Where to Find the Best Black Friday Deals in Cherokee

Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday rule the shopping roost after Thanksgiving.

If you have a black belt in Black Friday shopping, listen up: area big-box retailers are gearing up to dazzle bargain hunters even earlier this year—starting on Thanksgiving Day! Last week, Walmart announced that it would open its doors at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 22 and offer holiday doorbusters while supplies last. These include deals on TVs, iPads, an electric scooter for $79 and a steam mop for $39. Not to be outdone, Target and Best Buy are also planning all-out holiday shopping assaults. Target's deals begin at 9 p.m. According to an ad leaked online, the best deals will be for TVs, a Nook, a Nikon camera and an XBOX 360 Kinect bundle. At Best Buy, doors open at midnight. Doorbusters include deals on TVs, phones and Samsung laptop …

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When Do Holiday Shopping Hours Begin?

Wondering when the holiday shopping hours begin at local stores? We've got some answers for you below.

With Halloween behind us, retailers and shoppers are now staring down some of the biggest shopping days of the year - both in stores and online. The National Retail Federation expects sales during November and December to rise 4.1 percent this year, according to a USA Today report. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, has become the accepted if unofficial start time of the Christmas rush. It's a huge day for retailers but only the first of a roughly month-long extravaganza. And thanks to Abe Lincoln, who decreed Thanksgiving a national holiday, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who signed into law that it should fall on the fourth Thursday in November, and Pope Gregory XIII, who blessed the calendar we use by papal bull, 2012 has the longest …

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Artist's Corner

Lifted by Color

Mary Zeman brightens her life with the creations she makes on her canvases.

With no formal training under her belt, local artist Mary Zeman finds all of her artistic skills within herself. She first began painting in 1997 after she underwent brain surgery at Piedmont for a benign tumor. Unable to work her job at Turner Broadcasting for two months, Zeman arranged a ride to the arts and crafts store Michaels for her first set of paints. Zeman first painted on an old dresser drawer set and claims she did not paint on canvas for about a year. She still continues to paint on whatever she can find, and her choices result in unique and varied art. When she finally returned to her job later that year, she hung a variety of pieces in her cubicle. Passing coworkers suggested she research Howard Finster. Zeman felt prompted …

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Friday Night Live Makes its 2011 Debut

Woodstock's popular downtown shopping party is back after the holiday season.

After a brief hiatus for the winter holiday, Friday Night Live returns to Woodstock this week, with an exciting new theme that is sure to draw the crowds back to Main Street. Main Street World Tour is the name of the game tomorrow night, and to honor that creative notion, a number of store owners have detailed their shops to reflect a different country for shoppers to "travel" through. In many cases, the country assigned to each business will reflect what that business is known for. For instance, Pure Taqueria will be representing Mexico, while Seven Arrows, owned by Friday Night Live co-creator Chery West, will be the Navajo Nation. The partners at Pennybag Emporium have chosen to recreate France, and have dressed up their window …

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Local Family 'Shops With A Cop'

Children enjoy a shopping experience with Woodstock police officers.

Each year before Christmas, children from the community are selected to spend an evening shopping with a cop from the Woodstock Police Department.  One such family this year was the Fox family. McKenna Fox said she was extremely grateful for the experience. "This gives the kids a chance to actually have some something." Fox is a single mother of three children. During the day she spends her time decorating cakes at Publix. Her evenings are spent doing homework, cooking and putting the children to bed.  This leaves them with little time to spend together as a family and little money for a nice Christmas. Fox said her son, Sebastian Hairston, 6, enjoys being around the police officers. "His favorite part is just coming with a cop," Fox …

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