Black Friday is just days away and Marblehead is gearing up. Local business owners will be turning their lights on in their stores at sunrise, or before. Certainly, those on Atlantic Avenue, Pleasant Street and the Historic District are hoping that people stay local and shop with them. As Kristen Pollard, owner of Pleasant Street’s Mud Puddle Toy said, “It is absolutely the biggest organized Black Friday we’ve ever had.”

The Marblehead Merchants Group has worked very hard to entice people to spend their money locally rather than at larger chains or online. About three years ago, the merchants group decided that they should share their resources and serve as an advocacy group for the area.

The group put out feelers to see which merchants plan to offer deals on Black Friday and which ones plan to open early.

As Dawn LiVigne of Atlantic Avenue’s EOS Designs Studio said, “The response was overwhelmingly successful.” They had a flyer printed and over 21 businesses are participating in the Black Friday event and flyer. The earliest stores will open at 6:30am and many will offer discounts ranging from 20% off to 50% off store-wide or selected merchandise.

Marblehead’s representative, Sixth District Congressman Seth Moulton, invited residents of the district to a Veterans Day Town Hall in Marblehead on November 11th. Sebastian Junger, a noted writer and director, was in attendance. As Moulton explained,

“This event is a community forum aiming to establish a greater understanding between local veterans and the friends and neighbors they fought for. In the tradition of warrior storytelling, veterans are invited to describe the pride, grief, rage, or quiet appreciation of life that the war bestowed upon them. Each veteran will be given up to 10 minutes to speak about what his or her service means to them through a story, summary of service, message, letter home, excerpt from a war journal, or even the story behind a photograph. Non-veterans are invited to listen and to learn.”

Mouton added,

“This event will help our community bridge the divide between veterans and non-veterans and inform how I can better serve you in Congress.”

If you love local artistic talent, then check out The Cloister Gallery at St. Andrew’s Church. From November 8th through January 14th, they will feature an exhibition of artwork by local artists Judy Beals, Janet Juel Cook and Patricia Dunbar. The gallery will be open from 9-4 Monday through Thursday and from 9-12 on Fridays. It is also open from 8:30-11:30 on Saturdays and 8-12 on Sundays. The gallery is handicapped accessible and more information can be found here: http://standrewsmhd.org/cloistergallery.html