Governor Larry Hogan and comptroller Peter Franchot kicked off Shop Maryland for the Holidays, the 2016 statewide holiday shopping tour, in Ellicott City Monday.
"I was here that next morning after the flooding and it's absolutely amazing to me -- the turn around, the resiliency of the people in this town that came together to get things back on track," Hogan said. "It's amazing to me that doors are open and back in business. We want to encourage everybody to come out."
Much of Main Street Ellicott City was open over the weekend for Black Friday and Small Business Saturday shoppers. County executive Alan Kittleman wants to encourage people to continue to patronize the businesses.
"We had a great Small Business Saturday, probably the biggest one in the history of Ellicott City, and so we're continuing to ask people to come and come here for dinner, come here for lunch, breakfast and also come here to shop for the holiday season," he said.
One in five Marylanders works directly or indirectly in retail. The industry contributes more than $46 billion to the state's economy, making it the state's top private-sector employer, according to the Maryland Retailers Association.
The Shop Maryland for the Holidays tour schedule is:
- Ellicott City, Nov. 28
- Cumberland, Nov. 30
- Salisbury and Cambridge, Dec. 2
- Frederick, Dec. 5
- Hyattsville and Bethesda, Dec. 6
- Baltimore, Dec. 8
- La Plata, Dec. 9
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