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Eager Shoppers Head To Early Store Openings Across the Ohio Valley

Photo by Scott McCloskey Shoppers line up outside the Best Buy store at The Highlands early Friday before the store opened for its Black Friday sales.

As some shoppers took advantage of specific Black Friday sales at The Highlands in Ohio County early Friday, others said it has just become a tradition to go shopping with family or friends.

Bud Forte, retail marketing manager at Cabela’s said they had about 1,000 people lined up outside the entrance of the store before they opened their doors at 5 a.m. for the store’s big Black Friday sale.

“It went well. We had about a thousand people in line outside. We had a full stage set up and we had the Chris Higbee Band live outside in concert from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m.,” Forte said. In addition, he said they served coffee and doughnuts for those waiting outside.

Matt Joseph of Chicago, who is visiting family in the Wheeling area, said it is becoming a yearly occurrence to take advantage of the Cabela’s sales with family members each year.

“We have been here since about 4 in the morning. The last couple of years we have been here,” Joseph said. “It’s a family event.”

Dozens of people stood in line outside the Best Buy store waiting for the store’s 8 a.m. doorbuster’s sale to begin.

Matt Reed of Benwood and Beverly Pelham of Valley Grove both stood at the front of the line for nearly an hour waiting to take advantage of the sale. Both said they were in line to buy specific store items and they don’t normally wait in lines on Black Friday.

Reed said after his toddler recently broke their last television set, he thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of the sale that Best Buy was offering on Black Friday to purchase a new one.

Meanwhile, at the Ohio Valley Mall, Samantha and Christopher May of the Tappan Lake area were decked out in Santa hats and holiday necklaces, getting ready to leave the mall Friday after a long night of shopping.

They had been up all night looking for good deals at the mall and other locations for Christmas gifts. They also got to see Higbee perform at Cabela’s.

“We just wanted to get all the good bargains out there,” Samantha May said.

Moundsville resident Steve Beck said he got some of what he was looking for, but still had more shopping to do. In addition to the mall, he planned to go to The Highlands later in the day.

“We actually stayed out all night shopping. … I’m not usually the one who shops, but I’m helping,” Beck said.

Sisters Kathleen Tarasi and Earleen Houston of Bellaire, and Houston’s 8-month-old daughter Abbigal, were busy shopping at the mall this morning, too. All three were dressed in elf-like gear for the occasion.

They waited in line to get special candy bars with gift cards inside at the mall. It was their first Black Friday shopping experience.

Tarasi said waiting in line to get the candy bars was an orderly affair, with just a couple people arguing about line placement.

“It was nice. … The mall did a good job in keeping it organized,” Tarasi said.

Carol McPherson of Coshocton is looking for the best deals she can find.

“I’m looking for everything, a lot of good deals,” she said.

Tammi Horvath of Tiltonsville decided to come to the mall early today instead of Thursday night with her daughters, Neali, 18, and Ally, 14. They wanted to enjoy their Thanksgiving with family and each other instead of shopping Thursday.

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