GLEN ARBOR -- Only one thing could induce Larry Crocenzi to leave his cozy bed at 4 a.m. to walk around town in his bathrobe: The annual Glen Arbor Pajama Party and Sale.
"My wife keeps dragging me up here," said Crocenzi, as he weaved through a crowd at The Totem.
The quirky, day-after-Thanksgiving sale is a favorite tradition in this small, close-knit Leelanau County village where the shops are strictly boutique. Drawn by deep discounts, free refreshments and the camaraderie of friends and neighbors, hundreds of locals and visitors stumble out of bed in the pre-dawn darkness each year to shop in their sleepwear -- from pajamas and nightshirts to robes and scruffy slippers.
Crocenzi, a Rochester resident who lives part-time in Glen Arbor, looked sheepish in a red terrycloth robe with a Northwoods design. The sale wasn't something he mentioned to his friends back home, he said.
"They're sleeping. They'd think I was an idiot," he added.
At Becky Thatcher Designs, Larry Bates greeted customers at the door and passed out coffee and cookies to those who lined up before the start of the 5 to 7 a.m. sale. Inside, Thatcher and a dozen or so employees clad in red and black flannel pajamas and pearls assisted shoppers eager for one of the jeweler's original designs at a rare 30 percent off.
The two-hour event is the store's only sale all year, said Thatcher, who came up with the idea of a pajama party about 15 years ago after hearing about a similar event in a small Maine town. It not only encourages residents to buy locally, but attracts visitors and gives busy merchants a chance to shop, she said.
"It's the busiest shopping day of the year, but Glen Arbor was always pretty sleepy," said Thatcher, who also has stores in Leland, Traverse City, Harbor Springs and Key West, Fla. "I thought, how can we turn this around?"
Now the whole community is involved, said Ann Oberschulte, whose family-owned clothing store Cotton Seed closes for the season in October but reopens just for the day on Nov. 28.
"I think they like the camaraderie and the community and seeing people out at this ridiculous hour," Oberschulte said. "There's always deals; you don't have to get up at 5. But it's the solidarity. Plus, it's a social time."
First-time shoppers often lack the courage to don their PJs, but Oberschulte said sale regulars sometimes compete to see who can be the most outrageous.
"I saw these men this morning wearing what looked like women's pajama bottoms, all patterned and feminine," she said, adding that others have come dressed as Mrs. Claus and wearing curlers.
Pajama-clad diners also packed the tables and booths at Art's Tavern, the traditional after-sale breakfast spot. Wearing a leaf-print bathrobe and a Santa hat over his jeans and T-shirt, co-owner Tim Barr presided over a 20-minute waiting list.
"It's as good this year as last, if not better," said Barr, of this year's turnout. "Even my wife is smiling, and that's hard to do this early in the morning."
The idea has caught on with at least one other community. Leland now holds it's own pajama party and sale from 8 to 10 a.m. in order to take advantage of many of the same shoppers.
"I'm so glad they have this space in between so you can drive and have breakfast," said Kathy Lippert, who drove from one sale to the other in her flannel pajamas with a breakfast-time theme.
"Everyone laughs at home when I tell them about it. They can't believe it," said Lippert, of Cincinnati and Lake Leelanau. "But no one will come with me."
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