As part of Small Business Saturday, the County of Maui and the Maui Chamber of Commerce are hosting a Shoppers Photo Contest with a grand prize of $2,000 and other prizes provided by participating merchants. Visit www.shopsmallmaui.com for details.

WAILUKU – The county Office of Economic Development (OED) is partnering with the Maui Chamber of Commerce to sponsor the 2017 Shop Small Maui campaign, highlighted by Small Business Saturday on Nov. 25.

Small Business Saturday falls between Black Friday and Cyber Monday and is part of the national, year-round celebration of small business owners that encourages residents and visitors to support stores in Maui County by shopping locally this holiday season rather than shopping online or at national mega retailers.

The Shop Small movement was initiated by American Express and has been adopted by many communities and municipal governments, including the County of Maui. There are now more than 150 merchants participating in Shop Small Maui, all displaying a Shop Small Maui poster outside or inside their business.

“We can all have a major impact on our community by making conscious decisions as to where we shop every day, and especially during the holidays,” said Teena Rasmussen, OED director.

“Shop Small Maui, and in particular Small Business Saturday, empower us as consumers to support our local businesses and keep dollars and economic activities flowing back into our local economy.”

As part of Small Business Saturday, the County of Maui and the Maui Chamber of Commerce are hosting a Shoppers Photo Contest with a grand prize of $2,000 provided by the Maui Chamber of Commerce, as well as other prizes provided by participating merchants.

Shoppers are invited to take a photo of themselves with objects and/or people (signs, shopping bags, store staff, etc.) that identify any of the Shop Small Maui participating merchants between Nov. 25 and Dec. 4, 2017.

Shoppers can upload their photo entry with required information and the name of store visited at www.shopsmallmaui.com.

The drawing will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 5, and all winners will be announced on Dec. 6. For a list of participating merchants and contest details, visit www.shopsmallmaui.com.

Shop Small Maui welcomes small businesses owned and registered in Maui County to join the campaign throughout the year by signing up online at www.shopsmallmaui.com. For more information, contact Tokie Ogawa at 270-7415.