We seem to be bombarded these days with holiday sales promotion ads.

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, was the traditional day to kick off the holiday sales season. Now that Target, J.C. Penney, Walmart and other major retailers are opening their stores to shoppers on Thanksgiving Day, “Black Friday” may not have the impact on retailers’ bottom lines that it has had.

But the following day is important to all local small businesses. It is “Shop Small Saturday.” It is a day dedicated to supporting small business nationwide during the important holiday shopping season.

In the past three years, Shop Small has gained numerous corporate sponsors, and the support of public officials and advocacy groups,

Business owners are encouraged to offer sales on their services, wares and merchandise on Small Business Saturday. So as a consumer, it’s a great way to get a jump on your holiday shopping.

Last year I expanded the concept to Shop Small and Local Saturday. You’ve heard it before: Save time, gas and money by shopping local.

Add to that The Times’ “Holiday Cash in the Hills” promotion and you have more than enough reasons to shop Fountain Hills this Saturday.

Speaking of our promotion, the first five weekly winners will be drawn this Friday, Nov. 29. They will each receive $25 in Fountain Hills Times dollars.

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We’ll see you at the Thanksgiving Day Parade tomorrow. I’ll be riding in a procession of cars behind the River of Time Museum Wagon.

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Also in this week’s edition is an announcement about nominations being accepted for the Lower Verde Valley Hall of Fame.

There is also a nomination form on Page 3A. The story contains all of the requirements for consideration for membership in the hall of fame. There are currently 114 members.

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It’s the end of the month and that means it’s time for another Let’s Go, which you will find in this week’s edition of TheTimes.

There are feature stories on the Fountain Hills Chamber Players and author Shona Patel.

Also, there are updates on events and activities that are being held in the community for the holidays. And there are the regular features, such as Ryan Winslett’s movie picks, Bob Howard’s comedy column, the monthly calendar, the Town’s Parks and Recreation “Loop” and editor Linda McThrall’s “Short Stuff” column. Speaking of “Short Stuff,” Diane was going through some files of old photos and family clippings Sunday, when she ran across Linda‘s very first Short Stuff column.

The column was from the early 1980s when Linda came to work for us the first time. She was single and known in those days by her maiden name, Linda Carr.

The column was replacing one written by Vicki Schiller called “Fountain Hills and Valleys.” It was the forerunner of “Fountain Spouts,” short stuff about people doing things in the community.

I read it and found it ironic, that the first people she wrote about in her column (and the reason for saving the column) were Tom and Diane Cordaro, who had recently moved to the community from New Jersey and were being visited by his folks. The couple would later divorce and 15 years later, she would meet a newspaper guy and would become Diane Cruikshank!