Member Article

‘Winning Windows’ create festive feeling in the city

Festive window displays which are delighting visitors and helping to create a Christmas ambience in Chester won a range of top prizes this week from CH1ChesterBID Company.

In the run up to Christmas, city centre businesses were encouraged to decorate their windows in fine festive style with points being awarded for creativity and originality.

The displays were then judged in three categories by a panel of experts, with one category based on the number of Facebook likes the window received.

Sixty One (Funky Aardvark) came out on top in the Independent Retailer category while the Non-Independent Retailer winner was Christy Home. The prize for the ‘Most Liked on Facebook’ was Fat Face, with 306 likes.

The judging panel was comprised of Eryl Edwards, Manager of Primark Chester, Katie Bentley, PR and Communications Manager at the Chester Grosvenor Hotel and Chairman of CH1ChesterBID Company, Paul Daniels.

Paul said: “We wanted Chester to be the first choice for Christmas shopping this season and we’ve been working hard to create a sense of wonder and magic throughout the city.

“Window displays are a big feature of the Christmas shopping experience – just look at places like Hamleys and Harrods in London, or Fenwicks in Newcastle – visitors come to those cities at this time of year eager to see what fantastical window displays the retailers have come up with.

“We wanted to encourage Chester businesses to showcase their most festive window creations, albeit on a much smaller scale, and get really creative.”

Prizes included a champagne dinner for two at a Chester restaurant and a package of promotions and brand awareness for the winning businesses.

Paul added: “The festive windows competition has encouraged businesses to make a real effort and conjure up displays that help create a festive feeling throughout the city.

“For the businesses themselves we were keen to offer prizes which would have tangible business benefits and the marketing package gives the winning businesses the chance to promote their businesses to a much wider audience than they might otherwise reach.

“We were delighted with all the entries and hope that next year the ‘festive windows’ competition will become bigger and better with more and more businesses getting involved.”

The festive windows display was just one of the Christmas initiatives run by CH1ChesterBID Company, which also introduced an ‘Elf-Trail’ through the city centre – encouraging visitors to find elves hiding in Chester’s shops and businesses. The trail ends on December 20, to take part, pick up a map from Chester Visitor Information Centre and see how many elves you can find. You can win an iPad Air, Tickets to Chester Zoo or £50 to spend at the Disney Store.

The CH1ChesterBID Company has also been running free festive film screenings at the Grosvenor Museum, had costumed characters welcoming visitors to the city centre, including chELFie (Chester’s very own Christmas Elf) and created a Christmas Hub where children could engage in festive fun activities with their parents.

For more information about CH1ChesterBID, visit www.ch1chesterbid.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Elle Brunton .