By Associated Press
Undated, AL – Alabama stores were jammed Friday with early risers carting off holiday gifts, everything from toys and clothing to flat-panel TVs. "I'm looking for an MP3 Player for a teenager," said Leigh Ann Bishop of Lucedale, Miss., on an annual buying trip to Mobile with her sister, Meagan Langston. Looking for the best deals, Bishop said "plenty of coffee" gets her through what's known among retailers as "Black Friday," the official kickoff of the holiday shopping season, even though some retailers opened on Thanksgiving Day. In Baldwin County, the Tanger Factory Outlet stores in Foley opened at midnight, drawing large crowds. And thousands packed the state's largest shopping mall, the Galleria in suburban Birmingham, which opened at 5 a.m. with a concert by the band Chevy 6 in the grand atrium. Galleria spokeswoman Tracy Gatewood said the event began at 3 a.m. last year, but a marketing survey showed the "true shoppers" didn't come that early.