Rockton IL
3-02-2023 3:03am

Vintage Shop Hop: best shopping of the year, twice a year

Photo: TK

Over 400 shops and boutiques in Illinois and Wisconsin are celebrating Vintage Shop Hop this weekend, March 3 & 4, 2023. Every year for the last ten years, enthusiastic shoppers (mostly ladies) have gotten together for a unique, self-guided road trip featuring the best shopping experiences of the year. The event happens twice a year, in March and October.  

Thousands of shoppers grab their maps and their gal pals and head out to spend the day or the weekend enjoying unique shopping experiences. Participating business can be found north of Green Bay, east to Lake Michigan, south past I-80, west to the Mississippi, and out to Chicago.

The event is always held the first Friday and Saturday in October and March. This year the fall dates will be Oct. 6-7, 2023.

Ten stores in Roscoe, Rockton, and South Beloit will be putting out the red carpet for shoppers, providing treats, discounts, raffles and door prizes. 

According to Ann Stiffler Campos, creator and owner of Vintage Shop Hop™, some groups of women have even been known to get together throughout the year for pre-Vintage Shop Hop Wine Night parties to plan their routes. Fortunately for GPS users, an interactive Google Map is frequently updated with all the participating shops - zoom in and out to see all the closest ones.

Campos is a graduate of Hononegah Community High School and lives in Roscoe. She has plenty of experience in promoting businesses. She was Director of Marketing for the Illinois Bureau of Tourism in Rockford, and worked for the Rockford Convention and Visitors Bureau and United Way of Rockford.

Small business owners pay an advertising fee promoting their store and where they are located. Owners can co-op with other businesses as well.

Campos said. “I’m just happy I can help them out by using my experience to bring customers to their doorstep with this fun shopping event. To my knowledge, it’s the biggest event of its kind in the Midwest.”

Campos said shopping is not limited to vintage ware. Home décor, upscale consignment and lady’s boutiques qualify for the sale. To qualify as a vintage shop, items must be at least 75% vintage.

“All have to be locally owned. No franchises. Our goal is to support small businesses,” she said. “Small businesses really need to recoup their losses and get back on their feet.”

“The Vintage Shop Hop has really grown organically,” Campos said. In 2021, 385 businesses participated in the fall sale, and 400 businesses in the spring sale. Over 400 stores are signed up to participate this year.

Maps and additional information about the Vintage Shop Hop can be found at https://vintageshophop.blogspot.com and https://www.facebook.com/VintageShopHopEvent/.

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