BLACKSBURG, Va. – After a challenging pandemic year, entrepreneurs are relying on Small Business Saturday to get them back on track. In downtown Blacksburg, a crowd decided to support local businesses Saturday by heading to the farmer’s market. That’s why Adam Bethany wanted to spend a few extra dollars on Small Business Saturday. “It’s nice to know that we can help even in a small way,” Bethany said. “For the business it’s huge but also personally it means a lot,” Macedo said.

The Town of Blacksburg kicked off the holiday season with a much-needed boost to local businesses through a new gift certificate program. A collaboration between the Town of Blacksburg, the Blacksburg Partnership, and Downtown Blacksburg Inc., Blacksburg Bucks is a double value gift certificate program designed to encourage and provide incentive to support Blacksburg businesses during these challenging times. Using CARES Act funding, the Town of Blacksburg will double the value of all Blacksburg Bucks purchased. If a customer purchases $100 in Blacksburg Bucks, they will receive an additional $100 in certificates, for a total of $200 to spend locally. Blacksburg Bucks are sold in $20 denominations.