Every year downtown Conway hosts its annual Christmas Open House. According to the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce’s website, downtown Conway has been hosting this event for over fifty years.

“For over 50 years, downtown merchants have opened their doors on a Sunday afternoon in early November as the start to the holiday shopping season” said the website. Those who attend the event get to participate in special holiday deals and can even get free stuff. “It’s so fun to see everyone come out and shop and I think that it’s a really good way to kickstart the holiday season” said McCall Lockard.

Lockard is the the owner of Harlow + Poppy, a women’s boutique downtown. Lockard believes that being open for the holiday season during COVID-19 is a good idea.

“I feel like it’s a good chance to increase our business and get people back in here,” said Lockard.

The holiday season can be especially important for some businesses as there might’ve been a loss of business during the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis.

“The first few months were slow, but around June we reopened and our business has been pretty steady since. We also have people shopping online that don’t want to get out,” said Lockard.