B&S Chamber of Commerce and it’s members continued to create innovative ways for the community to come together with a brand new project for St Patrick’s Day. For the second year in a row, the ever popular St Patrick’s Day parade wasn’t possible.  So, the businesses worked together to send out a sign of solidarity and create a little cheer around the town centres.

The idea of joining in the #GlobalGreening campaign from Tourism Ireland came about quite naturally.  Charlie Ferry, Chairperson of the Chamber says, “As well as wanting to brighten the towns for St Patrick’s Day and lift everyone’s spirits, we really wanted to send a sign to everyone who is away from home right now.  So many members of our community are living abroad or elsewhere in Ireland. We were keen to send them a message that we’re thinking of them.  The Global Greening campaign is about reminding everyone, all around the world, about Ireland as a fantastic place to live, work and visit.  We knew it was a great chance to showcase our towns as part of this worldwide campaign”.

The pictures and videos from the event have been viewed many times from all over the world.

See more of the photos in our Gallery here.

Charlie Ferry, Chairperson of the Chamber, commented “We want to help our community find out about local jobs more easily and help businesses fill their positions quickly. Keeping people in employment, and helping our businesses,  is important in ensuring that our community stays strong and vibrant. We look forward to helping many people find positions.”

See just some of our Scarecrows here.

Leah Fairman of The Chamber said ‘We were feeling quite down in the Chamber offices a few weeks ago because we knew we wouldn’t be able to run our annual Trick ‘r Treat. It is normally a huge fun-filled event for the whole community. Then we had the idea of running a Scarecrow Festival and we thought it would be a small way to keep the fun alive. We had no idea how amazing everyone would be!”

There have been over 100 entries to the Festival, and nearly 200 scarecrows on display around the towns. Pauline McDaid, who has been co-ordinating the event, is delighted with the engagement from businesses and the community. “We’ve been bowled over by the number of entries, the creativity and the support and enthusiasm everyone has given to the Festival. From kids of 3 to grandparents of 93. Real life scarecrows, scary scarecrows, superhero scarecrows and cheeky scarecrows. Everyone has been involved – businesses, schools, families, care facilities, community and sports groups.”

For the past ten years the Hallowe’en Trick or Treat has been a huge event in the Twin Towns.  Did you know it was the first ever place in Ireland to invite children onto it’s streets to Trick r Treat?  Last year it was estimated over 2000 people, young and old, dressed up and took part.

Charlie Ferry, Chairperson of the Chamber, is delighted with the response and believes it shows how important supporting our towns are to the whole community. He would like to remind everyone to shop local in the run up to Christmas. “More than ever we need to pull together, and the Twin Towns has shown with this Festival just how much community, family and supporting each other means to them. There will be many challenging days ahead, but we can get through this, together.”

There is still time to take part in the Scarecrow Festival! The event is running for the rest of the week. Just get decorate your scarecrow and email the photo to leah@bandschamber.com. On social media use the hashtag #scarecrowfestival

Covid 19 event compliance

The Chamber would like to remind everyone to stay safe and keep your distance this Hallowe’en. We are delighted that so many families are having fun taking part and making their scarecrow. We would ask that people do not travel to the towns to physically see the scarecrows. Follow the fun on our Facebook page @ballybofeyandstranorlarchamberofcommerce. And check our website next week where we will have everyone’s scarecrows on view. www.ballybofeystranorlar.com

Get in touch by calling us on 074 91 90909 or email us on leah@bandschamber.com

Our Facebook page is @BallybofeyandStranorlarChamberofCommerce

]]> https://ballybofeystranorlar.com/halloween-is-on-the-way-and-the-scarecrows-are-coming-out-to-play/ Tue, 22 Sep 2020 13:06:14 +0000 https://ballybofeystranorlar.com/?p=9329 Ballybofey and Stranorlar Chamber of Commerce are inviting everyone in the community to take part in our Scarecrow Festival this October.  Whether you are a family, a community group, business or school, we’d like you to create your best scarecrow(s) and put it on display from  Saturday 24 October to Monday 1 November. 

