Mayor Scott Avedisian had a wish for this Saturday as he stood on the Cranston side of the Pawtuxet Bridge earlier this week.

“I hope to see the streets free of snow and full of shoppers,” he said.

Avedisian’s comments on Tuesday couldn’t have been more appropriate, with concerns over what Mother Nature will serve up for Thanksgiving and the start of the Christmas shopping season that follows.

But, even should there be snow in the streets, Avedisian and those who joined him on the bridge made it clear, shoppers and diners needn’t travel far to find what they want.

Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressman James Langevin and representatives from the Central Rhode Island and Chamber Chambers of Commerce, the Small Business Administration and the Rhode Island Hospitality Association were all there to promote “Small Business Saturday.”

With Christmas on the way, Whitehouse reminded people they don’t have to go to the big box store or the Internet to shop. Shopping local, he said, “makes a difference to your neighbors.”

Langevin pointed out that 96 percent of the workforce is employed by small businesses, adding that his late father ran a paint and hardware store, “until the big box stores came along and he went out of business,”

“Shop small,” said Langevin, “not only on Saturday but throughout the year.”

Fung also noted his connection to small business and that he grew up with the business operated by his parents. He said small business is a backbone to the local economy.

Avedisian told shoppers they needn’t leave the village to do their shopping.

“And while you’re shopping, you’re going to get incredibly hungry,” he said.

As Dale Venturini, president, Rhode Island Hospitality Association mentioned, the National Restaurant Association is teaming up with the Small Business Administration to promote local Saturday dining as well as shopping. She called it a unique partnership.

“This little state of Rhode Island can do so much when it speaks together,” she said.

Sandra Giraldo, who was there with her dog, Chaska, was in complete agreement.

Giraldo and her husband, massage therapist David Walsh, who run Innisfree Bodyworks on the Warwick side, said events like that held Tuesday “remind people we are a part of the equation.”