From Saturday 8 June, shops and businesses in Bedford town centre will be taking part in a week of activity to celebrate Totally Locally’s Fiver Fest.
The event is a national celebration of small businesses and shops who make a huge contribution to the economy of the UK and the wellbeing of our towns.
Businesses taking part in Bedford’s Fiver Fest have all put together special £5 offers to show the diversity and value of what they sell and to give customers an extra excuse to pop in and spend their money.
Organised by volunteer, Helen Patterson, of the Town Centre Champions group, there are now in excess of 60 businesses taking part, all offering something unique, especially for the week’s events.
You can find a full list of the businesses taking part, and their
Fiver Fest offers at the Town Centre Champions’ website.
“Bedford is a town where you need to have an explore to seek out the independent shops,” said Helen.
“Spending your money with local businesses boosts the local economy, word spreads and increases tourism and local employment.
“We have a population of around 135,000 over 16s in the Borough. If each person spent £5 locally per week, we’d boost the local economy by £3.51m a year.”
Helen and her team of volunteers have created a website which features an up-to-date list of all the offers and an interactive map showing the location of every business taking part.
“We’re encouraging all participating businesses to print out a poster for their shop window, as well as some maps to give to customers.
“Ideally I would like to get these printed and distributed but I don’t have the funds.”
Chris Sands, Founder of Totally Locally and organiser of Fiver Fest, said: “Fiver Fest is a chance for independent shops to show what great value they are & to say thank you to their customers for supporting them, but it also to show what an important contribution they make to the UK economy and the wellbeing of our town centres.
