Downtown stores are giving the people of Vicksburg a little incentive to hit the bricks and shop downtown Thursday evening.

Hit the Bricks is a downtown block party with shopping, entertainment and refreshments from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday Sept. 17.

“We do it two times a year, and it’s a customer appreciation night,” Vicksburg Main Street director Kim Hopkins said.

A band will play live music and a fashion show will be held in the Crawford Square.

Many of the stores will be offering special sales during the event and providing refreshments to shoppers as they make their way down Washington Street and beyond.

Peterson’s Art & Antiques will have a gift card drawing for people who make a purchase during the event. Willingham’s Gift Shop will have a lot of their spring and summer merchandise marked 50 percent off.

“It reminds people to come and shop downtown. A lot times they get out of the habit of coming downtown. It’s a good event to remind them that we’re here,” Willingham’s sales clerk Carol Zoerb said. “It’s much more pleasant shopping experience going to individually owned stores. You get more personalized attention.”

The event started in 2001 when both Willingham’s and Peterson’s had just opened their doors downtown and wanted to invite people to shop in their stores. They sent out invitations for the unnamed open house to get the word out.

“It was just a way of getting people downtown,” Willingham’s owner Barbara Willingham said.

As downtown grew, more business wanted to join the party. Since then, one of the other merchants came up with the name Hit the Bricks, and Vicksburg Main Street has helped bring the event together.

“It kind of ends up being like a little family reunion,” Hopkins said. “Everybody comes down and visits.”

Many of the downtown stores are regularly staying open later on Thursday evenings, but this event is different because of the larger community aspect, most stores staying open even later than typical Thursday nights and the entertainment and refreshments being offered.

“Some stores will have people they are showcasing or new products,” Peterson’s owner Bobbie Marascalco said. “It’s kind of like more of a party atmosphere compared to the other Thursday nights.”

The store owners and employees look forward to visiting with people during the event. For them, it’s a good way to get to know their customers and see old friends.

“We just like visiting with all the people that come in,” Zoerb said. “It’s almost a social event too, along with the shopping. So people that we don’t see maybe every month will make an effort to come and visit, and then they get to see all the new things going on.”