If shoppers notice a different, more scaled down version of the annual Holiday in the Park event in Magnolia Park on Friday, chalk it up to making do with limited resources.
Nearly 40 merchants in Magnolia Park have banded together to fund the event after a majority of the tenants in the district — primarily non-retail business owners — voted to disband a partnership last September, ending a property tax assessment that brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars for promotions and popular public events.
While organizers didn’t disclose the specific amount raised, it was under $3,000, according to Audrey K, owner of Audrey K Boutique. (She had her last name legally changed to a single letter.)
The tax assessment program kicked in about $28,000 for last year’s event, she added.
However, Holiday in the Park will still have most of the activities and performers that were part of the event last year, Audrey K said, including bands, vintage cars face painters and Santa Claus.