Downtown Lincoln’s 'Super Bowl' shopping event adds market

Shop the Blocks is returning to downtown Lincoln on Thursday and will feature several stores and a growing vendors market.

Todd Ogden, president and CEO of the Downtown Lincoln Association, called the event the "Super Bowl" for downtown businesses.

"For a lot of the businesses this is their biggest day of the year," Ogden said.

The Shop the Blocks event encourages people to shop in the downtown area through a series of raffles and drawings. The event is one of the biggest opportunities for downtown boutiques and shops.

The event starts at 4 p.m. and transitions to a party at the Rococo Theatre after 9 p.m.

Shopping before the holidays in downtown Lincoln used to involve department stores, but it has steadily shifted to boutiques and small businesses since the event began in 2011, Ogden said.

Downtown shoppers can purchase $5 or $10 tickets for the event by going to the association's website or they can purchase tickets at the Rococo Theatre the day of the event, Ogden said.

For every $20 shoppers spend at businesses, they get an entry into a raffle to win gift cards. Tickets to the after party at the Rococo are $10. Shoppers can also enter to win the grand prize, a stay at a downtown hotel, by taking a photo of themselves at each business.

Over the years, Shop the Blocks has had anywhere from 15 to 25 participating businesses, Ogden said. This year there are 14 businesses participating. However, Union Bank & Trust is also offering a market that adds about 28 vendors.

The bank had about 10 businesses participating during the event last year, said Union Bank Vice President of Small Business Stephanie Dinger. This year, Shop the Blocks is part of the bank's other Makers Market effort, which last year brought in vendors four times throughout the year.

The vendors are expected to take up the entire first floor of the bank at 1248 O St., Dinger said. The businesses include participants in the bank's pop-up program — where it hosts a local small business for a four-month term — including Truth Papers , a stationery store that is the current pop-up, and former pop-up Moose's Mad Fresh , a business that sells salsa and other dips.

The bank has been working to encourage people to come to the downtown area and host businesses.

"Why not allow shoppers one more opportunity to see a bunch of different businesses while they're already down here shopping," Dinger said.

The market brings attention to small businesses, the bank and the pop-up program, Dinger said.

Dinger is also on the board of directors for the Downtown Lincoln Association and has shopped during the event.

"So if you go and you participate they have drawings and you can enter for something," Dinger said. "And so it really can be a full night of experiences."

Photos: Shop the Blocks in downtown Lincoln in 2018