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Kelly Bliss

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Walton BID Events 2022

Throughout the year we are looking forward to bringing a programme of events and activities to Walton town centre to help drive footfall, awareness and interest from not only the local community but a wider audience too.

Below is a list of the ‘possible’ events we are working on that we’d love for BID members to get involved in.

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Walton Kids Club

For each of the school breaks, we plan to host a series of activities to help encourage families into the town. The event we ran in October 2021 brought hundreds of children and their families into Walton to enjoy free face painting, magic shows, and craft workshops.

If you’d like to host an activity in your store or provide a dining offer to encourage customers, view this post to find out more.

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Walton Folk Festival

We’re working with Riverhouse Barn Arts Centre to expand their popular Walton Folk Festival. Over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend, we are looking to bring some musical acts into the town centre with a series of pop-up performances and a street event.

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Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

In 2022, Her Majesty The Queen will become the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne. Over the four-day bank holiday at the beginning of June, there will be some exciting events and activities across the town to celebrate this unprecedented anniversary.

These include:

  • Wiggle and Scribble Playground – all jubilee weekend – outside Walton Library, Hepworth Way at The Heart Shopping Centre
  • Walton’s Jubilee Jamboree 9:30am – 7pm- Saturday 4th – Walton High Street
  • Platinum River Pageant 4pm – Thursday 2nd – Shepperton – Sunbury Lock
  • Live Music from 8pm – Thursday 2nd – The Walton Village
  • Charity Royal Doggie Photoshoot from 12noon – Friday 3rd – The Walton Village (£5 per hound, all proceeds go to the RSPCA)
  • Tobias Ben Jacob, Walton Folk – 7.30pm Saturday 4th – The Riverhouse Barn Arts Centre
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Walton Heritage Festival

Celebrating the town’s heritage and connection with the River, Walton Heritage Festival will return with a day of family fun and entertainment. 

Exact dates and details to follow soon!

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Walton Christmas Fair

Kicking off the Christmas season, we hope to bring a day of festive entertainment and switch on Walton’s Christmas lights. 

Exact dates and details will follow later in the year.

If you are interested in getting involved in any of the events by hosting some activities, havinig a pop-up market stand, or offers to help drive footfall and promote awareness of your business, please get in touch by emailing hello@waltonbid.co.uk

We’d love to hear your ideas.

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Christmas kicks off with a bang

The local community came together on Saturday 20 November where visitors in their hundreds came out to kick of the festive season in style at the Walton Christmas Fair.

Organised and funded by Walton BID, families were treated to a whole day of Christmas entertainment including a street fair with children’s rides, free face painting and roaming entertainment from ice ball magicians and even a roller-skating Christmas Pudding!

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At the north end of High Street, a mini-Christmas market made up of local stallholders offered various hot food treats and artisan giftware, perfect for making a start on that all-important shopping list.

Towards the south end of the High Street, the stage was graced by a number of great acts providing family entertainment throughout the day. Local Primary School Grovelands treated everyone to a set of beautifully sung Christmas tunes, whilst youth street dance school LSS delighted the crowds with a number of brilliantly performed dances. Radio Wey kept the Christmas tunes pumping in between acoustic sets from local artists Tom Dibb and ArchieXNTrick, while families relaxed on benches outside the Walton Village who were serving up warming mulled wine and boozy hot chocolates from their outdoor bar.

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Half Term Halloween Fun

Kids in Walton were treated to loads of Halloween treats in October half term with lots of free activities provided by Walton BID and The Heart Shopping Centre.

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On Thursday 28 October 2021, children came in their hundreds to enjoy free face painting, balloon modelling, and magic shows, plus Walton Library were hosting free craft sessions.

Throughout the week, children were invited to embark on a tricky trail around the town centre to locate all the ingredients needed for a witches brew potion – allowing them to go into a free prize draw if they found all the correct answers. Five lucky winners were drawn at random and each treated to a £20 voucher to spend in Waterstones.

