Fremont businesses are pulling out all the stops to make sure you have as much time as possible for gift-buying this holiday season. Every Thursday in December leading up to Christmas (2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd), tons of participating Fremont businesses will be open until 8pm. That timing also includes the entire week leading up to Christmas (Dec. 20-23).

Almost all of your favorite Fremont shops are participating, including Frame Up Studio, Fremont Jewelry Design, Habitude Salon, Ophelia’s Books, The Sweet Spot and many more. Refer to Fremont.com for a full list of participating stores or check out the posters and postcards located in all participating stores in town.

If this were an informercial, this is the part where I say “But That’s Not All…”

Wednesday, December 8th is the date of the Fremont Chamber Holiday Party & Awards at Fremont Studios. Between 5-7pm, the Chamber of Commerce will be celebrating the Fremonsters who make this community great as well as provided a place to meet, mingle, mix and do other things that start with the letter M and involved hanging out with people. The event is $20 if pre-paid, $25 at the door and you can RSVP here.

Thursday, December 9th will also be “Shop For A Cause” day. That evening, a percentage of sales from many area shops will be donated to B.F. Day School’s After School Tutoring Program to benefit the oldest elementary school in all of Seattle. The list of participating stores will be on Fremont.com shortly.

[Read more →]

For those who like to put off until tomorrow what you can do today, the Fremont Chamber of Commerce has the perfect event for you.  Tomorrow, December 22, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. the Chamber has organized the annual Fremont Shopping Spree and Pub Crawl.  Everyone is encouraged to shop, eat and drink local as you scramble to cross off the holiday shopping list.  More than 30 businesses are participating in this year’s “crawl”, with each offering some kind of special for the occasion.  To add to the fun, the more you shop, the more chances you have of winning prizes.

The rules are simple:

1. Download your “game sheet map” at Fremont.com* or pick up a map in a participating business on Tuesday, December 22nd.

2. Make a purchase in participating shops, pubs and “coffee stops” to get a “purchase stamp•” on your “game sheet map”.

3. When you’re done for the night, write your name, email and group name (if you are in a group) on the “game sheet map” and hand in at a participating business to be entered into the raffles.

Note the official crawl ends at 7pm, but many businesses will be open into the night and will honor “crawl specials”

•Each player gets 1 stamp with each purchase, one stamp per business

Each person with 10 or more stamps on their game sheet maps are eligible to enter the drawing for a gift basket of Fremont products and gift certificates.  You can also join forces and enter as a group to win The Red Door Mojito or Wine Tasting Party.  The group of eight people (max.) that collectively has the most purchase stamps wins the package (just remember to write the same group name on each of the game sheets!)

Maps will be available for download on the Fremont Chamber’s website starting on Tuesday, December 22.  You can also pick one up at any of the participating businesses that day.

The space formerly occupied by Caper’s (716 N. 34th St) in The Canal Building is getting filled…at least temporarily. 

SportsWise is taking up shop this Friday and Saturday for a Winter Sports Warehouse Sale.  The sale promises brand name yoga wear, running, snow sports, golf and training apparel at 50%-90% discounts.  The sale takes place tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Several Fremont boutiques have teamed up for a shopping night to benefit Pediatric Brain Tumor Research. Essenza, Les Amis, Merge and Tininha’s are all participating from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday night. Refreshments will be served and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the cause.

The new Fremont boutique Show Pony opened its doors on 36th St. in September, and it’s already moving.

But not far. It will open soon in a larger, more prominent location in a vacant space on 35th St. near Fremont Ave.

We all know that Fremont is a great place to shop, and now Domino magazine wrote a few blurbs about the “offbeat neighborhood” as well as Ballard next door. Domino highlighted the clothing boutique Impulse, shoe store Lambs Ear and Theo Chocolate to name a few. Overall, the one-page article (not available online) doesn’t even scratch the surface on the great shopping scene in Fremont. But as they say, all publicity is good publicity!

A new boutique called Joy Street has opened in Horseshoe’s old spot on N. 35th St., just a few doors up from Fremont Ave. N.

Joy Street features jewelry, women’s clothing and home accessories.

Now that Horseshoe has moved to Ballard, we noticed a new boutique is gearing up to open in the same space at 720 N 35th St.

Joy St. will feature jewelry, women’s clothing and home accessories. The owner, Heather Koszyk, used to run Enexile, a Fremont boutique that closed about a year ago. Joy St. plans to open this coming Friday.

Show Pony has just opened in a cozy space on 36th St.

The owner used to own Olivine in Ballard before she moved to Fremont.

And now Horseshoe, a boutique on 35th St., is planning to close down and move to Ballard. When it’s owner, Jill Renae Anderson, heard that Olivine was closing, she jumped at the chance to move into the larger space. She plans to close the Fremont shop at the end of the month and open in Ballard in October.

Update: While Show Pony appeared to be open when we went by on Labor Day, the website and voicemail both say the boutique will open on the 13th.