The Baton Rouge Bingo event is being hosted among small businesses in the Greater Baton Rouge area, bringing the community together to support shopping locally.
To participate, shoppers fill out a bingo card filled with small businesses to enter a raffle to win prizes related to the participating businesses.
The Baton Rouge Bingo is taking place throughout the entire month of March. It is hosted by owner of TBR Books & Tea Jamie Freeman, who came up with the event as a solution to a problem she experiences yearly.
“Honestly, I was just looking for a way to get out of the slow period that comes after Christmas and thinking about how to partner with other businesses to help them get out of it too,” Freeman said. “And so I thought, ‘You know what? Let’s come up with a way to get people shopping in our stores,’ and bingo it was.”
Although she came up with the idea, she knew it was an event she would need help bringing to life. Luckily, just a door down from TBR Books & Tea is the Baton Rouge Succulent Co., owned by Rozlan Fransen.
Freeman knew Fransen was just the person she needed to get this idea off the ground. The pair got started right away, calling small businesses in the Baton Rouge area to fill the bingo card with participants.
“We kind of got together and put together the list of people we knew that we could reach out to,” Freeman said. “And then in order to fill [the card], because 24 businesses is a lot to have to put on a card, there were some that we kind of just cold called and said ‘Hey, we have this idea. Do you want to be a part of it?’”
Through this event, local businesses have experienced a considerable increase in foot traffic. They’ve gained recognition in the community, bringing in people who otherwise may have never known about these hidden places.
“We’ve gotten a lot of new faces,” Fransen said. “A lot of people who have come to the bookstore, and then because of the bingo, they’ve come over here. Across many of the other businesses, we’ve gotten people who didn’t know about the business that have come in, so it’s given a lot more exposure.”
For Chris Romero, the owner of Coyote Moon, the event meant getting to know the community of small business owners in Baton Rouge while also being recognized for the hard work he has put into building his small business.
“When they contacted us, I was thrilled that they included us in this,” Romero said. “It let me know they were aware that we are a local business in Baton Rouge that has been around for a very long time, so they really wanted to include us. I was absolutely thrilled that they invited us to participate.”
The bingo event benefits more than the participating businesses. It’s an opportunity for community members to get out of the house and learn about local businesses and meet new people while using the power of social media to promote small businesses in their area.
Community member Craig Davis Rowley has been participating in the Baton Rouge Bingo, aiming for a complete blackout of his card rather than just a simple bingo. For him, this is more than just entering the prize pool.
“I like to find different places just to kind of make connections, even if it’s not a place that maybe I’m gonna end up shopping forever,” Rowley said. “So it’s fun cause a lot of people have been doing it, so I just kind of go and say ‘Hey, I’ve never even heard of your store.’”
Rowley has made some purchases, but he has also made multiple posts on his Facebook feed. When determining which route he’ll take, he carefully considers what he wants and needs rather than making a purchase just for the sake of it.
“I check them out, and if something strikes me as something I might want to get, I grab it,” Rowley said. “If not, just have a conversation with the folks and make a post.”
Overall, this event shows the community the importance of shopping locally and supporting small businesses. Without these businesses, events such as this one that encourage people to explore their own city would not exist.
“It goes so much farther when you spend your dollars with us than it does at Walmart or Target or Amazon,” Freeman said. “And so the dollars that you put into small businesses really benefits the entire city and the entire economy rather than just some giant global conglomerate.”
Small businesses may be more expensive, but they also provide many services that bigger businesses cannot. This creates a city’s “hidden gems,” giving places like Baton Rouge personality and charm.
“When you’re shopping local, you’re supporting your neighbors and people in the community, but also it helps to keep those doors open,” Fransen said. “And without small, unique local businesses, it takes the charm out of any city.”
Although March is coming to a close, there is still time to get your bingo card submissions in. A bingo card can be picked up from any of the 24 participating businesses, which can be found on the TBR Books & Tea website.
Each of these stores sell a variety of items, each with differing niches. To get a stamp on your card, you must make a purchase totaling any amount or make a public post on your feed. The only restrictions for this event are that you cannot post a story that will expire, nor can you make your account private before the event ends and prizes are picked.
After completing either of these options, you can make your way to the register of the store to get your stamp. Each participant must visit the store in order to receive a stamp.
Once you have gotten a bingo, which earns one prize entry, or a blackout, which earns unlimited prize entries, you can turn in your card to any of the participating businesses by the end of the business day on March 31st.
Winners will be drawn in early April. For those looking for a sneak peak at potential prizes, there are teasers posted to the TBR Books & Tea and Baton Rouge Succulent Co. social media pages.
Regardless if your name is pulled for a prize or not, you’ll leave this event positively impacting local businesses in Baton Rouge, benefiting the entire community in the long-run.
“It keeps the money in the community,” Romero said. “It keeps the economy strong right here in town. So it’s really beneficial to the community to have people shop local if they can.”