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Sponsorship Opportunity with Walton Xcel Sports Hub

Local businesses have a chance to take part in the new Elmbridge Sports Hub Sponsorship Raffle. The £20million Sports Hub is part of the Elmbridge Xcel leisure complex and is recognised as one of the premier community sports facilities in Surrey.

With a main floodlit 3G artificial main stadia pitch and second pitch, grass pitch and an 8 lane floodlit athletics track to UK Athletics standard, it is home to the largest clubs in Elmbridge; Walton Casuals FC, Walton & Hersham FC, Walton & Hersham United FC and Walton Athletic Club; all with an extensive fan base and business contacts.

The Xcel Sports Hub’s main stand has a seating capacity of 736 and the pavilion houses a shared club house for resident clubs plus corporate hospitality facilities available for hire for private or business events.

With regular sports events, training sessions, business meetings and networking events, the hub attracts around 250,000 visitors per year.

That high footfall represents a real opportunity for local businesses to raise their profile in the community, strengthen their network with other businesses and generate income.

Tickets to enter are £1,000 each.

So what’s in it for you?

All companies entering the raffle draw will receive the following benefits (shown below) totalling a value of £900 plus the chance to win one of the following sponsorship packages, all of which will give your business extensive exposure to the local community and networking opportunities:

1st Prize – Gold level partner (value £25K)

2nd Prize (2 winners) – Silver level partner (value £7K)

3rd Prize (3 winners) – Bronze level partner (value £4)

Click here for details of each of the prize packages

The total number of tickets for the Sports Hub Raffle is limited to just 20. Therefore as well as being guaranteed some excellent prizes you have a great chance to win one of the top three star prizes.

To register your interest and if you require further information please email: sport@elmbridge.gov.uk with your name and company.  Deadline for entries is 30th September.

Terms and conditions apply are available on our website: xcelsportshub.uk

Duckathon

Walton celebrates its heritage with a day of family fun

Visitors flocked to Walton-on-Thames on a beautifully sunny Saturday to enjoy a whole day of activities as part of the annual Walton Heritage Festival with the Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP and Deputy Mayor of Elmbridge Cllr Simon Waugh amongst the guests.

Following a break due to covid restrictions in 2020, the popular community event returned on Saturday 18 September with a host of family fun across various locations in the town celebrating Walton’s heritage and connection with its lifeblood the river Thames, as well as raising vital funds for local causes.

Organised as part of the national Heritage Open Days initiative, the day kicked off at St Mary’s Church where brave participants dared to take on the rare opportunity to abseil down the church’s historic bell tower. Each of the fearless abseilers descended the 60ft tower helping to raise money towards the Church’s ongoing community outreach activities. St Mary’s had also opened their doors to showcase the local parish records, allowing visitors to delve into their family history.

Over in Bridge Street, the fun of the fair was in full swing with children’s rides, free face painting and balloon modelling whilst Radio Wey provided music and commentary, and the sweet smell of candy floss filled the air.
A collection of over 20 stallholders made up of local artists, food traders, and community organisations including the Walton & Weybridge Amateur Operatic Society, Rotary Club and Sunbury & Walton Sea Cadets offered fete-style games and activities such as hook-a-duck, sand art and a tombola.

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Local artist, Janet McDonagh
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Just after midday, Deputy Mayor of Elmbridge Cllr Simon Waugh took part in the parade along with Walton Sea Cadets down to the riverside at Walton Wharf where yet more activity was underway. 1st Walton Viking Sea Scouts put Walton’s canine community through their paces with a fun dog show, Blue Chip SUP School were giving demonstrations and taster sessions to learn paddleboarding and the Sunbury and Walton Sea Cadets were offering short boat trips along the peaceful River Thames.

