Firstly I would like to wish all Voice readers a very Happy New Year!
Hopefully you had a relaxing and fun-filled Christmas with your families and also managed to pick up a bargain or two during the January sales.
There are certainly some excellent offers around the town to be had; so if you badly need to update your TV, household furniture or winter overcoat, or have some Christmas present money to spend, then I recommend you visit the shops before it’s too late.
Despite the ever-increasing move to online shopping, anecdotal evidence suggests that sales on Spalding high street this Christmas have managed to stay more or less at 2014 levels, which is good news for retailers and businesses and, of course, for the people that work for them.
I make no apology for again reminding you of the importance to buy part of your annual purchases locally; this is the only way we will be able to sustain a thriving town centre.
Whilst the list of town centre events has not been finalised, I can tell you this year will see the second Spalding and South Holland Festival of Food and Drink taking place over the weekend of July 9 and 10.
The location has been changed to the Vista and surrounding areas and Ayscoughfee Hall and the St Mary and St Nicolas Church will be running supporting events over that weekend.
For the latest news on the Food Festival visit www.spaldingfoodfestival.co.uk
If you are a local food producer or have a food-related business and wish to exhibit at the festival, please contact me through the website for an application form or apply directly online.
Other confirmed dates for your diary:
March 3-10 – the 16th Annual South Holland Open Arts Exhibition
May 28-30 – Round Table Beer Festival
June 21 – Armed Forces Day Parade
August 13 and 14 – Ayscoughfee Hall 1940s Weekend/VJ Celebrations.
With increasing emphasis on social media, I have recently launched a Town Centre Manager’s Facebook page, which aims to advertise town centre events and special deals.
This will compliment a Spalding Town Centre website, which we are currently having built. This will be live by the end of March.
The website will be partly public facing – providing local people and visitors with information on the area, accommodation, businesses, attractions and events and will be inward facing for businesses, providing them with information on training opportunities, sponsorship, advertising deals and other business related information.
Details of the web address for this site will be published nearer the time.
