Pink Weekend Brings About $240,000 in Local Spending to Downtown Hazard

A city economic impact report released after Pink Weekend estimates roughly $240,000 flowed into downtown Hazard during the holiday shopping event on December 24, 2025. Participating merchants recorded more than 4,000 customer transactions, and the event turned the commercial district into a walkable shopping area aimed at spreading sales across stores.

Survey returns from fewer than half of the 45 participating businesses documented about $130,000 in spending during the weekend. City officials used a conservative projection to scale that figure to the full set of participants. “The Pink Weekend was very busy. We had 45 participants this year, which is the most we’ve had,” said Joey Jones, downtown coordinator and owner of Ready Set Play. “I’ve talked to a lot of the retailers and everyone told me they had a really great weekend.” Jones later explained the basis for the estimate. “If you wanted to say at least 28 businesses did at least half of what was reported average, then that can give us our estimate up to close to $230,000, $240,000 that was spent locally this weekend,” Jones said.

Organizers used a passport system to encourage customers to move from shop to shop, and completed passports also provided geographic data on visitors. Shoppers came from nearby Kentucky counties including Knott, Leslie, Breathitt and Laurel, and a smaller number traveled from Arkansas and Pennsylvania. That mix of local and out of state traffic is significant for merchants because it suggests the event expanded the customer base beyond regular downtown patrons.

Local owners said the impact can extend past the weekend. “Local is so important because, you know, we care about the community. We’re here,” said Lena Bakun, owner of Belcher and Boudreaux. “Started with Pink Weekend here in town and was a great weekend and it has really just been consistently strong ever since.” For Perry County residents the boost to downtown sales supports small business revenue, helps maintain jobs, and strengthens the local sales tax base.

City officials plan to apply the Pink Weekend model to a red white and blue themed Stars and Shops event for Independence Day weekend, aiming to build on the demonstrated ability of focused downtown events to concentrate spending and attract regional visitors. More details will be released closer to the Fourth of July.