In homage to cinema’s forgotten pioneer Cecil Hepworth, the iconic Hepworth Playhouse, the last-standing section of the Hepworth Film Studios, opened their doors to show various black and white classic films that had been made at Walton’s Nettlefold Studios courtesy of Talking Pictures TV and Walton & Weybridge Amateur Operatic Society. Whilst at Riverhouse Barn Arts Centre, visitors were treated to live music, artists stalls and eco-friendly craft workshops.

Deputy Mayor parades with Sunbury and Walton Sea Cadets
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Paddleboard taster sessions

Later in Bridge Street, crowds gathered to see who would take the crown as Walton’s Strongest in the annual Truck Tow competition. That title was earned by Livermount Ladies Pullers who managed to pull the 4.5ton truck over the 15ft distance in just 17.1 seconds!

The festivities came to an end as Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Monica Harding helped to release 800 plastic ducks onto the river to launch the Walton Duckathon! At a somewhat slow pace, the ducks cruised their way (eventually) passed the finishing line with cash prizes awarded to three lucky winners whose ducks finished first. Money raised from the Duckathon was split between 1st Walton Viking Sea Scouts and The Mayor’s chosen charity, The Grace Dear Trust.

The Walton Heritage Festival was organised by the Walton-on-Thames Trading Alliance (WoTTA) along with help from an army of volunteers and community groups and including the new Walton Business Improvement District (BID) who funded the event.

The Rt Hon Dominic Raab said “Walton Heritage Festival is always a terrific local day. After the cancellation of last year’s event, it was particularly important to bring the community together to celebrate and promote everything Walton has to offer.

“My thanks to the Walton-on-Thames Trading Alliance for organising the day, and the new Walton Business Improvement District for their support.”

Dominic Raab addresses the crowd in Bridge St
Event organisers WoTTA and Walton BID with Dominic Raab

Kelly Bliss, Walton BID Manager said “It’s been fantastic to see so many people out enjoying themselves and events like this are vital for the town. It gets people talking, exploring and helps show off all the fantastic things Walton has to offer. This event wouldn’t have happened without the help of everyone at WoTTA, so a big thank you to Joanna Gordon and all the team as well as the other community groups and organisations whose kindness and generosity has made this day such a success.”

Joanna Gordon, Managing Director of WoTTA said: “So lovely to be able to run an event in Walton again after such a long gap, and to see the town come out and support us, enjoying everything that took months of planning. A huge thank you to everyone on the team for all their hard work. Good luck to BID manager Kelly Bliss, taking over this event moving forward. Everyone at WoTTA is delighted that with the BID in place the future of town events like this are secure.”

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Step 4: Lifting of Coronavirus Restrictions

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This week, the Government confirmed that England will move into Step 4 of the Roadmap, with all restrictions being lifted from Monday 19 July.

Cases are still high and rising, so businesses and individuals are encouraged to act with caution.

From Monday 19 July 2021; 

All remaining closed businesses and venues such as nightclubs and adult entertainment venues will be able to reopen.

All capacity limits at sporting, entertainment, or business events will be lifted.

Hospitality venues such as pubs, restaurants and bars will no longer be required to provide table service or follow other social distancing rules.

All businesses should follow the principles set out in the working safely guidance. Whilst the Government is no longer instructing people to work from home if they can, the Government would expect and recommend a gradual return over the summer.

Employers will still have a legal duty to manage risks to those affected by their business. The way to do this is to carry out a health and safety risk assessment, including the risk of COVID-19, and to take reasonable steps to mitigate the risks you identify. Working Safely guidance sets out a range of mitigations employers should consider including:

  • cleaning surfaces that people touch regularly;
  • identifying poorly-ventilated areas in the venue and taking steps to improve air flow;
  • ensuring that staff and customers who are unwell do not attend the workplace or venue;
  • communicating to staff and customers the measures you have put in place.

Businesses are also encouraged to continue displaying QR codes for customers wishing to check in using the NHS COVID-19 app, or to continue collecting customer contact details to support NHS Test and Trace, however this will no longer be a legal requirement.

