Join Duluth Merchants on Main Street Front Porch

Historic Downtown Duluth merchants are bringing back the good old days before social media by hosting a non-event on Thursday, July 28 from 7 to 9 p.m.  

In an effort to reconnect to the old-fashioned way of socializing, the merchants decided to disconnect from the virtual world of text messages, emails, Facebook, and Twitter for two hours to allow an opportunity to interact with each other person-to-person.

"I am looking forward to meeting the fellow merchants I only know as email addresses," Suzanne Smith of Sassy Girl Design said. "When you own a business it is hard to get out and mingle among the others, so I am looking forward to just relaxing and having the opportunity to meet them in person."

Duluth residents are urged to turn off their cell phones, ignore their home computers, close their laptops, tune off their TVs, bring a chair and join merchants on Main Street's porch in front of fyi Duluth design studio, Accessorize Again, and New Dawn Theater. They can enjoy a refreshing shaved ice Sno Ball from Sno Biz or bring their own glass of iced tea to just visit and watch the cars go by.    

Or they can sit awhile on the Town Green and bring a Frisbee for the kids to play with or have them wear bathing suits to run through the fountain. The kids too would benefit from unplugging.  

And they can also take a walk down West Lawrenceville Street to see the beautifully decorated front porches where neighbors will be sitting to greet visitors.

The merchants will leave the lights on to encourage folks to stop by.