Flathead County Black Friday Shoppers Camp Out to Get Deals

Shoppers in the Flathead started camping out in front of stores as early as Wednesday night, to get the best Black Friday deals.

It’s a day of bargains. People camp out to be the first through the doors to get their hands on the sales.

“I’m just hoping to win one of the bigger gift cards,” said Black Friday shopper, John Sturzen.

Sturzen spent the night camped out in front of the Cabela’s store in Kalispell. He says he’s done it for several years.

“It’s awesome. Everybody is friendly, and everybody seems to be happy and in good spirits. So, it’s kind of hard to beat that,” Sturzen said.

But, he says this year is different than years past, and it’s not because of the crowds.

“This year, it’s warm. It’s in the 40s. Last year it was pretty cold and miserable standing in line, the wind was blowing, so it wasn’t pleasant at all,” Sturzen said.

“This is beautiful. I’m out here in short sleeves and it’s not even really cold. So, it’s just a beautiful Black Friday morning,” said Cabela’s Manager, Tim Ells.

Ells says he started prepping the store as early as July for this day.

"A lot of planning that comes in from the corporate perspective and then at store level obviously it’s just getting all the merchandise on the floor," Ells said.

To make sure the waiting customers were comfortable, heat lamps were set up and free coffee and donuts were given to those in line.

“It’s fun to be a part of an organization like this, that you know, they draw this kind of crowd because we’re Cabela’s. We just have that rapport and it’s awesome to take care of people and it’s awesome we have so much support from our community,” Ells said.

NBC Montana even found people as far as British Columbia camped out. They came down just for the sales.

But, Sturzen says it’s not only about those sales, but about the experience of camping out.

"I get to spend some quality time with my son and kind of hangout. He's away from his kids and everything so it’s kind of a one on one and then all the people I get to meet in line, that's always special," Sturzen said.

Many others agreed, and said they chose to camp out for the experience too.