Side Walk Sales in Downtown Petoskey

Join Grandpa Shorters in Downtown Petoskey at the end of July for the Annual Petoskey Sidewalk Sale Event

Downtown Petoskey Sidewalk Sales start on Friday, July 28th, from 9 am – 6 pm. They continue on Saturday, July 29th, from 10 am – 4 pm.

What are Sidewalk Sales?

Downtown Petoskey Sidewalk Sales are like a street bazaar or outside marketplace. Our downtown streets are closed and merchants haul out tables and stack them high with merchandise. These goods are marked down significantly. Merchants say: “Stack it deep!! Mark it cheap!!”

Stop down for Petoskey’s Annual Sidewalk Sales for great deals and deep discounts. You will be able to shop on the streets, on the sidewalks, and in our stores. Petoskey Sidewalk Sales are always the last Friday and Saturday of July. It’s advertised to start at 9AM on Friday, but the early bird gets the worm, so get here early. After a hot day on the pavement, the sidewalks roll up early, so the deals will be mostly over around 6PM.

This event happens rain or shine, unless there’s thunder and lightning. There will be food vendors in the streets as well, usually organized as a fundraiser by a local service organization. I always love the brats and hot dogs from the Petoskey Noon Rotary Club.

Grandpa Shorters Grab Bags

At Grandpa Shorter’s Gifts, look for our grab bags on Friday. We put together awesome grab bags of goodies and mark them at great prices. Everything in the grab bags is a mystery and that’s a huge part of the fun. You don’t know what you are going to get, but I bet you’ll love the adventure and get a treasure or two you love.

Last year we had customers write us thank you notes about the grab bags and it was so much fun to watch families buy a bag or two, open them up outside, and then buy more bags because they had so much fun! Once we are out, we are out. Last year, they sold out before noon. I guarantee we won’t have any grab bags left on Saturday!!

In addition, we will have $7 t-shirts, $15 sweatshirts, and lots of other great deals. Holiday items, display pieces, antiques, and lots of things we only have one or two of will also be on the street marked significantly down. There will also be a few sale surprises inside the store.

The Katydid will have lots of merchandise on the street, including furniture, clothing, pillows, and a variety of other stuff, all marked down 30%-90% off. There might be some grab bags here as well.

Up the street, at J.W. Shorter & Son Mercantile, our extra large game boards make an appearance on the street. Grab the kiddos and play tic tack toe, checkers, or lily pad. Draw a picture on the street with chalk. Inside, you’ll find sale items, including Easter, Halloween, and Christmas décor. There will be baby gifts, jewelry, paper napkins, artwork, display pieces, and so much more. I am sure there will be clothing, socks, and soaps, too. There’s usually a table piled high with sale goods.

Shopper Refreshment Station

Shopping on the pavement in the heat gets hot, so stop by for a bottle of ice-cold water and take a load off for awhile. This Shopper Refreshment Station will be set up in front of Grandpa Shorter’s Gifts.

What to expect Saturday:

Saturday starts a bit slower, as we retailers are still a bit tired from the long day on Friday, but the streets will be ready to shop around 9AM. If you’re not interested in crowds, this is a great time to shop Sidewalk Sales. It won’t get busy until lunch time. Plan on there being less merchandise available on Saturday, but the fun remains and we mark items down further, so shop early for best selection, shop late for the best prices. Sometimes at our three stores we run out of sale merchandise and close up the street portion of the sale early. Not to fear, our stores are open all day and there are always some deals inside.

In 2023, Petoskey Sidewalk Sales are July 28 and 29.
For 2024, Petoskey Sidewalk Sales are July 26 and 27.