SAN ANGELO, Texas — The City of San Angelo is well-known for its sheep statues representing various businesses and organizations across town.
Playing off this idea, community businesses participated in the first ever Sheep on the Shelf event Dec. 21, part of the Downtown Stroll series.
Miniature sheep were hidden inside of the Coop Gallery, Gallery Verde, Blue Buffalo Art Gallery, Ruiz Studio & Art Gallery, the Teacher Store, Casa Decor, Mandala Den and the She Shack, located at 427 S. Oakes St., 417 S. Oakes St., 123 N. Chadbourne St., 416 S. Oakes St., 310 N. Chadbourne St., 39 W. Concho Ave., 502 S. Chadbourne St. and 31 E. Twohig Ave. respectively.
Participants were instructed to find the sheep (without moving them) and complete a sticker card to then be considered for a randomly selected prize drawing.
One couple, Steve and Hilda, decided to participate in the event not only for a fun night out but also to show their support for San Angelo's businesses.
At the start of the event, the pair entered the Coop Gallery where they were greeted with cookies, hot chocolate and of course, a chance to find their first sheep of the night.
"Supporting local businesses is huge," Steve said. "We're like a big small town here so supporting local businesses is probably a top priority for me."
As for Hilda, she was most excited to enter different galleries while "going from one place to the next and trying to find the sheep, too."
Another stop on the list was the Teacher Store, which started the night strong with a large group of participants.
Owner Dominic Santos said he wanted to include his store in the event because, "We like to support everything that happens downtown so this is always an exciting evening is when the trolley starts running and people start coming in."
Children and adults alike entered the varying locations collecting sheep stickers on their route.
Concho Valley Transit also offered free trolley rides to allow for easier travel.
Upon finding all of the sheep, participants were then able to submit their names for the prize at the Downtown San Angelo office, 24 W. Concho Ave.
"Local businesses are the heartbeat of any town and there's plenty of them here downtown, too, so that's great," Santos said.
Visit here to find the next event.