Tomorrow, more than a dozen Durham businesses will take part in a Main Street Crawl, an event intended to foster community support and re-energize the downtown area coming off of a year mired in the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Crawl invites Durhamites and other guests to make stops along a map of featured sites and show their love for local bars, restaurants, and art galleries while shopping and enjoying complimentary samples. Crawlers can pick up a mini pain au chocolat from Loaf, mosey over to Dos Perros for an order of fresh chicharrones with chili and lime, grab a macaron from Sweets by Shayda, and visit Cecyโ€™s Gallery & Studios to brush some paint on local artist Sarah Glickmanโ€™s Durham Community Art Piece.

The Crawl is hosted by Brij, a new platform working to help small businesses recover from the pandemic. As Brijโ€™s inaugural event, the Crawl will kick off the platformโ€™s efforts to amp up consumer support for small businesses across the country. 100 percent of proceeds from the Crawlโ€™s ticket sales will be distributed to the featured businesses and there is no cost for businesses to participate.

โ€œThe goal [of the Crawl] is partially to raise money from ticket sales, but beyond that, itโ€™s to regenerate awareness of the dynamic, vibrant nature of downtown Durham,โ€ says Bill Putsis, co-founder of Brij. โ€œWe want to have foot traffic so businesses can show off what great things they do.โ€

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Buy tickets here. Crawlers are asked to adhere to public health guidelines to protect against the spread of COVID-19.

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Lena Geller is a reporter for INDY, covering food, housing, and politics. She joined the staff in 2018 and previously ran a custom cake business.