Newcastle West shops put best festive foot forward
Jean Gale and her shop window entry in the best dressed shop contest in Newcastle West last year
THE FAIRY lights and fake snow will be coming back into the shop windows of Newcastle West in the next week as traders once again battle it out in a ‘best dressed window’ competition.
The competitive Christmas campaign, which began last year, is organised by the Newcastle West Business Association in a bid to get the town’s festive foot forward and encourage trade.
Over the next few weeks, locals will be able to nominate the shops that they feel have the most picturesque shop window via the business association’s Facebook page. On Christmas week, the winners and runners-up will be chosen and awarded hundreds of euro worth of local shopping vouchers.
Florence Flannigan, a member of the Newcastle West Business Association, said that they are hoping for a repeat of last year’s competition, which attracted dozens of entries.
“It’s just a nice way of building up that bit of Christmas spirit, and maybe get a few extra people to come into the town to see the windows – they might decide to buy a nice thing or two inside some of the shops as well”.
The business association represents the majority of the small, family-owned shops and boutiques that operate in the town. Ms Flannigan said that Christmas remains a vital time of year for local traders, particularly as the ongoing trouble with the economy continues to hit retail spending.
Ms Flannigan said that in another bid to boost business and help build Newcastle West’s positive image, traders hope to roll out a ‘Team Pride’ campaign over the coming weeks.
She said that while the idea is still in its infancy, it would involve locals taking a “pleadge” to shop local, be proud of their town and spread the message.
“We hope it might build up a bit of pride in the town, and give Newcastle West a bit more of a positive reputation.”
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Sunday 26 May 2013
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