People shop small in downtown Colorado Springs for Small Business Saturday

After a busy few days at major retailers, all eyes are on small businesses.

Dozens of local stores participated in Small Business Saturday.

The national campaign offers consumers the chance to shop locally before the holidays.

“It’s much easier to shop around downtown, rather than going to a big department store,”Melissa Strane said. “The crowds are here, but everybody is polite and courteous.”

Playground Kidz is a pop-up toy store in downtown Colorado Springs. It’s one of the many small businesses hoping to have a big day.

“It’s make or break,” said co-owner Steven Cedre.”We need days to generate a lot of income just to keep going.”

Cedre said his company spent a lot of time spreading the word about Small Business Saturday.

“We did a lot of social media and also handed out fliers to people on the street,”Cedre said. “We would like people to know where we are at, and let them know what we offer.”

Some shoppers said they passed on Black Friday this year just so they could shop locally.

“I think it’s really important to give small businesses a chance,”Leanna West said while shopping with her husband. “We really like supporting our local economy.”