Coming Up: Military Appreciation Days
With Veterans Day coming up, the Downtown Great Falls Association is kicking off 'Military Appreciation Days' this week to show support and appreciation for the military community here in Great Falls.
For more than a decade, the 'Downtown Chicks', in partnership with the Downtown Association, have been doing this to acknowledge the large military presence.
"We have Malmstrom, which is awesome, we have the Guard, lots of different community members that maybe were at Malmstrom or in the guard years ago that then retired in Great Falls, and we want to include them in all of the fun things that we do," explained Harley Severns, marketing and event coordinator for the Downtown Association.
Military Appreciation Days in Great FallsIt is an opportunity for the Downtown Association and various businesses in town to show their appreciation for the military community by offering exclusive specials and discounts.
"This time around in November, it's in recognition of Veterans Day, so it's basically just to honor vets, retired folks, their dependents, because a lot of dependents, you know, are not always included in military discounts," said Severns. "It's a cool way to bring those families downtown and help them be a part of the community and have a spot in downtown, because sometimes the distance of base versus downtown communities is not always connected enough, so it's a way for us to kind of bridge that gap."
There are more than 20 participating businesses and they will have a poster on their door or window letting you know they have special deals going on.
The deals are for active or retired military and their dependents who present a military I.D. at the business.
"There's thousands of people that are on the base, and if we want downtown to be revitalized and be able to grow as a community, we've got to include everybody in that," Severns said. "It's important to have so they know that they're welcome; they know that they're able to come downtown and enjoy what we have here, even though they're not from Great Falls."
Military Appreciation Days starts on Thursday, the 7th and goes until Monday, November 11th (Veterans Day).
The following establishments have confirmed these specials (with Military ID):
Other businesses may be offering specials – look for the poster in the window:
