Local merchants are organizing the first ever Downtown Festival in Houston, from 8 to 4 p.m. this coming Saturday.
Nineth and 10th Street will close for the Festival, which will feature an antique car show, a petting zoo, pony rides and inflatable bouncers, said Troy Reitsma, organizer of the festival.
Nearly all of the merchants on the street will have discounts and sales, including Countrywide Printing & Stationary, Home Hardware, City Furniture, From Head to Tail, the Laundromat, Mike's Audio Video, the Houston Food Market, Arend's Specialty Ko., Tower Communications and Pleasant Valley Cleaners.
"It's about giving people an opportunity to come on downtown and see what Houston has to offer," said Reitsma.
"It's a chance for all of the merchants down here to take a minute and give back to the community, and let everybody know what Houston has to offer - Houston has a lot to offer and a lot of people don't know that," he said.
Reitsma says the Houston Fire Department is also running a barbecue to raise money for muscular dystrophy.
"We're hoping it's going to be a yearly thing," said Reitsma, adding that he hopes to add more things to Festival every year.
"We [hope] it becomes a bigger and bigger celebration," he said.