Published June 5, 1998

But one of the first things she did when she arrived in Juneau was hit the downtown shops.

"I bought me a jacket already today," Pardee said Thursday. She said she hadn't planned on doing any shopping, but she really liked the jacket.

"I usually come to town once a month anyways, but this was special."

Celebration, held biennially, is the biggest event of its kind in Juneau. At the last Celebration two years ago, 1,500 people came to Juneau from communities all over Southeast, British Columbia and Seattle. At least as many visitors are expected to contribute an estimated $1 million to Juneau's economy this year.

Visitors from remote communities stock up on goods before returning home. While they're here they keep hotels and service businesses hopping.

Pardee flew to Juneau, rented a car and booked a hotel room for her two-day stay. She may have been lucky to find a hotel room - some were booked solid for this weekend months ago. Juneau's bed-and-breakfasts also have been enjoying brisk business.

"A lot of B&Bs are completely booked, with nothing but people coming in for celebration," said Cindy Cashen, whose downtown B&B has two rooms rented out for Celebration.

Fred Meyer has extra stock on hand in anticipation of higher sales during Celebration.

"We know that we're going to have an influx of business, and so we beefed up on orders," said store director Michael Vinson.

Special 10-percent discount coupons for Lamonts Apparel are being distributed during Celebration at Centennial Hall.

"Since it's a lot of people from Southeast communities, we wanted to see if they spent a lot of time clothes shopping while they're here," said Stacey Lobell, Lamonts' general manager.

Promotions like Lamonts' are a great idea when any convention comes to town, said Carolyn Holbert, convention services director for the Juneau Convention and Visitors Bureau. But she said few businesses take advantage of the opportunity to market to a"captive audience."

"Discount coupons that welcome people to Juneau and recognize the business, it's a golden opportunity," Holbert said."Very, very few local merchants take the time to do that."

Whether they make a special effort to attract Celebration attendees or not, Holbert said businesses are reaping the rewards this week.

"We see a significant impact on our hotels, our B&Bs, all shopping all over town," she said."It's a wonderful event to have happen every two years in Juneau."