The In Ballard Merchants Association is giving a boost to the Ballard economy. Saturday morning more than 500 women from Bellingham will start arriving by bus just before 10 a.m. “They will then be escorted by Habitude Dudes in Santa Hats from Habitude down to Kick-It Boots and the Quilting Loft over to Savour, down Market Street to Sip and Ship and then loop around Ballard Avenue from Filthy Rich, to Chamelion Design, Portalis and back past Kavu, to name a few stops,” Inez Gray with the IBMA.
The event, called “Santa Express,” is a fundraiser for Sister Rose Fidelma Auxiliary in Whatcom County. Each year they bus women to secret locations for their holiday shopping. This year they teamed up with the IBMA to come to Ballard.
The women will be given a map that show which stores are offering 15-percent off. Businesses will also have red balloons out front. Unfortunately these maps are only for this group, not for the masses.
