Small Business Saturday And Elf Run in Golden

GOLDEN, CO -- The City of Golden will kick off the post-Thanksgiving season with Small Business Saturday, Nov. 25. Shopping local keeps money and jobs in the community. On Thanksgiving Day, Golden will host the 5th Annual Great Turkey Chase.

The 5th Annual Great Turkey Chase
The Great Turkey Chase happens Thanksgiving morning starting in Parfet Park at 8:30 a.m.!
This 3 Mile Fun Run/Walk along beautiful Clear Creek in Golden Colorado is good fun for the entire family and a great way to kick off your Thanksgiving Day! Children can chase Tom the Turkey to try and get a feather, which they turn in for a prize. After the run get your huge Pumpkin Pie, entry gift, and goody bag. Then enjoy a beer from Cannonball Creek Brewing Co. and Holidaily Brewing Co.
$1.00 from each Adult Entry goes to the Golden Schools Foundation!
Run On over to Runners High in Golden to register.

On Saturday, Events begin at 10 a.m. at the Visit Golden’s Shop Small Welcome Station at 1010 Washington Ave. (Look for balloons). There you can pick up a swag bag, sip a hot drink and then plan to visit the special events in Golden's five shopping districts.

Pick up a Jingle Around Golden Passport program that will run from Small Business Saturday (Nov. 25) to December 31, 2017. Golden’s SBS Welcome Station will be the first opportunity to pick up the passport. After that, they will be available for pick up at the Golden Visitors Center from Nov. 25 through Dec. 31.

Here’s how the passport program works:

• The goal is to get stamps to cover all five spaces on the passport. You’ll get one free stamp from Visit Golden; then fill the remaining four spaces by Dec. 31.
• Shop, dine, play or stay at a participating Jingle Around Golden businesses, attractions or accommodations.
• Spend at least $5 or more to get a stamp from that business.
• Stamps must come from four different businesses; repeat businesses will not be counted.
• Once complete, fill out the contact information section on the passport and drop it off at the Golden Visitors Center for the chance to win a $100 gift card to a Golden business of your choosing.

Five $100 winners will be drawn the first week of January.

Be a Tool 5K Elf Race to benefit neighborhood rehab project

Kick-off the holiday season in Golden on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 25 in historic downtown Golden with the Be a Tool 5K Elf Run.
This event will take runners and walkers of all ages in elf costume through Golden and along Clear Creek.
The 5K will start at 8:30 a.m. under the Welcome to Golden Arch with check-in starting at 7:30 a.m. Runners will finish on 13th Street where they can enjoy a free pancake breakfast.
Race participants will also receive a reusable goodie bag with discount coupons to Golden businesses and an event t-shirt. The first 200 registrants will also receive a free elf hat.

Register at beatool.org. Adults are $35 and youth (under 12) are $15 for the 5K Run through November 25. Walk up registration for the 5K Run will be $39.
Proceeds from the event will benefit Golden’s Neighborhood Rehab Project (NPR), a 501(c)3 organization. NRP is a city wide movement that works to help homeowners within Golden address their warm, dry, safe and quality of life household needs through empowering volunteers and purchasing materials to meet those needs. For more information about NPR or the 5K Run, visit beatool.org.

Also, The Colorado Dept. of Agriculture wants you to know that Colorado food products make great Christmas gifts.

Golden-based AC Golden Brewing Company brews Colorado Native Lagers with 100 percent Colorado ingredients: Barley grown in the San Luis Valley, Colorado-grown hops, Rocky Mountain water and the oldest variety of brewing yeast in the state. Bottles are made in Wheat Ridge, our cans are made in Golden and the company does not sell beer outside the state.

Rockin’ Rubs, based in Golden, creates dry spice rubs for meats, poultry, fish and veggies.

Statistics from the Small Business Administration

• There are 28.8 million small businesses in the country.
• Small businesses account for 99.7% of all businesses in the US.
• Small businesses accounted for 64% of new jobs created in the U.S. between 1993 and 2011
• Franchised small businesses employ roughly 8 million people, and make up 40 % of all American retail jobs.

Small Business Stats from Other Sources

• Small businesses donate 250% more than larger businesses to non-profits and community causes (Source: Seattle Good Business Network).
• If you spend $100 at a local business, roughly $68 stays in your local economy. If you spend the same are a large business, only $43 stays in the local economy (Source: Civic Economics Study in Grand Rapids, Michigan).
• 66% of small businesses plan to keep spending money on digital marketing. According to the same study, 66% could not survive without wireless technology (AT&T Small Business Technology Poll 2013).

Small businesses are important to the economy as a whole. Small businesses create jobs, boost Golden's economy and preserve neighborhoods.
Image via Visit Golden