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Dinosaurs to roar into Bury St Edmunds for Spring Fayre

Two giant dinosaurs and a number of baby dinos are to be the star attractions at the Our Bury St Edmunds Spring Fayre at the end of May. A Stegosaurus and a Tyrannosaurus Rex will stomp into Charter Square at arc Shopping Centre where they’ll be just one of numerous free attractions as part of the bank holiday event.

Although the dinosaurs are first-time visitors to the Spring Fayre a group of baby dinosaurs entertained children at the Wednesday market recently to celebrate the end of the Our Bury St Edmunds Easter dinosaur egg trail. The hugely popular activity allowed children to get up close to a baby Spinosaurus and an Ankylosaurus as well as a number of others.

Chief Executive of Our Bury St Edmunds, Mark Cordell, said: “We are really looking forward to having the dinosaurs here and they will offer a chance for our visitors to learn about these pre-historic creatures in a fun and interactive way. I know that dinosaur activities have been very popular in the town and it’s wonderful to see the way youngsters interact with them.

“Of course it wouldn’t be the Spring Fayre without the family-favourite urban beach and, as ever, we’ll have deckchairs and a Punch and Judy show to enhance the feeling of being at the beach, without having to drive more than 40 miles to the coast. Plus our town has so much to offer with all the food and drink businesses and other shops it promises to be a great weekend for all ages.”

The free admission event will also have numerous stalls focussing on flowers, plants, crafts and food as well as a vintage market area. Astronomy, face painting and virtual reality games are set to be among the free activities. The helter-skelter and carousel will also make a welcome return.

Admission to the Our Bury St Edmunds Spring Fayre is free and it runs from 10am to 4pm on Sunday 26 and Bank Holiday Monday 27 May. For more information visit www.ourburystedmunds.com or follow Our Bury St Edmunds on social media.

Bury Free Press BID Column March 2024

The wonderful hospitality sector that we have here in Bury St Edmunds has been very much in the spotlight this month with a visit from the Chief Executive of UK Hospitality Kate Nicholls. Accompanied by our MP Jo Churchill we were able to show a snapshot of our pubs, restaurants, hotels and the Greene King brewery to showcase why Bury is the foodie capital of Suffolk. It was therefore very pleasing to see Kate’s post on X with high praise after her visit to Lark and followed days later with warm words about the town and BIDs generally, when she gave evidence about town centres to a House of Lords committee.

As well as talking about hospitality, Jo Churchill also celebrated English Tourism Week with a visit to the Guildhall where she met tour guides and representatives of attractions associated with the Masters of The Air campaign which has been running alongside the Apple TV series. We’re also keeping our fingers crossed that the town’s tour guides will be successful in the English Tourism awards, which will be announced soon and thank you if you voted for them. Given that tourism is worth more than £50million to our local economy in and around Bury St Edmunds and supports over 1,000 jobs it was great to discuss these important employment sectors with Jo.

It’s been a big month for Bury St Edmunds with Primark opening in the former Debenhams building at arc shopping centre. When we’ve carried out town centre surveys in previous years, a lot of the answers to questions about what people would like to see here have mentioned Primark. And early evidence suggests that is the case. The first weekend that Primark was open, car park use in the town was up almost 20% on the previous year and we know that car park use was higher than usual on the second weekend too.

Giving people reasons to visit Bury St Edmunds is something we at the BID work hard at. During the Easter holidays we’ll be running a Dinosaur Egg Trail for all the family with a children’s competition in which they could win a lovely hamper of toys and goodies. I’m very grateful to the Bury Free Press which is supporting and promoting the trail and also to the large number of businesses who’ve signed up to be part of it. This trail has seen one of the highest levels of engagement from businesses in the years that we have been putting them on.

When the trail finishes we have a special Dino Adventure free event on April 10 in the heart of the market that day. There will be baby dinosaurs and other characters to meet and a family craft area. I hope you and your business have a good Easter weekend, whether you’re looking to be busy with customers or taking a well- earned break.

By Mark Cordell, CEO, Our Bury St Edmunds BID.