This year’s Candy Cane Cash has more participating merchants and will give out more money and prizes than ever before, local merchants involved in the holiday promotion were told during a training session Wednesday.

Candy Cane Cash is now in its sixth season, and the idea behind the local promotion is to keep residents shopping in Enid during the holiday season.

Starting Monday, shoppers at participating merchants will begin collecting tickets for every $10 in purchases they make through Dec. 11. Shoppers collect the tickets, then meet in downtown Enid early Dec. 12 for the grand prize and other cash prize drawings. The grand prize drawing is for $5,000, but there also are drawings of $1,000 and $500.

You must be present to win the cash given away during the drawing.

“This is turning out to be our biggest year ever,” said Frank Baker, director of Eagle Marketing, which is participating with Enid News & Eagle and Greater Enid Chamber of Commerce in sponsoring the promotion. More than 35 local retailers are participating in his year’s promotion.

“This started out six years ago as an idea to keep registers ringing during the holidays,” said April Danahy, vice president of human resources and marketing for Security National Bank and also a chamber representative.

“Each year its grown, and this year is the largest.”

Danahy announced some additional promotions that will go along with Candy Cane Cash to entice shoppers to keep shopping Enid and keep collecting their tickets.

The first promotion is for employees of participating merchants. Those merchants will be “shopped” by a secret shopper. If the employee gives out the proper information about Candy Cane Cash, that employee will receive a gift card from Security National Bank.

“But, there is also a new promotion for the shoppers to win instant cash or prizes,” Danahy said.

Secret shoppers also will be looking for shoppers in the participating merchants’ stores. Those shoppers will be approached and allowed to pick a prize from a grab bag. The prize could include instant cash or gift certificates from Candy Cane Cash merchants.

The beauty behind Candy Cane Cash, Danahy said, is anyone who receives tickets at any of the merchants can win.

“We’ve had winners who only had two tickets, and we’ve had winners who had a whole binder full of tickets,” she said. “The main thing is they are spending their dollars in Enid.”

The drawing, which is set for 9 a.m. Dec. 12 at David Allen Memorial Ballpark, typically draws anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000 people. This year, Enid Running Club is sponsoring a 5K Candy Cane Dash, encouraging runners to dress in holiday costume. The runners will complete their race at the ballpark just before the drawing takes place.

“It’s kind of like a spin-off,” Danahy said. “The success of this promotion is drawing others to think of ways to participate.”

After the drawing, the crowds typically spend the day in Enid doing their holiday shopping around downtown and the area shopping outlets.

Merchants in this year’s Candy Cane Cash promotion are Ace Hardware, Abbey’s Hallmark, Apple Annies, A.W. Brueggemann, Beds Unlimited, Bell Jewlers, Big Country Meat Market, Brown Shoe Fit, Debbie’s Boutique/ Superlube, Edigers Jewelry, Furniture Gallery, Garfield Furniture, Galaxy Mattress, Grand Avenue Lighting.

Also, About Face, The Framer, The Hutch, Posh, The Pink Cheetah, Jumbo Foods, Medic RX, Midwest Music, Okie Joe’s, Golf USA, The Basket Case, Oxford Cleaners, Park Avenue Thrift, Pioneer Cellular, Pizza Hut, Purple Canary, Riddles Jewelry, Sun Loan, Stuart Pontiac Cadillac, Serendipity, The Tanning Club, Tiger Pawn, United Supermarkets and Way Out West.

Look for additional articles and advertisements in the Enid News & Eagle through Dec. 12 detailing the participating merchants and explaining how the promotion works.