Downtown Hartsville’s merchants and businesses will be celebrating National Hat Day on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, a time to call attention to every kind of headwear brimming with fun, and for participating local businesses to offer special deals and discounts for all customers wearing hats while they shop.

Main Street Hartsville’s Promotions Committee has organized the local event, where participants will be invited to post selfies to social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram of themselves wearing hats in participating stores with the hashtag #HartsvilleHatDay to be entered to win Main Street Hartsville gift certificates.

“We’re excited to present this as a day of fun and excitement in our expanding downtown,” Main Street Hartsville Promotions Committee member Tre’ Gammage said. “We’re hoping everyone will put their hats on and explore our downtown for National Hat Day.”

Main Street Hartsville Executive Director Suzy Moyd noted that the event comes in the middle of the post-holiday-rush lull which businesses often experience at the beginning of the year.

“When people get credit card bills and experience buyer’s remorse, typically retailers see a slow January,” she said. “The Main Street Hartsville Promotions Committee, chaired by Jessica Cohen, is dedicated to creating retail events to give people a reason to shop downtown and make cash registers ring year-round. National Hat Day was just a fun one for them to ‘hang their hat on.’”

To get involved in your downtown, volunteer to serve on a Main Street Hartsville committee by visiting www.mainstreethartsville.org.