Whether shopping for themselves, gifts or just people watching, crowds of shoppers packed into Westfield Annapolis mall late Thursday night and into early Friday morning to kick off the holiday shopping season.

The Parole mall's first early morning Black Friday event saw shoppers lining up at multiple entrances, then packing the hallways to sit outside their favorite stores.

Athletic shoe stores were particularly popular as eager teenagers awaited the release of the new Jordan Concrete 3 sneaker.

The crowds maintained throughout the early morning and as of 3 a.m. Friday, appeared to still be going strong.

Also, check out a replay of our live blog from the mall and share your Black Friday photos, stories or biggest deals.