bags made from vintage City of Decatur banners), recycled hand-made Coleccion Luna bags and Himalayan candles.

>Kaleidoscope Boutique will be open at 9 a.m. on Friday with 25% off all fall clothing. The boutique will be serving complimentary hot mulled wine and cookies while you shop.

>Boogaloos Boutique will open at 9 a.m. with 25% off all full-priced merchandise.

This Thanksgiving  Ted’s Montana Grill will be open from 12 noon until 8 pm, giving guests a special “Turkey Day” away from all-day cooking, possible kitchen disasters and clean-up.  (Family squabbles not included.)

Ted’s Thanksgiving fare includes its traditional Roast Turkey and Dressing, which comes with garlic mashed potatoes, country-style green beans, “Aunt Fannie’s” squash casserole, cranberry sauce and yeast roll. Plus, the full menu is available all day.

Visit Ted’s Montana Grill Thanksgiving Day Locations for more information.

If you want a less traditional Thanksgiving Day meal, Sushi Avenue on the square will be open this Thursday. Call 404-378-0228 for more information.

Normal service for both Thursday and Friday, Nov. 26 and 27, will be on Wednesday, Nov. 25.

Sometimes people get ideas and realize they take more work than they anticipated. Other times these idea people make them happen. That’s the result in the case of the the new Decatur Christmas Tree! Krista Gilliam, who works at The Little Shop of Stories, envisioned a tree lighting in downtown Decatur and brought that vision to reality. Krista asked their landlord for permission to place a tree on top of the “Shop”, collected money and support from the businesses, ordered the tree, hired the company to install it, got lights ………you get the picture. Now Decatur will have a “Tree Lighting”!

The “Tree Lighting” will be held on Thursday, December 3rd from 7 until 8 pm. The Glennwood Choral Group will be entertaining with carols, and “sweet treats” will be provided. The tree will be lit at approximately 7:15 pm. Join the community on East Court Square as we gather for the lighting. Then stay in downtown Decatur for some holiday shopping and dining. Remember- it is one of the last three Terrific Thursdays, so a great opportunity to get in some holiday shopping while supporting our local businesses.

Thank you to everyone who came out to the public input meetings for the Cultural Arts Master Plan last week. The large amount of community involvement in the city’s planning processes is what sets Decatur apart from the rest and last week’s meetings were no different. Andrea Berry filmed the public input meeting from Wednesday for eLife Magazine. We had a great turn-out, but for those of you who were unable to make it, take a look:

Cultural Arts Planning: City of Decatur from eLIFE Magazine on Vimeo.

Update: For those of you who were unable to make it, we would still love your input! Visit the Cultural Arts Open City Hall page and let us know your thoughts.