Diary of a Shopkeeper, 14th November
Back in sunny August, BID’s Costa del Kirkwall brought a beach to Broad Street and crazy golf to the Kirk Green. Our latest event, starting this Thursday, makes us wish for snow and frost.
The main attraction is a skating rink, which you’ll find in the car park at the harbour end of Bridge Street. All ages are welcome (though under 12s must be supervised) and it’s completely FREE!
If you need some refreshment after your skate – or while your watching friends and family do their Torvill & Dean – head for the log cabin selling Alpine-style food, cooked up by the talented chefs at 21 and Archive Coffee. The menu is still under wraps, but I’ve heard it’ll include bratwursts, churros and non-alcoholic mulled cider.
The car park will be decorated with hand-painted ‘pallet trees’ made by young folk from local voluntary groups, as part of VAO's Christmas Tree Festival.
On Saturday and Sunday, a street market featuring Orkney Food & Drink producers will be popping up, as well as Creative Orkney stands with crafts for sale.
The BID Events Committee discussed at length the pros and cons of inviting food and craft producers to set up around the ice rink. BID’s main job, after all, is to promote its own member businesses, rather than food, drink, and craft businesses from elsewhere in the county.
In the end we decided that the best way to support our members was by making the Winter Wonderland as attractive an event for as many people as possible. If the public support the event in numbers – which we’re sure they will, just as they supported our Christmas carousel two years ago – then there’ll be benefits for every business in town.
Especially as events are not restricted to Bridge Street. Down at the carpark opposite William Shearer’s a giant snow-globe and a penguin photo-board, providing entertainment for kids and wonderful photo opportunities. And of course Shearer’s is always full of delights!
Wandering the streets from Friday afternoon till Sunday lunchtime will be two special guests, ready to meet and greet fans of a certain chilly movie. Their royal identity must be kept secret, but I can tell you they’re guaranteed to melt any ‘frozen’ hearts out there…
Also bringing colour to the town centre will be individual businesses’ Peedie Christmas Trees. A well-established BID tradition, over 70 trees will be dressed to the nines this year. Many shops, cafes, pubs, and other businesses will use this weekend as the perfect time to launch their festive gift selections and special menus. After all, it’s only five weeks to Christmas!
Organising BID’s big events is always a lot of work for our volunteers, and especially our two part time staff, Sally and Laura. They’ve had special challenges this year, because of the necessity of keeping everything super-safe in the face of the recent spike in Covid cases.
Luckily, with everything happening outdoors, risks are low. Mitigations such as cleaning of hard surfaces and mask wearing where appropriate have been put in place. We’ve liaised with OIC’s Environmental Health Department and are following NHS Orkney’s advice throughout.
All in all, attending the Winter Wonderland should be about as safe as walking down the street any weekend – and a whole lot more fun.
See www.kirkwallbid.co.uk/www for more details of events, and for thanks to the many individuals, businesses, charities and sponsors who make it all possible.
And remember: all the entertainments are FREE. All BID asks is that, after you finish at the rink, you get your skates on and visit our wonderful town centre businesses!
This diary appeared in The Orcadian on 17th November. A new one appears weekly. I post them in this blog a few days after each newspaper appearance, with added illustrations., and occasional small corrections or additions.