POTSDAM – A Clarkson University freshman has won this year’s First Saturday drawing for a gift basket at Maple Run Emporium.

Joseph Malloy, of Wyoming, N.Y., is majoring in electrical engineering.

First Saturday was held on Sept. 3. It is an annual event celebrating the first Saturday students attending SUNY Potsdam and Clarkson University are in Potsdam. Shops and restaurants feature specials for students and music and dance performances on Market Street.

Maple Run Emporium, 49 Market St., offered students a 10 percent discount on purchases and a chance to win the gift basket. The basket was filled with a dozen sweet, savory, and scented maple products including maple caramel corn, maple pepper beef jerky, maple roasted pecans, and maple and rum body lotion.

Malloy was back in his dorm when he listened to the phone message congratulating him on his win. He said his reaction was, “Oh my gosh! I won!” He came back downtown with friends to pick up his basket.

He told Maple Run Emporium owner Mary Hilton that the only maple products he’d ever tasted were syrup and sugar candy, so all of the items in the basket were new to him. He estimated it would take him two or three days to try all the products.

Malloy said that he liked the First Saturday experience. He said he went into many venues that he would never have entered had it not been for First Saturday.

Maple Run Emporium has participated in every First Saturday since the shop opened in 2011. “It’s one of my favorite events,” said Hilton. “It’s a very busy and fun day. I really like having so many students come in and discover the shop.”

There is more info on Maple Run Emporium at www.MapleRunEmporiums.com.