Town crier rings the bells for Dudley
09 Dec 2019
Dudley borough welcomed a town crier in its town centres today to shout about the benefits of shopping local this Christmas.
Town crier Peter Taunton made a whistle stop tour of the borough’s four main town centres, Brierley Hill, Dudley, Halesowen and Stourbridge, as part of Dudley Council’s Small Business Saturday campaign.
The theme of this year’s national campaign for Small Business Saturday, which takes place tomorrow (December 7) is ‘find your local hero’ and Dudley Council is supporting it with a social media advent calendar, celebrating local businesses.
The calendar is showcasing businesses of all shapes and sizes from across the borough throughout December, as well activities and offers taking place on Small Business Saturday, via Twitter and Facebook.
On Small Business Saturday, the council has teamed up with the staff at Halesowen Bid, who are providing 14 free market stalls in Somers Square, Halesowen to existing small businesses in and around the town centre, including Dancers, Base 63 and SkateHut, to help promote the products and services they offer.
There will also be children’s entertainment available and a local gym will be doing fitness demonstrations.
In Dudley town centre the council has been working with Tudor Markets to offer 10 free market stalls on Dudley Market to existing businesses in the town, including Black Country T Shirts and to a number of start-up businesses who came forward following a request from Dudley Council. There will also be entertainment on throughout the day in the town centre by local performers.
In Brierley Hill, shoppers to the town’s regular market will be able to visit Santa’s Grotto and listen to music by the George Formby Society while they shop.
People can support local makers in Stourbridge and browse unique handmade products at the town’s local festive makers market, from 10am to 5pm at General Office Gallery.
Kevin O’Keefe, chief executive at Dudley Council, said:
"It was wonderful to welcome Peter to the borough today, he did a fantastic job at drumming up support for our wonderful town centre shops and traders.
"People can support their local high streets by choosing to do their Christmas shopping here in Dudley borough tomorrow, on Small Business Saturday, and beyond.
"Through the Dudley Deal, we will continue to do our bit to support small businesses in our borough too as we know the vital role they play in growing the local economy."