Five-store western Maine ‘shop hop’ is from Sept. 22 to 29

PHILLIPS — Five western Maine stores in Franklin and Oxford counties will take part in a “shop hop” frpm Sept. 22 through Sept. 29, the latest marketing effort to get area residents to shop local.

The week-long event will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, except Sunday, when it will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Participating are Dark Star Fabrics, of Phillips; North Woods Quilting, Wilsons Mills; Pins and Needles, Farmington; Sew Orchid, Norway; Oxford Mill End Store, Oxford.
Each store will have an in-house drawing for a finished quilted piece, and the chance to be included in overall drawings to be held Oct. 1. To qualify for the large prizes, participantes must visit all five shops and have their passport stamped.
The marketing event is similar to others in the area. Over the past seven years, Little White Church Antiques has published a Western Maine Mountains Antiques, Vintage & Treasures Trail Map, which now lists 16 businesses (five of them in Phillips) ranging from Livermore Falls to Stratton. Becky Olson of LWC calls it “a very effective marketing tool,” both for Phillips businesses and the other stores identified on the map. Among the shops listed are businesses in Weld, Wilton, Chesterville, Farmington and Rangeley. The map can be picked up at any of the area businesses.