Get out and shop. Yes, you read that right.

We want you to shop this weekend, and shop locally.

Today is the first day of the annual Alabama Sales Tax Holiday, a two-day shopping-centric weekend designed to give state residents a break on the cost of back-to-school supplies and clothing.

The tax-free holiday has been embraced locally by both the City of Troy and the Pike County Commission, meaning that today and until midnight Sunday, purchases of clothing items with a cost of $100 or less; computers; computer software and school computer supplies costing $750 or less; various school supplies costing $50 or less; and books valued at $30 or less will be tax-free.

And saving up to 10 percent in sales tax on these items is a significant savings.

For their part, local retailers have been gearing up for the weekend. In downtown Troy, merchants are holding the first of what will likely be a monthly “first Saturday sale” event, designed to draw shoppers to the stores the line the square. Other retailers, from clothing boutiques to big-box retailers, have been stocking their shelves in anticipation of the sale.

So, really, it’s a good time to shop.

After all, classes start in full for most students in our county on Monday. Troy University students already are arriving on campus and gearing up for the fall semester.

Pens and paper, notebooks and flash drives, t-shirts and tennis shoes … we all have needs for back-to-school.

Take advantage of this weekend, and get what you need locally.