By Hutton Marshall | SDUN Editor

This season’s SHOP Hillcrest was the shopping extravaganza’s biggest year to date. Put on by the Hillcrest Business Association, the event capitalizes on holiday shopping fervor during November and December by drawing San Diegans to Hillcrest businesses with the allure of a $2,000 raffle prize.

Shoppers get entered into the raffle two times whenever they spend more than $20 at one of the participating businesses or restaurants. Thousands of raffle tickets were collected from the 44 businesses from Nov. 25 to Dec. 24.

This year’s SHOP Hillcrest winner was La Mesa resident Paul Donaldson, a regular at Artist and Craftsman Supply, where he acquired his winning ticket. He received approximately $2,000 in gift cards to businesses participating in the community.

Donaldson, an artist, said he makes the drive from La Mesa to Hillcrest regularly because of the diverse selection at Artist and Craftsman Supply.

“That’s the great thing about [Artist and Craftsman], they’ve got materials for sculpting, painting, sketching — everything,” said Donaldson, who taught art for 42 years in Orange County.

Donaldson’s victory also came about through bizarrely fortunate circumstances. His was the first name pulled, but because of an illegible phone number, the HBA pulled a second name, which was again Donaldson, who only had four tickets in the drawing. With thousands of names entered into the drawing, the odds of his name being pulled twice is a small fraction of a percent.

This being the biggest year of SHOP Hillcrest yet, the HBA attracted enough businesses to award a second place prize as well, although that winner has yet to be determined. They will receive $1,000 in gift cards to participating Hillcrest businesses.

This year’s SHOP Hillcrest participating businesses were Adam & Eve, Artist and Craftsman, Babette Schwartz, Bamboo Lounge, Baras Foundation, Beauty by Dolly, Beauty Lounge, Bombay, Buffalo Exchange, Canine Lodge and Spa, Cody’s Home + Gift, Cohabitat, Commonwealth, Crest Café, Crypt, Detour Salon, Edith Ernestine, Establish, Fig Tree Cafe, Giola’s Room, Harlequin Boutique, Heat Bar & Kitchen, Hillcrest Ace Hardware, Jet Rhys, Kasi – Fresh, Liv Bar Juice & Smoothies, Local Habit, Lotus Thai, Luna Grill, Mint Footwear, MO’s Universe (Urban MO’s, Baja Betty’s, Gossip Brill and Hillcrest Brewing Company), Obelisk, Pretty Please, Pappaleccos, Pure Healing Now, Revivals, Snooze, i-Mobile Sprint, The Wine Lover, T-deli, Urban Shave, Uptown Tavern, Which Wich and Urban Optiks.

For more information on the HBA, SHOP Hillcrest or similar events, visit fabuloushillcrest.com and hillcrestbia.org.