Dec. 29, 2014 By Christian Murray
The winner of this year’s Sunnyside Shines Holiday Window Display is Sunnyside Thrift Shop.
The front window of the 46-25 Greenpoint Avenue store is still festooned with an array of secular and religious Christmas items. Santa still stands proudly in the window, next to a decorated Christmas tree, an Angel, a wooden rain deer, a snow globe, candles and various dolls.
The thrift shop won first prize after entering the window display contest that kicked off at the end of November. The competition took place entirely on social media, where individuals could enter the contest and vote on Sunnyside Shines’ Facebook page.
The top three stores whose photos generated the most votes were declared the winners. More than 1,100 votes were cast.
The owners of Sunnyside Thrift Shop will receive a $300 check Tuesday for first prize. Sunnyside Florist will receive a $200 check for nabbing second place, while Pure Spa and Salon will receive $100 for coming in third.
The event aimed to promote the holiday spirit in the business district.
“We hoped to encourage Sunnyside stores to create a festive holiday shopping environment,” said Rachel Thieme, executive director of the Sunnyside Shines.
The holiday window contest was just one component of Sunnyside Shines’ strategy to promote local shopping in Sunnyside during the holidays.
Other marketing strategies included the Shop Local Holiday Gift Guide, which included gift ideas and coupons at local stores, a Small Business Saturday event (Nov. 29), and holiday lighting that went up throughout the district.
