BELFAST - Do you really have to drive an hour to find decent holiday shopping? According to Jean Watts of Glenburn, who came from the Bangor suburb with a friend to shop for stocking stuffers in downtown Belfast on Thursday, the answer is "yes."  

"The stores here are so fun," she said. "They go out of their way to have quirky things and they greet you personally and explain the goods."

At Bella Books she picked up a copy of Les Misérables in anticipation of the upcoming movie adaptation. Before that she had hit up a bunch of other stores and had lunch in town.

"There wasn't a single store we went into where they didn't talk to us like we were old friends," she said.

Downtown Belfast business owners have known their secret weapon for years, and while the city has generated some buzz in recent years as a fun destination, it's been an uphill battle around the holidays to keep local residents from making the one-hour trek to Watts' neighborhood for cheap prices at the big box stores.

This Saturday, however, downtown businesses are hoping to sweeten the deal. Starting at 6 a.m. a long list of downtown stores will be open and offering discounts to shoppers, particularly those who can get in the doors before 9.

Historically the Early Bird Sale, which kicks off the daylong Old Fashioned Christmas celebration, is one of the few true door-buster events in Belfast. Several stores are known for having lines customers down the block well before 6 a.m.. At Colburn Shoe Store (75 Main Street) and a few others you can almost get the sensation of an old-fashioned, big box-style holiday trampling.

Colburn's is offering 40-percent off athletic shoes, 30-percent off handbags gloves and socks and some other accessories and 25-percent off everything else, according to owner Brian Horne.

"The premise is to get people in here early so that's why the prices are better then, but the whole day prices will be [discounted] 25-percent," he said.

Many of the other stores are operating in a similar way. Come early and you can get a really good deal, but if you can't make it until later, you won't totally miss out.

At Out of the Woods (48 Main Street), a shop specializing in Maine-made products you can get a Maine-shaped cutting board for 20-percent off, a snack board at a third off or a wooden toy truck that holds crayons for half off before 9 a.m. All Maine-made food is 30 percent off all day, as are peaveys, real ones for hauling logs, well ... out of the woods.

Asked if the Early Bird Sale was a big deal, Store Manager Coleen Marsh didn't hesitate. "It's the biggest sale for downtown of the year," she said.

Most downtown stores typically open between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., and there were some sighs at the thought of opening in the wee hours, but most gladly accepted it as the cost of doing business.

"There will be other people here, so they won't have to rely on me," Marsh joked. "I'm not a morning person."

The guys at Archangel Computers (103 Main Street) weren't even thinking about getting up that early. "You don't see me up at six in the morning," said owner Aaron Sarnacki. "I couldn't do anything."

Archangel won't be open early. Aside from being a night owl, Sarnacki said there just such a small margin on the Apple computers that make up much of his inventory, that having a sale is not really an option. But the business also offers accessories, repairs and web design.

Sarnacki thought about it. "I'd do a non-early-bird special of some type," he said. "I'd do a late-bird special."

Back at Bella Books (135 High Street), the Early Bird Sale was not at the top of owners Kim Zahares and Gary Guida's minds — they recently opened a new "Baby Bella" branch across the street for children's books — but they are planing to be open and have a few deals in store for the early risers, including a half-price family membership and an extra 5-percent off books for members from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.

Watts, of Glenburn, already knew about the Early Bird Sale and apologized that she wouldn't be there. "But we'll flesh out the other days," she said.

"It's o.k.," said Zahares, "We'll have enough people then."

The Early Bird Sale is Saturday, Dec. 1. starting at 6 a.m. Participating shops and offers can be viewed on the Our Town Belfast website. The list is long, and if you already live in Belfast or nearby, you don't even have to drive an hour to get there.

Penobscot Bay Pilot reporter Ethan Andrews can be reached at ethanandrews@penbaypilot.com