For more information on the latest step and what it means for your business, click the link below to view the latest Government Guidance.

View the latest Government Advice for Step 4
Kids unicorn craft

Introducing Love Walton Kids Club

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Love Walton Kids Club is a new initiative to help bring visitors to Walton town centre during school holidays with fun activities aimed at children of primary school age.

We all know that parents and guardians are often at a loss with how to keep their children occupied during half term, we want Love Walton Kids Club to be the answer. The intention is to offer a range of free activities that will keep kids entertained, drive people into your venue and increase dwell time in the town. Similar initiatives are proven to be very popular in many other towns and cities. By bringing multiple businesses together in collaboration, we hope this will give families a reason to come to Walton, helping to drive footfall for the benefit of the whole town.

How does it work?
Businesses within Walton BID area are invited to host their own free in-store event for children to take part in. We’ve listed some ideas as to what these could be. Walton BID will then promote all these activities to help encourage people to your venue and take part, thus leading footfall into your business to help drive awareness and engagement. Allowing you the opportunity to make a connection with the customers to encourage return visits and future purchases.

 

What activity can we do?
Activities need to be aimed at young children of primary school ages, things that will entice, excite and occupy them. Things that prove very popular include:

  • A scavenger hunt around your store. Placing items in places for children to discover, fill in a form and perhaps get a treat at the end of it or go into a draw to win a small prize.
  • Craft sessions – simple paper crafts or something a little more technical, many children enjoy making something they can take home
  • Cookery workshops such as decorating cookies or cupcakes for the kids to then take away
  • Storytelling sessions – gather the kids on the floor and some comfy cushions and read them an engaging story
  • Or in hospitality venues; kids eat for free or special meal deals when an adult purchases a meal

The intention for this initiative is aimed at being a helping hand for parents and guardians. Offering fun and exciting ways of entertaining their children during school holidays. Whilst you can offer a discount for any purchases made on the day, the main reason for visiting needs to be an activity or entertainment opportunity.

Can we charge?
In order to entice parents along, we would recommend that activities are free for children to take part and offer an educational angle if appropriate. If you want to offer craft sessions and need to cover the cost of materials, then a very small fee of £1-£2 per child is permitted. Activities are not to be sold for a direct profit. These events are to be considered a marketing opportunity for your business to get people through the door and make a connection, encouraging a repeat visit in the future.

What are the logistics?
The event needs to take place during half-term weeks or school holidays in Elmbridge borough (dates are listed below). This makes it easier to have one central message for us to promote to parents. Events can be drop-in sessions that people can pop in and out for throughout the day, or you can run them at set times.

Ie, for storytelling, you could have a session at 10am, 11.30am and 2pm. Or if you’re doing crafts, you could just leave it open from 12-2pm for people to turn up when it suits.

If you’re limited on space, you can encourage people to book a place by calling or emailing in advance. Or even using a free booking software like Eventbrite. But where possible, to make it easier for parents, being able to just turn up is recommended.

How will it be promoted?
Walton BID will collate all the information for each business offering a Love Walton Kids Club activity and present everything in a handy leaflet. These leaflets will be printed and distributed through local channels such as schools and libraries, plus we would ask each of the participating businesses to have a stock of leaflets and help distribute them to customers in the lead-up to the event.

Walton BID will also create a dedicated page on its website, lovewalton.co.uk listing all the activities.
We will invest in digital advertising to share the messages across social media, plus some adverts in local magazines and parent leaflets. To help amplify the message even further, we would encourage all participating businesses to share across their own channels too – the more people we reach, the better!

What will it cost?
This initiative is exclusively for Levy-Paying members of Walton BID and there is no additional cost for businesses to take part. The only cost to you is the running of the event on the day such as craft materials.

