MILWAUKEE— Thrifting pros and rookies alike are going to be tied up this weekend.
The Vintage Shop Hop kicks off tomorrow, March 5. It's a self-guided two-day vintage road trip event across Wisconsin and Illinois.
Joe Gajewski and his partner Jo Donner bring mid-century modern decor, vintage clothing and rare records to South Milwaukee. Now, their store, Dupree's, is one of the nearly 400 businesses participating in the Vintage Shop Hop.
"I promote vintage events because my heart and soul is with the small business owner," says Ann Ampos, who organizes Vintage Shop Hop.
And each store is promoting safety. Each participating store has information on the event site about mask and COVID-19 precautions.
"[This event is perfect] for those people who are willing to support small businesses and get out there with their masks on and spend some time buying local and keeping these people afloat— that's what we're hoping for," says Campos.
Every store will have a promotion for the event this weekend. Some will offer complimentary refreshments, while others will have discount promotions, door prizes, meet-the-maker, paint demos, live music, food trucks, or even free swag bags.
The event runs on Friday and Saturday this weekend. A complete list of stores, a map, and more event information can be found here.