With “Small Business Saturday” coming this weekend, Chapel Hill and Carrboro are trying to highlight their uniqueness after what for many was a turbulent year.

Mayor Pam Hemminger says supporting local business is one of the town’s top priorities.

“We do have small businesses here that are local, and we want to help support them and we want to help them stay in business and we want to show that we’re glad they’re here,” says Hemminger. “It’s part of our community character to have local ideas and local growth here.”

Special deals across downtown will take place Saturday, as Hemminger urges citizens to shop local this holiday season.

“People tend to think about the Saturday after Thanksgiving as a big shopping day and we just wanted to remind them that we have shopping downtown and we have businesses downtown,” says Hemminger. “Please think about them when you’re thinking about supporting businesses or shopping or getting ready for the holidays.”

In Chapel Hill, parking will be free downtown on Small Business Saturday – along with every other Saturday during the month of December.

Carrboro is holding an event of its own on Small Business Saturday: everyone’s invited to Carrboro Town Commons from 9-10 Saturday morning to pick up a free bag of swag and coupons from local small businesses, to help with your holiday shopping.