St. Pete’s largest pajama party sends shoppers downtown before sunrise for 53-year bargain tradition. The longtime tradition began at 6:43 a.m. — the official time of sunrise — with 47 locally owned businesses opening their doors early and offering special promotions across downtown.

Supporting Local Businesses

Participating shops stretch along Beach Drive, Central Avenue and the 4th Street corridor, making the event one of the city’s largest annual celebrations of small businesses. The Sunrise Sale dates back to 1973, when the St. Pete Downtown Business Association created the event to help locally owned businesses during the slower summer shopping season.

For more than 50 years, our community has come together to support locally owned businesses, said David Delrahim, president of the St. Pete Downtown Business Association. Every purchase helps strengthen the businesses that make our downtown vibrant.

This year’s event features participating businesses ranging from boutiques and gift shops to galleries, bookstores and specialty retailers. Stores are offering a variety of promotions, with some of the biggest discounts available during the early morning hours.

Original reporting: Tampa Bay Florida News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.