Open Late

We encourage shops to extend their hours—until 8pm on Thursdays and 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Evening events are scheduled throughout Sparkles, and the more businesses that stay open, the stronger the collective experience for visitors and for the Village. Please indicate on the form below so we may advertise your business as open late.

Promotions

If your business is planning any special offers, promotions, or in-store activities during Sparkles, let us know! We’ll help spread the word through our event marketing channels to draw more visitors into your space.

Hosting

The BIA is truly grateful to the businesses that open their doors or outdoor areas to help host Sparkles activities. By offering space for features like Santa, chorus groups, or photo opportunities, you play an important role in making the event possible and easing the planning and workload for our volunteers. These contributions create the festive atmosphere that makes Sparkles so special, and we couldn’t do it without your support.

• Santa Space

  We are looking for a space for our yearly visit with Santa. Santa is scheduled for Saturdays and Sundays from 1-4pm. If you have indoor space for this Sparkles tradition, please indicate below! The Optimist Club will help manage children and lineups, and the BIA can provide a backdrop and décor if needed (line up space can be outside).

• Photo Ops

  We are in need an outdoor home for our classic Happy Holidays Elf face-hole photo board (approximately 8.5ft long) as well as an indoor space for a new for 2025 interactive photo area (ie Photo Booth) where guests can capture festive Sparkles memories.

• Chorus Spots

  We’re also looking for outdoor spaces large enough to host local chorus groups and bands such as the Twin City Harmonizers and Grand Harmony Chorus. If you are open to hosting these groups on your patios or porches please let us know!

Sponsorship

The BIA is mindful of the costs already carried by our business community and works hard to avoid adding extra fees to our members. Sponsorships make it possible to cover the additional staffing needed to run Sparkles smoothly—including event set-up and tear-down, managing lineups for special features like the horse & trolley rides and Santa visits, and extra garbage collection throughout the Village. By sponsoring Sparkles, businesses help support the behind-the-scenes work that keeps the event magical and welcoming for all.

• Sparkles Marquee

  The light up Marquee generates a lot of foot traffic and social media posts/visibility to your business. The marquee is available at a cost of $500 per week or $800 if you purchase both weeks. Please note that there needs to be sufficient space and electrical at the installation location. Space required is about 18ft. Considerations of traffic and safety for visitors will also be assessed. Sponsorship will be invoiced by the BIA and due on or before November 9, 2025. The Marquee will be installed, maintained and dismantled by BIA Staff.

• Villiage Website - Home and Event Pages

  During Sparkles 2024, the event page had over 33,000 visits in just two weeks and more than 64,000 in total. This year, your business can get in front of that audience with weekly ad space—reaching thousands of visitors as they plan their Sparkles experience.

  Event web page sponsor will be provided with:

  • Home Page - we will be advertising the Sparkles event on our St. Jacobs Village home page. Your banner ad will be directly under the banner ad for Sparkles. The sponsor banner will have your business name, logo, CTA and a link out to your website or social media page (one link only).

  • Sparkles Event Page - your banner will be placed under the hero image and Title/Dates of the event page. The banner will have your business name, logo, CTA and a link out to your website or social media page (one link only).

  There are two sponsorship spots for web (one per week):

  • Week One: Banners will run from November 10-16th

  • Week Two: Banners will run from November 17-23th

  Web Sponsorship for the Sparkles is $400 per week. Sponsorship will be invoiced by the BIA and due on or before November 1, 2025.

  Sponsorship will be invoiced by the BIA and due on or before November 9, 2025.