The first-ever Oakville Community Holiday Crawl will take place Sunday, Dec. 1 from noon to 4 p.m. at various businesses up and down Telegraph Road, from south of Interstate 255 to the Meramec River.

Over 25 businesses have committed to participate in the “small-business crawl” up and down stores along Telegraph, south of I-255 and north of the Meramec River.

“We did have some interest from businesses outside those parameters, but we’re calling it the Oakville Crawl,” said organizer Cory Parolin of Irene’s Floral Design. “We want to limit it to brick and mortar businesses truly in Oakville.”

Each participating business will hold their own event in their space, with special offers varying from gifts to sales and more.

OsteoStrong will hold a drawing for St. Louis Blues tickets, Bottle Cellars/Cellar House will have Italian wine tastings, and other businesses will have exclusive sales and special offers.

“It’s just a little bit of everything depending on what businesses you visit that day,” said Parolin. “We’re hoping people make a day out of it. Have fun, look and shop.”

The crawl takes place the day after Small Business Saturday, an American shopping holiday aimed at encouraging consumers to shop local. Parolin said she hopes the event becomes a yearly tradition.

“A lot of people will pass a business and think ‘I should go in there sometime’ but they don’t,” said Parolin. “I think if you give them an opportunity to come and check a business out, they’re more apt to come back. Nobody needs to tell you how difficult it is to run a small business in this day and age. We want to encourage residents in Oakville to patronize these businesses, so it’s a win-win.”

Call Newspapers is a sponsor of the event.