A free Forum for local high-street and market-traders, tourism, and business promotion will meet for the first time on Wednesday 27 April at the Bull Hotel. Organised by the Spirit of Bridport, the event aims to help local businesses to harness their valuable insights and experience for the benefit of the town as a whole.
Organiser Kit Glaisyer says “We’ve had a tremendous response to our Spirit of Bridport launch, and we’ve now been approached by a number of businesses who want to work with us to promote what they are doing and raise the profile of the town.”
The Spirit of Bridport group developed from a community initiative to promote Bridport as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, and organised a hugely popular launch event at the Bridport Arts Centre in February 2011 that highlighted the work of many of the towns organisations.
The group are now inviting local businesses to become members of the Spirit of Bridport, where they can promote themselves on the new web-site spirirofbridport.org and also share in the publicity generated leading up to the proposed 2012 Festival. They believe the town’s small businesses are essential to the character and popularity of Bridport, but that more can be done in terms of collaboration and sharing ideas.
“Local traders are quite rightly aware of the uniqueness of that they offer” said Ros Kayes. “Many people come to Bridport for that Market Town feel. They love our local shops – but people who don’t know the town don’t always know where they are or what they sell.”
“This Forum is about more than shops though. There are a range of other businesses in Bridport, and business people and traders have got some brilliant ideas for how to develop the town. We want to get them together so they can look at what they can do to promote their businesses together. The Spirit group will host the forum, but it’s important that the ideas come from the business community themselves – that’s what this evening’s event is about.”
The Spirt of Bridport Business Forum takes place from 6-8pm on Wednesday 27 April at the Bull Hotel. There are limited places available, so if you operate a local business and would like to get involved in this promotional initiative, please visit Spirit of Bridport and fill in the online Business Forum application form. Alternately you can call the Forum organiser Kit Glaisyer on 07983465789.
