Park City locals win big in the TownLift Holiday Shopping Spree

Jake Mulvey (left) and Kristi Wilson (right) pose with their prizes from winning the TownLift Local Holiday Shopping Spree. Photo: TownLift

PARK CITY — When Galen Natt’s phone rang with news she’d won the TownLift Local Holiday Shopping Spree, the longtime Park City resident and Parley’s Park Elementary after-school teacher could hardly believe it.

“I was very surprised. I never win anything,” Natt said.

But win she did — along with two other Park City locals who scored prize packages totaling around $6,000 as part of TownLift and the Park City Chamber of Commerce’s annual contest encouraging residents to shop local this holiday season.

The contest awarded three packages: On the Town, Well & Fit, and Friends & Family, each packed with gift cards and prizes from local businesses across the valley.

A night out and local love

Natt took home the On the Town package and has her culinary itinerary mapped out. Blind Dog and Hearth and Hill top her list for celebratory dinners.

“I’m most excited about all of the lovely gift cards from all the local restaurants,” she said.

The win comes with a mission. Natt plans to visit the contest’s participating vendors for her holiday shopping, turning her prize into a tour of Park City’s independent businesses.

“I am going to use the fabulous vendors that donated to the whole sweepstakes giveaway, and I’m going to visit them in particular to do my holiday shopping,” she said.

From spam folder to prize winner

Jake Mulvey nearly missed his winning moment entirely. When the call came through on his work phone, the 10-year Park City resident assumed it was spam.

“I kind of thought it was a joke at first,” said Mulvey, who works at Park City Rental Properties. “I thought I was getting a spam call. I read the preview voicemail, and I almost didn’t call back.”

A North Carolina transplant, Mulvey eventually returned the call — and discovered he’d won the Well & Fit package. Now he’s looking forward to exploring both familiar favorites and new spots.

“Definitely the MARC pass,” he said of his most anticipated prize, adding he “might have to try out some yoga” and plans to hit Basin Rec for basketball. “There’s some new stuff in here too. Who knows what I’ll discover.”

Staycations and serendipity

For Kristi Wilson, winning felt almost too good to be true. The Chicago transplant who moved to Park City in 2020 enters the contest annually but still doubted the winning notification when it arrived.

“I saw the email and thought, ‘Is this real?’ but I think I won,” Wilson said.

Reality set in quickly, and Wilson — a ski instructor at Canyons who works remotely for a sustainability agency in the professional sailing world — started planning how to use her Friends & Family package.

She’s looking forward to the hotel stays for a local staycation, and a gift card to Create PC arrived with perfect timing — Wilson had been volunteering that morning to help set up the shop’s holiday market.

And the PC Garden gift card? “Definitely gonna buy my Christmas tree with that one. Already have a lot of it spent,” Wilson said, hoping to “ease the load on the holidays.”

The shop local spirit

All three winners share a common thread: excitement about discovering and supporting Park City’s independent businesses. From restaurants to recreation to retail, the prizes offer a guided tour through the community’s locally owned establishments.

“I’m telling everybody I know,” Wilson said of her win.

The Park City Chamber of Commerce and TownLift thank all participating businesses whose generous donations made the Local Holiday Shopping Spree possible and reminded the community why shopping local matters.

Check out the participating businesses from this year’s contest: 

Wellness and Esthetics Park City
Montage Deer Valley
Grand Hyatt Deer Valley
Woodward Park City
YourLifebyAlex
Jans/White Pine Touring
Kimball Art Center
Game On! Sports 4 Girls Northern Utah
Maker Union
Swaner Preserve Gift Shop
Park City Gardens
Create PC (Arts Council of Park City & Summit County)
Wellness and Esthetics Park City
LNE Presents
TownLift News
Kilamanjaro Transport
Deer Valley Resort
Blue Sky Nomads
Top of Main/Roadhouse Grill
Park City Performing Arts
Blind Dog Restaurant & Raw Bar
Le Depot Brasserie
Hearth and Hill
Junction Commons
Wellness and Esthetics Park City
Rise Dental Wellness
PC Yoga Collective
PLUNJ Park City
PC MARC
The Vitamin Bar
Pure Sweat + Float Studio Park City
Basin Recreation
KMSkin
The Beau Collective
Park City Waxing Studio
Good Movement Studio
Good Earth Markets