DUNCAN — Main Street Duncan will hold its 23rd annual Holiday Stroll Saturday and Sunday, and planner Tammy Johnson expects it to be the best yet.

Johnson said there are a lot of new things this year to the stroll, including her approach in how she’s involved.

“I tried to take a more active role this year,” Johnson said.

“I’ll be in and around all the stores personally thanking everyone for coming downtown and to introduce myself to them.”

Johnson will also be helping with one of many new items this year, the Holiday Stroll discount cards. These cards will passed out to people during the stroll, or can be picked up before, and will allow people to shop and browse through the stores on Main Street and get discounts with them as well.

Also, the businesses will check off on the card that a person has been there, and at the end of the day, the cards can be left at the Main Street Office, or at the final store visited on the card. The cards will be entered in a raffle.

Johnson will pick two cards out of the bunch for prizes. The first prize is a holiday gift basket that will have gift certificates and items donated by Main Street businesses. The second winner will receive a $460 diamond necklace donated by Eaton’s Jewelry.

“We about passed out when they donated it,” Johnson said. “My Facebook page lit up when I posted that we were giving it away.”

Another new item added to this year’s stroll is Santa Clause, who will walk up and down Main Street handing out discount cards, candy canes to the children and will of course be taking wish lists from children for Christmas.

“We’re also partnering with the Palace Theatre, and at 2 p.m. we will have a showing of ‘The Santa Clause’ in the movie theatre,” Johnson said.

There will be a live remote on site playing Christmas music all day, and the Cornerstone Grill will have a tea vendor in front of the Main Street Duncan Inc. office selling flavored teas, peanut brittle, pumpkin bread and candied nuts.

“That’s new this year too, we’ve never had that before,” Johnson said. “We’re just trying to make a bigger deal out of it this year than usual.

“We used to just do co-op ads with the businesses, but I really wanted to promote Main Street shopping, we have some great things down here.”

Johnson said that when she talks to people, they still tell her there isn’t much shopping downtown, but she hopes that this event will change their minds.

“So many people don’t know what great retail we have,” Johnson said. “We’re full of retail, but people don’t know because they aren’t coming down and looking.”

In recent years, Johnson said that it’s been warm, and a person could probably go to the stroll wearing shorts and still be comfortable.

“It’s been too warm, and when it’s warm like that people don’t want to go Christmas shopping yet,” Johnson said.

She is hoping to make Main Street feel like Christmas no matter the weather, by having candles burning, and cider brewing in many of the businesses, as well as adding the tea vendor and the music.

Johnson said that she is “very, very excited” about this year’s Stroll, and thinks that it will be one of the best years for it, especially because of the swine show this weekend.

“That’s one of Duncan’s biggest events, so I’ll be handing out discount cards to people out at the fairgrounds as well,” Johnson said. “That in itself is worth a million bucks to me.”

Johnson hopes that even though not many of the people at the swine show will be from Duncan, that they will come down to Main Street and do some shopping, and still remember the downtown businesses when they return for next year’s show.

All the businesses have already decorated their windows for the holiday season, and Johnson said that she is especially proud of them this year for what they’ve done.

“These are some of the best windows I’ve every seen, they’re beautiful,” Johnson said.

The Stroll starts when businesses open on Main Street, and Johnson encourages everyone to come down and do a little shopping for the holidays and help support the local businesses.

“You don’t have to do all of your holiday shopping at Wal-mart,” Johnson said laughing.