Month: July 2023

The East of England regional final for the National Market Traders Federation Young Traders Market took place in Bury St Edmunds On Wednesday 26 July the .

Aged between 16 to 30, the young traders progressed to the regional final after competing in the local heats across the region.

20 young entrepreneurs turned up to compete to win one of the following categories: general retail, arts and crafts, food and drink, and groceries.

A team of local judges, comprised of Cllr Donna Higgins, Cabinet Member for Families and Communities at West Suffolk Council, Sophie Mann, NMTF’s Young Trader of the Year for 2022 and Mike Kirkham, Business Support Manager at Our Bury St Edmunds, assessed the traders on their products, customer service skills, professionalism and how they interact with other market traders.

Cllr Donna Higgins, Cabinet Member for Families and Communities at West Suffolk Council said: “It was a delight to participate as a judge for the regional competition. I was really impressed at the quality of the products available and the incredible talent, dedication and passion each of the young traders showed.”

Jessica Pratt of Morsi’s was crowned winner of the Food and Drink category and overall winner of the East of England regional competition. Jess serves a range of gluten and dairy free treats alongside hot and cold drinks from her mobile food truck. The Morsi’s truck can be found at the monthly Bury St Edmunds Makers Markets and can be hired out for events.

Congratulations to the young traders who won their category in the regional competition:

Helen Costello of The Bottle Bank Co – winner of the Arts and Crafts category
Amanda Hoggatt of Meadow & Woodland Livestock – winner of the Grocery category
Jessica Pratt of Morsi’s – winner of the Food and Drink category
Hannah Evans of Lavender & Lilac Candle Co – winner of the General Retail category
The following traders achieved highly commended awards in the regional final:

Olivia Washington of Olivia’s Curiosities – General Retail category
Sophie Aris of Handmade Galore – Arts and Crafts category
Holly Carr Maskell of DearLove Limited – Food and Drink category
Tiffany Spark of Tiffs Tempting Treats – Grocery category

The winners from the regional final have been invited to the National Market Traders Federation (NMTF) national final in Stratford-upon-Avon over the August bank holiday weekend. The winner of the national final will receive a prestigious trophy, £500 cash and a mobile credit card terminal.

Cllr Indy Wijenayaka, Cabinet Member for Growth at West Suffolk Council said: “It was brilliant for West Suffolk to host the East of England Regional Young Traders competition once again. This is a unique opportunity for young traders to showcase their creativity, talents and skills whilst growing their businesses and network with new and established traders. Markets are a vital part of our local community and economy; hosting events like the regional competition promotes the value of the markets to young entrepreneurs to encourage the next generation to utilise them.”

The NMTF Young Traders Market is a national campaign to encourage young people to trade at local markets. West Suffolk Council supports the event by supplying tables and gazebos, as well as covering insurance costs.

Bury St Edmunds’ favourite bank holiday beach is back next month alongside a feast of delicious tastes and tipples at the Our Bury St Edmunds Food & Drink Festival.

August Bank Holiday weekend brings one of the highlights of the summer when the Our Bury St Edmunds Food & Drink Festival returns to shine a spotlight on the foodie capital of Suffolk. This free admission two-day event promises a full menu of food and drink treats and displays as well as a host of family fun.

The Stoves Cookery Theatre is at the very heart of the Festival with a programme of displays and demonstrations showcasing chefs from some of the area’s most popular award-winning dining establishments, complemented by tips on how to mix your favourite cocktails. In addition, a farmers’ market will be on Angel Hill and dozens of stalls will line the town centre selling a range of cuisines from around the world and everything those who love cooking could desire.

The Our Bury St Edmunds Food & Drink Festival is organised by the Business Improvement District (BID) organisation for the town. Our Bury St Edmunds Chief Executive Mark Cordell said: “This year’s Festival will be the first since Covid to include an urban beach, which will be returning to Charter Square in arc Shopping Centre. And in partnership with the team at arc we’ve arranged for it to remain there until the following Sunday (September 3), meaning families can come back into town and build sandcastles every day if they wish to.

“And of course, the Our Bury St Edmunds Food & Drink Festival will also offer all the food and drink attractions that have made this an event not to be missed. We know that foodies travel from near and far to visit our town and this event is another good reason to do so.”

As well as the urban beach, complete with deckchairs, there will be a range of children’s activities in and around the town centre, including fairground rides, Big Games and free street entertainment across both days. The Festival is in aid of St Nicholas Hospice Care, supported by Stoves UK, Shop Safe and Haart.

The event runs from 10am to 5pm on Sunday 27 and Monday 28 August.

A motorsport world champion is one of the special guests at the Our Bury St Edmunds Motorsport East event on Sunday (July 16). Joining the free fun day out for all the family will be seven-year-old Mason Carberry from Stanton, recently crowned Ninja Kart World Champion and believed to be the youngest ever World Champion in the Short Circuit formula.

