The Pelham Chamber of Commerce held its first ever “Go Green to Spend Your Green” holiday event on Saturday. The market included a holiday green screen that allowed families to take pictures by appointment. The event was held outdoors in the parking lot of the former Capital One Bank in support of Small Business Saturday.

Chamber President Cristina Chianese was behind the market, as well as the holiday photo station. The green screen idea was sparked by the shifting “new normal” of the holiday season. During a pandemic, it’s not safe to take a picture on Santa’s lap. The green screen allowed for families to get sweet and safe family photos with a special background for the holiday season, while also creating incentive to shop local.

See an album of the photos on the chamber Facebook page here.

“The idea behind ‘Go Green & Spend Your Green’ was to create an exciting event in Pelham that would entice people to leave their homes and head into the heart of our downtown district with the ultimate goal of shopping on Small Business Saturday,” said Chianese. “This year more than ever, it is so important to drive awareness for the need to shop local.”

Since assuming her new position in September, Chianese has utilized her marketing background to help the local businesses of Pelham in these unprecedented times. The requirement of “proof of Pelham purchase” created incentive for Pelham families to shop to get the holiday snapshot. Many vendors saw record high sales, with some even revenues their profits from previous markets.

“Getting to meet people and say hi is so important,” said Miranda Bucciero of Flour Power Bakery. “The market allows for a lot more in-person interaction, which makes a huge difference, especially now.”