Giving Tuesday: A Chance to Give Back During the Holiday Season

Minnesota nonprofits trying to encourage people to pause in their shopping and find a way to help others.

Will donating to charity ever be as popular as shopping during the holiday season? A partnership of nonprofits hopes so. For many people, the holiday shopping marathon began on Thanksgiving day, with some national chains opening their doors just hours after the traditional turkey dinner. Then comes Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, which has morphed into Cyber Week. Now, there's a new national campaign asking you to open your wallet—Giving Tuesday. The Giving Tuesday website says the effort, coming on the heels of days devoted to consumerism, is designed "to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. It celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support nonprofit …

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Shopping Scene 'Ridic' at Fridley Stores

Tweets and Facebook posts from early Black Friday sales told the tale.

People on Twitter and Facebook told it like it was at Target and Wal Mart in Fridley Thanksgiving night, as seen in the Storify above.

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Black Friday Boogie at Moore Than Dance

Let the kids dance in Fridley while you shop.

Does Your Black Friday Start on Thanksgiving Day?

Some shoppers and workers will hit the stores Thursday evening. Will you?

Have a black belt in Black Friday shopping? Big-box retailers are opening for bargain hunters earlier this year—starting on Thanksgiving Day. Walmart stores will open their doors at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Target stores will open an hour later, at 9 p.m. Sam's Club stores will wait until 7 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 23 to greet customers, according to TheBlackFriday.com. Some stores at Northtown Mall will open as early as 5 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 23, with all retail shops there open by 7 a.m. A few stores such as Herberger's that have their own outside doors may open at midnight, according to spokesperson Linda Sell. Want to avoid holiday shopping mega-crowds? Look for Cyber Monday deals on Nov. 26 or visit local …

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Stores Starting Black Friday on Thanksgiving

Walmart, Target open doors on Turkey Day. Sam's Club and most of Northtown Mall will wait until Friday. Don't forget Cyber Monday and Small Business Saturday!

Have a black belt in Black Friday shopping? Big-box retailers are opening for bargain hunters earlier this year—starting on Thanksgiving Day. Walmart stores will open their doors at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Target stores will open an hour later, at 9 p.m. Sam's Club stores will wait until 7 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 23 to greet customers, according to TheBlackFriday.com. Some stores at Northtown Mall will open as early as 5 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 23, with all retail shops there open by 7 a.m. A few stores such as Herberger's that have their own outside doors may open at midnight, according to spokesperson Linda Sell. Want to avoid holiday shopping mega-crowds? Look for Cyber Monday deals on Nov. 26 or visit local …

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Black Friday, New Caribou and Burgers: West Metro Business Roundup

Are you wondering what businesses are opening or closing in the west metro or otherwise making the news? Here’s your update for October 2012.

The following is a collection of business related articles that recently appeared on Patch sites in Edina, Eden Prairie, Fridley, Golden Valley, Hopkins, Lake Minnetonka, Maple Grove, Minnetonka, Plymouth, Richfield, Southwest Minneapolis, St. Louis Park and St. Michael. Click on the headline to read the full story. Plans for New Golden Valley Gas Station, Retail Store Move Forward A BP Gas station upgrade and four new retail stores could come to Boone Avenue in Golden Valley if the City Council approves the final plans. Five Guys Burgers, Bruegger’s coming to Hopkins A Sprint store and a Fantastic Sams will also be moving into a retail center on the old BP site. Residents Respond To Walmart At Plymouth Meeting More than 50 people attended…

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Black Friday Commercials

Do you have a favorite?

While almost every commercial break this week features a Black Friday ad, The Patch wants to know your opinion. Is there one you love? Hate? Do you prefer Walmart's AC/DC's "Back in Black?" Or Kohl's rendition of Rebecca Black's "Friday?" Let us know in the comments.

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Poll: What Do You Think of Black Friday's Super-early Start?

24 from Fridley signed a Minnesota man's petition to Target.

About 24 Fridley residents were among as many as 200,000 to sign a petition that an employee of the Northfield, MN, Target store hand-delivered to the retailer's corporate headquarters in Minneapolis Monday, asking for a later start to Black Friday than the planned midnight opening. The petition, at Change.org, had about two dozen signers from Fridley as of Monday night, according to Change.org spokeswoman Katie Bethell. Target has a store in Fridley and another just north of the city in Coon Rapids, as well as a distribution center in the middle of the city. Other big-box retailers, including Richfield-based Best Buy, will also open at midnight Thursday. Wal-Mart, with a store in Fridley, will open at 10 p.m. Thursday.

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