 Welcome to TFNN. Thank you so much. This is great to be on your show. Thank you for the invite. Well, we appreciate all the work you guys do. So tell us a little about exactly what you do and how the, you know, neighborhood stores are right now. I'm sure it's been a tough haul. There's no doubt about that. But how is everyone doing? Yeah, thank you for asking. Not just in our community and several communities, of course, around the state of Florida and around the country. But like you previously mentioned, it's keeping, you know, as much money as we can in our local communities right now. I'll be honest with you. I could not be more honest. I thought it would be a lot dire situation right now, but the perseverance of the Tampa Bay area, St. Petersburg, Gulfport, a lot of the Pinellas County type cities, the energy they're showing to make things work. You know, the big catch word is pivot. You know, last year, they're pivoting to do something different. Yes. To make it work. And they've been doing that. And we're now seeing even more good old fashioned brick and mortars coming back in St. Pete and Gulfport. Online sales, you know, different ideas that vendors and local business people are having. And it's working. It's so great to see. It's just great. It's a present before Christmas to see this. There's no doubt. You know, you just brought something up, Pat. That's pretty cool because the national numbers are coming out this morning, meaning on the amount of credit card sales going through brick and mortar. And they went up tremendously, which is really cool to see. Because when we start looking at the local shops, have you seen that a lot of the local shops actually are getting more business online now? Because that's something that they really didn't have before. Correct. Some had websites and some did do things like that. And this is kind of where our festival comes into, because it shows people, oh, this store is over here, but I might be a snowbird who lives, you know, in Michigan. Well, how can I buy from St. Pete if I live in Michigan? Well, they can do it online. So you're right. Businesses, the ones, unfortunately, that did have to close down early this year or last year, they moved exclusively online. We were also helping out with that campaign, with as much free service as we could to promote those sites with local media. And a lot of those businesses are doing well, website exclusive. Some have now reopened. Some have moved to different parts of the city. The smaller brick and mortar still have their websites up. So again, it's that team concept now to see everyone helping each other. And that's the beauty of what we're seeing in the Tampa Bay area. Now, you just mentioned a festival. So is there a certain time of the year? I know there is. I'm just questioning when it is that, you know, the push is on that you're saying, hey, man, this is the weekend. This is the week you're going to buy, buy, buy local, local, local. Yes. And that would be our Shapa Palooza Festival. Shapa Palooza is something we do every year, except of course, last year because of COVID. Oh, we're kicking back again this year. And it's going to be literally, not arguably, but literally our biggest one and truly one of the biggest local independent shop festivals in the United States of America. This is basically Thanksgiving weekend. So right after your Black Friday stuff, we kick in Saturday, November 27th, Sunday, November 28th at a beautiful Vanoy Park in downtown St. Petersburg. And we have, man, it's just a blast to see this one. We have over 300 local vendors. Nice. Esther Venuzio, the creator of local shops, actually sold out vendor spots a few months ago. That's how good she makes this. So people cannot wait. I mean, the list to get on is amazingly long. I mean, she really puts on an amazing festival. So we're going to include as much as we can this year, besides not only the shopping and the festivals, but we take up over 11 acres. So it's the food. It's the drinking. It's the bands. I have the privilege of hosting the entertainment stage with all the local bands. Oh, lucky you. Yeah, I know. That's my favorite thing. The nonprofits we work with. And just to see thousands and thousands of people like we saw in 2019 come in, because it's free to get in. There's no registration. You just come on in. And the weather in November in Florida is beautiful. And it's just great to see people just having a good time and getting those Christmas presents and just experiencing, oh, wow, there's more local businesses here that I need to cater to year round. And if you've never been to Vanoy Park, folks, this is going to be a good time to go. So it's the weekend. Oh, it's Thanksgiving weekend, right? Correct. Yes. 27th or 28th, where it's 10 a.m. to five, both Saturday and Sunday. Again, Vanoy Park. And there'll be trolleys. There'll be parking. Everything will be on the website, shopapaloozafestival.com. And there'll be trolleys to escort you back and forth from some of the downtown parking areas because parking can't be at a premium over there, but we're going to help out as much as we can to vector people in. And of course, we encourage people, encourage people to stay green, use their bikes, walk if they can, and you'll be amazed how many people do that. It's amazing. Oh, no, we have a walkable city. There's no doubt about that. Hey, so let me ask you something. The owner of, you know, local shops, one, did they start this basically as a venue that they could do, you know, basically events and incorporate the local inside of that so they could get everyone going? Yes. Esther. That is so cool, man. Wow. Yes. Yeah. Esther Vanuzzi was a special person. I mean, she's dedicated, I mean, the last, my God, I met her in 2008. So the last 13 years to this. And then we start, she started the first shopapalooza in 2009. Okay. And again, again, we only hit the last years. But her idea when I sat with her at a local coffee shop in downtown St. Pete in 2008. Yes. She, she was still working in the newspaper business. I was out of radio at the time and she goes, here's my idea. I want to do this with local independent businesses. And I wasn't too familiar with that, but I said, if there's any way I can help you, whether I'm seeing events or promotions or whatever, I'm on board. And she immediately started this, a much smaller scale in 2009 for the first shopapalooza. But yes, we incorporated, I want to say maybe, maybe 50 vendors and stuff like that. And, and, and, but to where it is now, it just goes to show you the work and dedication that she's put in and the people supporting her. And most importantly, the entire Tampa Bay area, you know, you know what's so great about this is that this is a situation folks together, you have a private entrepreneur that has a great idea that bottom line, her company itself is going to do really well because everyone else is doing well. I mean, that is, that is the ultimate that I think we all would like to see. You know what I'm saying? And that's why I asked that question. That is so cool, man. I mean, because I remember, you know, when Ray Clark was making McDonald's, I mean, he was excited to make McDonald's and all that, but he was also excited that he could make people a lot of money. And that's, this is really cool, the aspect, because it's a lot harder for a small business to get the type of exposure that they're going to get at an event like the Vanoy. Absolutely. And that's it. The progression of the venues over the years, you know? So I'm so happy to be there again at the Vanoy. We're just, you know, anyone in that area. It's just a beautiful location. So I'm so excited. Well, listen, man, it's been a pleasure. You have a great one, safe one. And we'll have to get you on right before it so we can get you some more business, man, for sure. Oh, my pleasure. Thank you so much. Absolutely, Pat. You have a great one and a safe one. Thanks for all your work.