Holiday shoppers wait in the rain outside a Best Buy in Lawrence, Kan., Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015.

Under the fluorescent light of stores on south Iowa Street, shoppers calmly pushed carts Friday among aisles tagged with sale signs. Outside, dawn had yet to arrive as freezing rain fell.

The annual holiday shopping frenzy had begun at many national stores — Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy — the night before for those seeking post-Thanksgiving discounts, leaving the traditional early-morning shopping a relatively quiet affair to those willing to brave the weather.

At Target, Cindy Anderson, of Ottawa, shopped with her husband for their two granddaughters. The red cart held a few items, which were the extent of their shopping for the morning.

Eight-year-old Etta Otter browses treasure balls with her mom, Courtney, both of Lawrence, at the annual Bizarre Bazaar on Friday evening at the Lawrence Arts Center.

“We’re done now,” Anderson said. “I did everything else online, except for this.”

In the cart were two electronic parakeet toys that talk, sing and dance. Anderson said she’d checked online to make sure the toys were still in stock, and headed in to get them at half off their original price. The day’s trip was her first time shopping on Black Friday, and Anderson said it was calmer than she’d expected.

“There’s nobody here,” she said, noting the dreary weather.

At Best Buy, a line of about five people waiting outside the store had grown to nearly 20 in the hour before its opening at 8 a.m. Robert Nunoo, of Lawrence, was among them. Nunoo said he was shopping on Black Friday for his second time, hoping to purchase an Xbox One for his son. Nunoo noted differences between this visit and his first Black Friday shopping trip to the store.

“The first time I came here it was about four years ago,” he said. “There were a lot of people.”

Small Business Saturday

Whether shoppers went out for Black Friday deals or not, Lawrence merchants are hoping shoppers will also make stopping at locally owned businesses a priority.

Various shops, restaurants and other businesses are encouraging people to shop local on Saturday. For those headed downtown, there will be a motorized and heated trolley offering free rides up and down Massachusetts Street.

The trolley will run from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday between the 700 and 1100 blocks of Massachusetts Street, making stops every half block, said Sally Zogry, director of Downtown Lawrence Inc.

“It’s just a fun idea to encourage people to shop in multiple blocks and also see what’s in other blocks they may not normally get to,” she said.

A locally owned payment services company, Griffith Payments, is co-sponsoring the trolley service along with Harbortouch, a provider of touch-screen sale systems.

“We thought it would be a good thing to do to help support all merchants downtown,” said Mark Griffith, president of Griffith Payments. “And to promote Lawrence and downtown altogether.”

Gov. Sam Brownback also proclaimed Nov. 28 as “Small Business Saturday” in Kansas in an effort to highlight the role of small businesses in the state’s economy.

“Small businesses are vital to our state’s economy, employing nearly 70 percent of all working Kansans,” Brownback said in a news release.

Zogry said having the day serve as a reminder of the variety of local businesses — not just retail and restaurants — operating in Lawrence is another component. Whether they are shops, restaurants or services, they are critical to the city’s economy, she said.

“When you support a local business, that person is supporting a family and employees, and those people are spending money in the community,” Zogry said.

Sara Bilhimer, one of the managers at Sunflower Outdoor and Bike Shop, said another key element is the connection between employees and customers.

“Especially in Lawrence, it’s a community-driven town,” she said. “It’s important to support your friends and neighbors. Most of our customers know who we are outside of work.”

For some, that support can also have a sentimental aspect. Brett Guthery, a general manager of the sporting goods store Jock’s Nitch — which has two of its six stores located in Lawrence — said he thinks the city does a great job of supporting local business.

“There’s a lot of local pride in this town,” he said. “As long as Lawrence continues to do that I think local business will continue to thrive here.”