Looking to shop local during the month of March? Turners Falls has you covered! The Passport to Turners Falls, a program that encourages residents and visitors to get to know their business community, shop local, and have fun during “mud season”. The program directly responds to businesses' feedback to increase foot traffic. Over $800 in prizes are up for grabs for participants who visit local businesses between now and March 31, 2026. Details about the Passport can be found at moretofranklincounty.com/passport.
To participate, pick up a Passport at any participating business Turners Falls. Each time you visit a local business, you will receive a unique holepunch on your Passport. Once your Passport is filled out, you can drop it off at a participating business or submit a photo of it online for a chance to win prizes. No purchase is necessary to join in the fun; however, participants are encouraged to browse and make purchases while they explore. The Passports feature a map to help navigate between businesses, with more details available on the program’s webpage.
The Passport features twenty locations in Turners Falls. Any customer-facing business looking to participate in the program was welcome to join. The rules are the same as previous programs: participants who visit at least half of the locations will have a chance to win a small prize basket, while those who visit all of the locations will be entered to win a large prize basket.
“This past winter we ran two successful passport programs in Northfield and Shelburne Falls,” said Downtown District Coordinator Christian LaPlante. “Leveraging our success from the busy holiday shopping season to increase foot traffic in Turners Falls during the typically slower month of March just makes sense. Turners Falls has a bounty of great shops and restaurants to explore. As the weather warms up, I encourage everyone to grab a passport and have fun all month long.”
Prizes include gift certificates and merchandise from local businesses. The top prize is a gift basket valued at over $600, featuring gift cards to restaurants like Dreamhouse, the Rendezvous, and Cocina Lupita’s new Turners Falls location and retail business like LOOT: found + made, Sadie’s Bikes, and newer spots like Orla. The winners of the gift baskets will be randomly selected on April 15. For the complete list of prizes, visit moretofranklincounty.com/passport.
Local business leaders are excited about the program and its ability to drive foot traffic during “mud season.”
“For every $100 spent locally, about $68 stays right here in our community, compared to less than $15 when we shop online, so programs like this Passport program help keep that ripple effect close to home,” said Jessye Deane, Executive Director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and Regional Tourism Council. “And let’s be honest: we all love prizes. That little extra nudge turns ‘I should shop local’ into ‘Let’s hit every stop on the map,’ which translates directly into foot traffic. This program is 100% community-driven; businesses told us they needed help getting more people through their doors, and this delivers - every holepunch is a visit, every visit is a conversation, and every conversation is a chance to make a sale or earn a loyal customer. With more than $800 in prizes on the line, folks are excited to participate - but the real winners are our local businesses.”
“Visiting local businesses doesn't just make them money; it gives customers a chance to advocate for their needs,” said Nik Perry, owner/operator of Sadie’s Bikes. “You can see real change by letting local business owners know what you're looking for and what would be helpful to you! Face-to-face interactions create a community! Heck you may even bump into someone you know or someone you'd like to know in the process.”
Montague Planning Director Maureen Pollock said, “The Passport to Turners Falls provides a fun way to explore local shops and eateries, supporting small businesses and strengthening our local economy. Grab your passport, discover new favorites, and enjoy downtown Turners Falls throughout March. Special thanks to Christian LaPlante and the Downtown Turners Falls Working Group for making it happen!”
The Passport program, organized by the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, is an initiative of the Turners Falls Downtown Working Group, a group composed of business owners, employees, volunteers, nonprofit leaders, and municipal officials. Working alongside Downtown District Coordinator Christian LaPlante, the group is in the midst of the Rural Downtown Revitalization Project, a year-long pilot program designed to strengthen local economies in Shelburne Falls, Northfield Center, and Turners Falls. Northfield and Shelburne Falls ran their own version of the Passport program in 2025.
The Rural Downtown Revitalization project builds on a 2023–2024 study by the BSC Group, which highlighted the importance of improved coordination and administrative capacity to support rural downtowns. LaPlante was hired in July 2025 to lead the project as the Downtown District Coordinator for each participating community. The Passport is just one example of how the project is coordinating downtown stakeholders, supporting local businesses, and designing responsive community programming.