How to get involved in town’s commemorative VE Day Anniversary Trail
A family trail to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day launches in Bury St Edmunds town centre next month. Visitors and residents will have to seek out 10 different objects that have a World War II theme – including a ration book and newspaper declaring VE day – in shop windows to be in with a chance of winning a prize.
The Bury Free Press has teamed up with Our Bury St Edmunds Business Improvement District (BID) for the trail which will run from Monday April 7. And there are still a few opportunities for BID member businesses to feature on the trail at no cost.
Trails which encourage visitors to engage with town centre businesses by finding all the elements in various shop windows have been a popular activity in the town for a number of years. This year there are opportunities for more than 50 businesses to be involved – with the remaining spaces strictly on a first come first served basis.
Chief Executive of Our Bury St Edmunds Mark Cordell said: “We’ve organised a variety of different trails over the years and the ones which have an historical theme have been among the most popular. In drawing up a route we try to make sure that the entire town centre is covered so there will be a limited number of places for business participants in each street to ensure people are encouraged to visit as much of our town as possible.
“Families love taking part as it is something everyone can be involved in. It’s an opportunity to get to different parts of the town and can be done over a number of days. We often hear how people are surprised to find a shop or business they hadn’t realised was there as part of the fun of taking part.”
The entry form for the trail will be available from the Bury Free Press as well as the participating businesses. Any business that would like to be part of the trail should contact the Our Bury St Edmunds BID office as soon as possible on 01284 766258.
