St. Petersburg’s Shopapalooza to return with over 350 small businesses

It seems that St. Petersburg’s small-business festival, Shopapalooza, gets bigger every year. And this year is expected to be no different.

Shopapalooza will return to St. Petersburg’s Vinoy Park on the weekend after Thanksgiving with more than 350 small businesses. The free public event will be held on Nov. 25-26 between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The event to kick off the holiday shopping season and celebrate Small Business Saturday will span 11.3 acres, said Shopapalooza’s founder, Ester Venouziou.

“These past couple of years especially, we all saw how much we depend on small businesses and all they do to keep our communities going. ... The local business community went above and beyond, and if we want them to stick around, it’s time for us all to give back and support them as much as we can,” said Venouziou.

The festival, which is co-sponsored by the city, will have vendors of various goods, such as home decor, jewelry, clothing, beauty products, vintage items, pet goods, books and candles.

There will be four food halls, made up of about 40 vendors, representing local restaurants, bakeries and food trucks.

Shopapalooza will also have plenty of entertainment, from live concerts, dancing and a Santa Claus parade to a costume contest and a scavenger hunt hosted by St. Pete is Awesome.

Festival organizers said visitors can park at the Sundial Parking Garage, and a free trolley will go between the Sundial and Vinoy Park from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.