Small Business Saturday began more than 15 years ago as a national shopping event two days after Thanksgiving to boost smaller merchants, following the more ballyhooed Black Friday sales that typically meant going to big-box stores.
At the Palmer Park Mall, Small Business Saturday has, for the last three years, been christened “Shop Small Saturday,” with an emphasis on independent owner-operators and those vendors who travel to sell their wares.
The mall’s diversity, the variety of pop-up vendors who set up tables for the event, and this being the event’s third year, might have been what brought out a decent crowd to the Northampton County shopping venue.
Event organizer Kimberly Stocker of Bangor said the existing store owners see value in luring the approximately 30 additional merchants to set up their goods.
“They don’t push back,” Stocker said, “because the more events we have in the mall, the more people are in here that haven’t been in here in years.”
The mall has found some renewed visibility in recent years, with a diverse mix of shops and services among its more than 50 storefronts. It has also hosted several events that have helped to draw customers. In September, hundreds showed up to take in an appearance by the rap singer Cardi B.
On Saturday, the celebrities included those from Christmases past. Shoppers and their children spotted a strolling person dressed as the Grinch, or watched as Santa Claus arrived via firetruck with lights and sirens in a parade courtesy of Palmer Township’s first responders. The Easton Area High School Marching Band serenaded with seasonal music.
Whether it’s traditional or newer events, longtime mall merchant Pete Siegfried of Fogelsville is appreciative.
Santa arrives and greets shoppers Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Santa arrives and greets shoppers Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Danielle Stokes, owner of Noraa Body Love, holds a handmade soap Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Brynn, 4, and Bradley, 6 , wave as Santa walks by Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Mira Dunbar, owner of DIY Custom Crafts by Ashley, organizes car charms at her vendor table Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
The Easton Area High School Marching Band performs Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
People shop Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Santa arrives and greets shoppers Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township.(April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
The Easton Area High School Marching Band passes the store Snipes at the Palmer Park Mall on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Easton Marching Band members Lauren Lindemann and Emila Tracy perform Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Custom tumblers are for sale at VR Crafts and Gift, LLC. on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
The Easton Marching Band performs Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Santa arrives and greets shoppers Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
The Easton Marching Band performs Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Santa arrives and greets shoppers Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Handcrafted earrings handcrafted in Kenya are for sale at Asante Art Gallery on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township.(April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
The Easton Marching Band performs Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Handcrafted earrings handcrafted in Kenya are for sale at Asante Art Gallery on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township.(April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Mira Dunbar of Asante Art Gallery speaks Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Customized pens made by DIY Custom Crafts by Ashley are for sale Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township.(April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
People pose with a Grinch-like character Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Hand painted ceramic Christmas Trees are for sale at Top Notch Ceramic Trees on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Noraa Body Love handmade soaps are for sale Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Santa arrives and greets shoppers Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Bracelets made of various crystals and semi-precious stones are for sale at Good Karma Mystical Jewelry on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township.(April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Nestly’s Treasures Boutique features custom items Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township.(April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Nestly’s Treasures Boutique features custom items Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township.(April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
Hand painted ceramic Christmas Trees are for sale at Top Notch Ceramic Trees on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
The Easton Marching Band performs Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
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Santa arrives and greets shoppers Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during Palmer Park Mall’s third annual Shop Small Saturday in Palmer Township. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)
“I like it,” said Siegfried, owner of Freeman Jewelers, which has been around about a century and has been in Palmer Park Mall almost since the mall opened in the early 1970s. “It keeps it kind of fresh, I think.”
Siegfried has seen how hard shopping centers struggle catching consumers’ attention in an era of online purchasing. But he has moved Freeman’s twice inside the mall, including relocating in 2022 into the former Victoria’s Secret. Besides selling jewelry, Siegfried is a bench jeweler, a skilled craftsperson who repairs, creates or sets stones.
Shoppers also seemed accepting at seeing outside vendors amid existing merchants.
“People like that,” said Keith Shepherd of Easton, who is self-employed as an artist. “I think people like supporting small businesses.
“I would buy something out here before I went to one of the big named stores,” said Shepherd, who came with Jessica Collins of Parryville, Carbon County, in search of clothes and records. Spin Me Round, another specialty merchant, sells vinyl albums among its varied merchandise.
Near where Shepherd spoke, Virginia Richards had three tables of wares from her VR Crafts and Gifts with laser-cut woodworked items, resin crafts, customizable tumblers and ornaments.
Richards, who lives in Pittston, Luzerne County, and works part time at a convenience store and for an online delivery company, said she cannot afford her own store. Instead, she takes her crafts to multiple locations in the Lehigh Valley and northeast Pennsylvania, she said.
“I tell people all the time: Everything you do is hit is hit and miss,” said Richards, who was wearing overalls with the face of Jack Skellington, the main protagonist in the 1993 film “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” and a necklace of Christmas bulb lights. “You are always taking a gamble every time you have an event, because you either have the stuff everybody wants or nobody wants.”
She came to Palmer Park Mall last year, she said, and sales were good. “It was busy,” she said. “I love the parade. I love seeing the people and the kids.”
Vanessa Prince of Forks Township opened Nestly’s Treasures Boutique about two years ago in a kiosk that was near Richards’ tables. She takes merchandise and adds beads, bangles or other “bling,” she said. She said table vendors help her by attracting shoppers who see her working on shoes, clothing and other merchandise that she customizes.
“You have to come out with that thing that brings them and intrigues them,” said Prince. “Even if you have the same merchandise, it’s what makes it stand out more?
“And sometimes it’s me,” she said, adding hearty laughter.
Malls used to be the main venues where consumers spent their time and money, Penn State Lehigh Valley marketing professor Denise T. Ogden said via email. The recent decades saw a decline from oversaturation and eventually the demise of large stores, the Great Recession and the rise in online shopping.
While the Palmer mall remains vulnerable to changes in consumer behaviors, Ogden, who is also a board member at DeSales University’s Council for Retail and Sales, said it appears to be shifting into more of a community, mixed-use center, which is a strategy that is keeping other malls alive.
“Palmer Park Mall has a lot going for it,” she said, including its location and having a strong anchor in the Boscov’s department store.
Other Small Business Saturday events held in the Valley included downtown Easton, which also held the traditional lighting of the Peace Candle in Centre Square, and Emmaus.
Contact Morning Call reporter Anthony Salamone at asalamone@mcall.com.