Organisers of the Beverley Festival of Christmas have hailed this year’s event as the most successful yet, with an estimated 60,000 people attending the festivities on Sunday, 11 December.
The festival benefitted enormously from an increased footprint, which took in North Bar and Flemingate.
Feedback from stall holders and the public was really positive; and the area offered a great back-drop for all the activities and the entertainment, from the Westwood Sessions and Birds of Prey worked well.
The Flemingate Centre saw thousands of customers visiting the variety of shops and enjoying events, including a Disney-themed Christmas grotto.
Graham Tait, Flemingate Centre Manager, said:
“We’re delighted to have contributed to a hugely successful event and a great day for Beverley.
“The event brought all of Beverley together, with many people taking the opportunity to explore the whole festival, from Flemingate through to Wednesday Market, Saturday Market and on to North Bar.
“We’re looking forward to working with East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s events team and all the partner organisations to make next year’s festival even bigger and better!”
Both market traders and established shops seized the opportunity to maximise on the increased footfall that the event provided.
Jessica Poma of Poma Piccollo, independent trader down North Bar, said:
“The Beverley Festival of Christmas had an extremely positive impact on our business, we were more than ten times as busy and there was a good mix of tourists and locals. We noticed a lot of locals had ventured down the St Mary’s Arcade who wouldn’t normally, due to the event.”
An independent trader in Wednesday Market echoed the positive feedback, saying:
“The Beverley Festival of Christmas quite possibly saved us, by Monday we had almost sold out of stock due to the huge numbers of locals and out of town visitors that came to the event. A lot of locals, who didn’t know we were here, do now!”
Coach-friendly Beverley also welcomed 63 coaches to the Beverley Festival of Christmas, a new record and up from 55 the year before. Drivers were provided with welcome packs, maps, lunch vouchers and more.
Councillor Jane Evison, cabinet portfolio holder for economic investment and tourism at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said:
“We have been pleased with the positive feedback received about this year’s Beverley Festival of Christmas and are delighted that both residents and visitors came along to see Santa and his reindeer, bought festive gifts from the 130 traders in attendance and enjoyed the varied programme of live music and activities that took place around the town.
“The whole event ran like clockwork, with visitor numbers growing again thanks to extra coach numbers and national media coverage.
“The council and EY Events will now evaluate the event so that we can build on this success for 2017.”
