Photo submitted
From left, Michelle Osborne, Cathy Wagoner, Tina Pasley, Cassandra Shelton, and Jennifer Barnett donned matching t-shirts and Santa hats and set out on Thanksgiving evening to find the best bargains. They shopped around the clock.
By Suzi Harbison
CV&T Staff
In 1999, the “Black Friday Girls” began an almost 20 year tradition of rising early for shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The tradition started with two sisters, and in years since, they’ve been joined by cousins, daughters and adopted family. As the group grew in numbers, they chose a bright pink color for their sparkly, blinking hats and custom made t-shirts so they could find one another amongst the throngs of fellow shoppers.
They now start their ‘shop till you drop’ tradition Thursday evening after a hearty Thanksgiving meal shared with family and friends. Shopping continues throughout the night and on through Friday. Their shopping hours are filled with lots of fun, laughter, hilarious snap-chat videos, and the seeking out of camera crews. This year they found a crew from Chanel 18 and were on the news at noon.
At the end of their Black Friday excursions, these girls may be exhausted, but they have accomplished their mission of crossing many gifts off their Christmas lists while having loads of fun.
This year’s Black Friday Girls were Cassandra Shelton, Tina Pasley, Michelle Osborne, Jennifer Barnett, and Cathy Wagoner.