Downtown merchants are hoping to boost sales on Thursday evenings.

Members of Downtown Lawrence Inc. will play host to the inaugural Moonlight Madness Sale from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. May 6.

About 50 stores are expected to participate in the event by offering discounts and other specials, said Maria Martin, executive director of Downtown Lawrence Inc.

“Thursday night is the traditional late night for our retailers downtown, and I don’t know that many people realize that,” Martin said.

Most stores are open until 8 p.m. Thursdays, about two hours later than their normal closing times.

Sue Vance, manager of The Children’s Book Shop, 937 Mass., said merchants hoped the event would help lure area shoppers on Thursday evenings to the downtown area.

“Business hasn’t been great on Thursday nights,” Vance said. “It is really a much easier time to visit downtown than on a Saturday. You can come down and get a free parking space, have some dinner and then do a little shopping. It makes for a nice evening.”

The sale, which merchants hope will become an annual event, also is part of an effort by Downtown Lawrence Inc. to create more large-scale events to lure shoppers. For years the association has sponsored the annual sidewalk sale in July and a lighting ceremony to kick off the Christmas shopping season.

Martin said merchants were looking to sponsor an event that would appeal to people shopping for Mother’s Day, graduations and weddings.

Maria Martin, executive director of Downtown Lawrence Inc., and Jerry Bottenfield, owner of Soap Momma, 735 Mass., discuss the Moonlight Madness Sale. They talked about the May 6 event on Tuesday at Soap Momma, one of about 50 stores expected to participate in the sale.

Vance said most downtown retailers hadn’t seen signs of a strong turnaround in the economy yet.

“I think, for the most part, consumers are still quite cautious,” Vance said. “No one is overwhelmed with the amount of money that is being spent. I don’t think anybody has had great sales, but we’re all still here.”