When Black Friday comes...

Today has been ominously named Black Friday.

The designation of black is a good thing when it refers to stores getting out the red of debt into the black of financial success. But black can also refer to the stressful and hectic day both shoppers and employees encounter on the day after Thanksgiving.

As the official beginning of the holiday season, today is historically one of the busiest retail shopping days of the year. It is also known for mobs of people fighting in a panicked rush to be the first in the doors of stores that opened at hours more suited for roosters.

Best Buy in the Carson Valley Plaza was open at 5 this morning.

"We'll be working with the crowd starting at about 4 a.m.," said operations manager Dan Frias on Wednesday.

"The last two years we had a line around the building," he said. "We'll have coffee and donuts for the customers. We'll make it a little bit of a party atmosphere. There's a lot of energy buzzing around the store. It's fun."

The must-have item on many a Christmas list, the Sony PlayStation 3, is also a have-to-wait item. Best Buy, just like every other store, is waiting for the next shipment of the popular video game console.

"We'll have to wait until we get more in but I'm one of the last people to know when," said Frias. "Right now I haven't heard anything. We're hoping to get more in."

In the mean time he said Best Buy has display units of the PS3 hooked up for demonstration, so people can see what it looks like. Alas, the demo console is not playable.

To get ready for his 16-hour day, Frias said he'll be wearing comfortable shoes and will make sure he gets enough rest.

"I'm going to bed right after Thanksgiving dinner," he said.

For those who want to avoid holiday shopping day at the retail stores, plan to hit any one of the thrift stores in the Valley that are open today.

Barton Hospice Thrift Store at 1609 Highway 395 in Minden is open at 9:30 a.m. and is having a Dollar Days sale on Christmas items with a half off sale on clothes. The store will be open on Sundays through Christmas.

"We have just about anything you can imagine, an eclectic collection," said manager Cheryl Wright. "We even have antiques."

Without driving to Reno or even to the north end of the Valley, shoppers will find knickknacks, Christmas items, children's toys, furniture, TVs, pictures and books at the thrift store.

"We even have gag gifts," said Wright. "A lot of fun, fun stuff."

To totally get away from the shopping experience, try the traditional holiday diversions of going bowling or to the movies.

The Silver Strike Lanes in the Gardnerville Ranchos is open at 7 a.m. for breakfast and bowling starts by 10 a.m. Besides the 22 lanes, there is a game room, billiards for adults, a snack bar, a restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Not only is Black Friday the beginning of the holiday shopping season, it is the beginning of the holiday movie season.

All employees of the Ironwood Stadium Cinema 8 theater will be working the four-day weekend. The first movie begins at 10 a.m. with the last starting nearly 12 hours later.

"Black Friday is our busiest day," said Joe Ricard, who has been with movie houses in Carson Valley for 16 years.

"We're just slammed," he said. "People drop off the kids on Thanksgiving so they can cook but the day after, it's everybody."

"Déja Vu" with Denzel Washington, "Bobby" the bio-pic about Bobby Kennedy and the holiday comedy "Deck the Halls" are premiering this holiday and are part of an eight-movie lineup.

"And 'Casino Royale' is one of the best James Bond movies I've seen," said Ricard. "Going to the movies is so much fun - better than shopping. It's a blast."