A show of cars and sporting vehicles will fill the town centre, with more than 65 different exhibits all curated by well-known local rally cross commentator and motorsport journalist Arthur Debenham. Laura Cooledge – a Women in Motorsport Ambassador and Club Development Officer at Anglia Motor Sport Club co-hosts the day.

Motorsport East will feature some spectacular competition vehicles – as well as Mason’s Ninja Kart, which he has been invited to take to South Africa to race, there will also be a recent Le Mans winner on display. Two 1930s Talbot 105s that a fortnight previously were first and second in the Le Mans Classic for pre-war vehicles will also be on show, courtesy of John Rushton.

Chief Executive of Our Bury St Edmunds Mark Cordell said: “The line up for this event gets better every year and I am delighted that these recent winners are able to join us. In addition, there’ll be a number of free attractions for all the family at arc shopping centre. And of course it’s a great opportunity to just make the most of our fabulous town centre and enjoy everything else that it offers too.”

One of the attractions that’s expected to be hugely popular is the rare opportunity to drive an F1 Stealth Racer Simulator – at no charge (age/height restrictions apply). Take part in our competition and you could find yourself winning a fabulous gift card prize. And don’t miss the chance to get up close to the first electric super-car to be built in this country with this exciting Mini confirmed as an exhibit too.

This year the event’s chosen local charity is St Nicholas Hospice Care. Any donations will be gratefully received.

Admission to Motorsport East is free and it runs from 10am to 4pm.

A community project which will see people create mini art works to go on display in 40 pop-up exhibitions, has launched in Bury St Edmunds.

The Tiny Art Around Town project which launched in Bury St Edmunds on Saturday, coincides with one of the UK’s biggest exhibitions of contemporary art, Mutiny in Colour, which is being held at Moyse’s Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds, the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket and Haverhill Arts Centre with each venue displaying different pieces.

Over the summer, Tiny Art will see residents and visitors to Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill and Newmarket, create business card sized pieces which will then go on display in various locations around the town centres.

Tiny Art Around Town is a community project based in west Suffolk. Jac Campbell, is coordinating Tiny Art Around Town along with her fellow artist, Tom Ogden.

One of those locations is The Apex in Bury St Edmunds, which is now displaying Tiny Art created at Saturday’s launch by West Suffolk Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture, Cllr Ian Shipp, and Mark Cordell of Our Bury St Edmunds Business Improvement District, which has supported the project.

Chief Executive Mark Cordell said: “I’m no Banksy but I am delighted to be one of the first of the Tiny Artists to create work to go on display in the town. It’s fantastic to have works by Banksy, Grayson Perry and Blek le Rat for anyone visiting our town centre to come along and enjoy.

“And the Tiny Art project adds to the excitement as it means we can all get involved and create our own small pieces of artwork to go on display in shop windows and other locations around the town centre.”

West Suffolk Council which runs Moyse’s Hall Museum and The Apex, initiated the Mutiny in Colour exhibition with support from Brandler Galleries, and is a partner in the Tiny Art project.

Cllr Shipp said: “It’s a great to have Mutiny in Colour in West Suffolk this summer. Our brilliant mix of leisure and cultural activity is one of the things that makes West Suffolk such an attractive place to live and work.

“All of the partners have worked to keep admissions costs as low as we can, and by bringing this to West Suffolk, we are making it more accessible so it can be enjoyed by residents as well as visitors.

“Hopefully people will go the exhibition in the three towns and feel inspired to create their own pieces of Tiny Art to go on display. There will be lots of people who are far better artists than me and if I can do it anyone can, so come along and join the Mutiny.”

Tiny Art Around Town will launch in Newmarket on Saturday 15 July and Haverhill on 22 July and will run until the end of August.

It follows on from the success of a similar project in 2021 during the Moments exhibition at Moyse’s Hall, when residents created art on unused pizza boxes which were displayed in town centre shop windows.

Art lovers can follow a Tiny Art map trail showing the location of the 40 galleries across the three towns. These can be downloaded via social media or collected in person from Moyse’s Hall Museum, The Apex, the National Horse Racing Museum and Haverhill Arts Centre, as well as from the various Tiny Art Galleries themselves.

All the latest news about the tiny galleries and other Mutiny in Colour community events will be shared via Instagram @artaroundtownwestsuffolk.

People can also book for Mutiny in Colour at www.whatsonwestsuffolk.co.uk/mutiny.

West Suffolk Council is supporting the exhibition at Haverhill Arts Centre with £24,307 from the money it was allocated from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).

Pictured:  Cllr Cliff Waterman, leader of West Suffolk Council with Mark Cordell, Cllr Ian Shipp, Jac Campbell and Tom Ogden of Tiny Art Around Town.