March 29, 2024

Newton’s Ridiculous Day set for Saturday downtown

Ridiculous Day in Newton is Saturday. It’s the one day of the year for shop owners in downtown Newton to put out their wares and sell them at “ridiculous” discounts. It has been a Newton tradition for as long as people like Stephanie Moran of Silverado Boutique can remember.

“We always went, and we were able to get more value for our money,” Moran said. “As a person who is now doing it, it is now really fun for me to be doing the same thing.”

She said she remembers buying sale items which were on the sidewalk outside of the stores.

The turn out for Ridiculous Day has gone down in recent years due to an increase in online shopping, changing shopping habits nationally and big-box retailers, though Moran is optimistic about the future of Ridiculous Day.

“There are some shops coming in that I am excited about and I think the more retail spaces we have filling up ... the more retail we have, it gives the people of Newton more of a reason to go out and shop,” Moran said.

Shopping will mainly be focused on the square, but Moran said Olive ’et Boutique, located on West Second Street South and Fine Things Reclaimed on First Avenue West will be among those stores not in the square to be open. The Newton Booster Club will also be out selling Cardinal items.

Usually, the Newton Chamber of Commerce helps organize the day, but this year executive director Amanda Price said the organization decided not to participate.

Newton Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Amanda Price said the crowd has not been going to Ridiculous Day like it has in the past and this is no fault of the vendors or the Chamber.

“I think we have tried to come up with new ideas and different thing to spur more people to come down here,” Price said.

She said the Chamber’s decision to not work on it this year was difficult to come to but happened because they put in a lot of work and no one showed up.

Moran said it added extra work for the shop owners and took on the extra work out of a sense of duty.

She said retailers have big plans moving forward, including adding more tents on the courthouse yard with vendors in them, food trucks and entertainment. She said she wishes people will be patient with the event and come out anyway

“I would be shocked if they could not find one thing to go home with,” Moran said.

Ridiculous Day is on Saturday from 9 a.m. through 3 p.m.

Contact Samuel Nusbaum at 641-792-3121 ext. 6533 or snusbaum@newtondailynews.com