When are the activity dates in 2022?
Half Term: 14 – 18 February
Easter Holidays: 4 – 18 April
Half Term: 30 May – 3 June
Summer Holidays: 25 July – 31 August
Half Term: 24 – 28 October

How do I take part?
To offer an activity, you just need to submit the details to Kelly Bliss at Walton BID. Please include the following and email kelly@waltonbid.co.uk

  • Your contact name and a contact email address
  • Business Name
  • A title for your Activity (such as Cookie Decorating, Make your own xxxx)
  • A brief description of the activity. This is the space to tell parents what the session involves, what kids will do etc)
  • Time(s) of the activity
  • Do people need to book, if so, how?

If you’re interested in taking part but just want a little more information, please get in touch with Kelly Bliss at Walton BID, who will be happy to come and chat through everything with you.

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Get Involved with Walton Heritage Festival

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A date for your diaries, Saturday 18 September 2021 will see the return of the annual Walton Heritage Festival as part of the wider UK Heritage Open Days events. This is of course subject to all social distancing restrictions being lifted, but we are progressing with planning in the meantime.

The event brings together the whole community to celebrate the town’s heritage with a key focus on its connection to the river. As in previous years, we are hoping to hold a street fair in Bridge Street, a dog show at Walton Wharf, a duck race on the river, abseiling from the top of St Mary’s Church and a whole host of other activities to keep families entertained.

For businesses in the town, such an event can offer a great marketing opportunity to highlight your business to new audiences, whether they spend with you on the day or come back another time.

We are inviting all Walton BID members to get involved with the event through the following opportunities:

Having a stall at the Bridge Street Fair
The Bridge Street Fair is a classic village-fete-style fair with fun games and entertainment for families to get involved in. We’re looking for businesses, community groups and charities to take a stall at the fair that includes a fun game for people to play. Things like hook-a-duck, tombola, guess the number of sweets in a jar etc. Having a stall for the day also provides a great opportunity to promote your business or sell products and services.

Sponsor a duck in the Duckathon
A fun part of the day will be a duck race on the river where a number of plastic ducks will be released onto the Thames and a prize awarded to the first one over the finishing line!

People on the day will be encouraged to sponsor a plastic yellow duck and given a number – If their duck is the winner, they’ll win a portion of the cash raised.

If there is sufficient interest, we’d also like to run a second duck race with larger ducks for businesses and groups to get involved in providing a great opportunity to get involved with the local community and a bit of teambuilding for your staff on the day. Businesses will be able to sponsor a duck and even decorate it beforehand in their company colours /branding /uniform. Proceeds will go to a local charity and a prize awarded to the winning team.

Donating prizes for competitions
The whole day is intended to gather the community together with some much-needed feel-good fun. We’d like to run various competitions and giveaways throughout the day and we’re looking for businesses to donate any prizes or items for goody bags such as pet products for the dog show, dinner or drinks vouchers, physical items for prizes. This can be a great way of promoting your business and products to local people.

Incentives on the day to entice customers
In previous years, the Heritage Days have attracted hundreds of people into the town which provides a great opportunity to highlight your business to new customers. To encourage people into your venue on the day, if you’d like to offer a special menu or discount, we will promote this to people attending the event.

If you’re interested in getting involved with the event through any of the above opportunities, please get in touch with kelly@waltonbid.co.uk to discuss further.

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Step 3 – Re-opening guidance for businesses

Monday 17 May 2021 marks another huge step in the reopening of our town centres.

From today, pubs, restaurants and cafes can open their doors to welcome parties of 6 or 2 households inside. Indoor entertainment such as cinemas can reopen, and organised gym classes can resume.

Many restrictions and laws still remain in place, such as the need for face coverings and social distancing to maintain everyone’s safety. 

For more information on the latest step and what it means for your business, click the link below to download the latest Government Guidance.

Download the latest Goverment Guidance for Step 3
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hello@waltonbid.co.uk

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The Heart Management Suite,

New Zealand Avenue

Walton-on-Thames, KT12 1GH