EAGLE, Idaho — What started as an effort to help downtown Eagle businesses navigate months of construction has grown into a community-wide event aimed at encouraging neighbors to shop local.
The Eagle Fall Crawl returns Oct. 12-18, bringing together downtown businesses for a week of special events, promotions, giveaways, and family activities.
The event was created in 2024 by Eagle Magazine publisher Tia Crabtree, who said the idea came from her own experience as a small business owner.
WATCH | Eagle Fall Crawl returns, continuing the effort to support downtown businesses
"I owned the Green Belt Market in Garden City, and there was construction in front of the Green Belt for a couple of months, and it was like really stressful on the business. And so, I had empathy, and my heart went out, and I was like, what can I do?" Crabtree said.
At the time, downtown Eagle businesses were navigating the Downtown Mobility Project, which brought months of construction and road closures to the area.
Crabtree said she wanted to find a way to encourage people to continue visiting local businesses.
"So I created a campaign where everybody goes into businesses, and there's a special event at each campaign, and then there's a special offer throughout the whole week. So Monday through Sunday you have something to go do, and it's a lot of fun," Crabtree said.
According to Crabtree, Eagle Magazine handles the marketing and branding for the event.
"The relation to Fall Crawl, we're sponsoring the event, so we do all the marketing and branding and stuff for it. It's caused driven," Crabtree said.
This year's event includes activities throughout downtown Eagle, as well as opportunities for shoppers to win prizes. Participants can upload receipts from three businesses through the Eagle Fall Crawl website for a chance to win.
Crabtree said the event is designed to help people discover businesses, special offers, and local talent throughout the community.
"There's just really special people in the community that I've written about that I'm kind of unfolding into the businesses for them to actually be there and people get to know them," Crabtree said.
Among those featured guests is sourdough influencer Basil and Bloom, who will appear at Iron & Sage Kitchen Co. during the event.
For Iron & Sage General Manager Macy Raygor, the event reflects the same sense of community that attracted the business to downtown Eagle; Iron & Sage opened in mid-July.
Raygor said although the business did not experience the construction firsthand, seeing other businesses continue to succeed despite the challenges made a strong impression.
"We were really lucky that we did get to miss a lot of the construction and things, but the fact that that had happened and the businesses were still thriving and going so strong was a huge motivating factor to wanting to be over here," Raygor said.
Raygor said she quickly noticed the level of support among downtown businesses after opening.
"It seems like people are friends down here and that they wanna work together," Raygor said.
She added that support has been evident since Iron & Sage opened its doors.
"There's been so many people coming to give us advice and just pouring their support over for us, and so that's really nice," Raygor said.
Raygor said she's excited for what the Fall Crawl offers neighbors.
"I'm really excited for Fall Crawl just because it does encourage people to not come down here for one specific thing, but to go check out everything that Downtown Eagle has to offer, and, you know, support all of our neighbors, and get to make like a whole fun day out of your shopping," Raygor said.
In addition to promotions inside local businesses, activities planned during the week include special events, family activities, and opportunities for neighbors to explore downtown Eagle.
Crabtree said she has spent years building relationships with local business owners and sees the event as a way to give back.
"Yeah, I mean, like, I have really awesome relationships with a lot of these business owners, and every time I walk in, I just feel like their arms are open," Crabtree said.
She said her goal is simply to make a positive impact in the community.
"I guess you just want to be received as making a difference, you know, in your community, and I love them, and, you know, I hope most of them love me back," Crabtree said.
The Eagle Fall Crawl runs Oct. 12-18. Neighbors can find a schedule of events, participating businesses, prize information, and details on uploading receipts on the Eagle Fall Crawl website.