How it will work

Let us know you’d like to join in the fun by calling our team on 074 91 90909 or email leah@bandschamber.com. Then, get your scarecrow(s) ready and put it out in your garden, or in your window on Friday 23 October.  Send us a photo of your creation.  We’ll post your photo on our website and social media channels.  We’ll also be getting a professional photographer to come around and take photos of the best scarecrows. Keep your scarecrow standing until the 1 November.

What kind of scarecrow will you create?

We don’t have any rules for your scarecrow creations!  They can be big or small, scary or friendly. They can be on their own, or it could be a whole family.  Use your imagination and come up with your best ideas.  The only thing we ask is that, if they are somewhere public, you make sure that they are safely secured.

Covid 19 event compliance

We will be telling everyone about the scarecrows on display in and around the towns. But unfortunately we can’t create a Scarecrow Trail map for this event, as we don’t want people to converge around any particular area. Over the course of the week, your scarecrow will be seen by lots of people going about their day to day business.  And, of course, your scarecrows will feature on our social media.

Hallowe’en Trick or Treat Event in the Twin Towns.

For the past ten years our Hallowe’en Trick or Treat has been a huge event in the Twin Towns.  Did you know we were the first ever town in Ireland to invite children onto our streets to Trick or Treat?  Last year we estimated over 2000 people, young and old, dressed up and took part and the buzz on the streets was amazing.  Unfortunately, we can’t hold our Trick or Treat this year, because of the Covid 19 pandemic. 

Please support our Scarecrow festival to help keep the Hallowe’en spirit alive in the Twin Towns in 2020.

Get in touch by calling us on 074 91 90909 or email us on leah@bandschamber.com

Our Facebook page is @BallybofeyandStranorlarChamberofCommerce

The ‘SEED’ project is a sustainable, green, regeneration project that will engage in place-making and people to revitalise the town centre of Ballybofey-Stranorlar. It will deliver a ‘green heart’ via a new town square with public amenities in the centre of the town, together with enterprise space in a repurposed heritage building and additional town centre car parking capacity.

A public consultation event has been organised at which the proposed plans will be on display and staff from the Donegal County Council Regeneration Team will be available to provide further information. The event will be managed to ensure compliance with the Covid-19 Regulations and public health guidelines and attendance must be booked in advance.

Book your place at the Drop In on Eventbrite HERE

No walk in meetings are available on the day

OR you can call 074 91 90909 to book a place.

Read more information here.

To get involved residents, visitors, business owners, and interested parties are invited to have their say using this online survey 

Read more here.

For the full version pop over to our Videos page.

A guide for the community and businesses in the Twin Towns on the Covid 19 Pandemic has been published today by Ballybofey and Stranorlar Integrated Community Company (BASICC) and the B&S Chamber of Commerce.

The guide outlines community and business information and supports available to everyone, and aims to be a central communication point where people can get the information they need.  

LINK TO THE GUIDE HERE.

The online resource has sections which cover

• Government and Health Information – links to reputable sources of advice and information
• Community Information – A full list of local and national support organisations providing help to the community across a range of needs from financial to mental health
• Volunteer Listings – A list showing how to access volunteer support in the Twin Towns, and some details of how and where you can volunteer
• Information about Businesses – A full listing of which businesses are open, which are closed, and which are offering additional supports e.g. deliveries or other new services
• Information, Advice and Support for Businesses – details of support available to business owners from the Government and other sources
• Jobs Board – Details of jobs available in Donegal and remote working jobs

Leah Fairman of BASICC says, ‘The feedback we’ve received is that many people are feeling overwhelmed by the current situation and the amount of information being sent around in emails and on social media. We’ve worked hard with organisations such as the Finn Valley Family Resource Centre and our businesses, to collate all the information into a single point.  We hope that it will help people get to the information and services they need as quickly as possible’.

BASICC is asking the community and businesses to help keep the information up-to-date and accurate, and to share other resources that may be useful to the wider community.  Anyone with information or updates should contact Leah on 087 607 5555 or leah@BandSChamber.com

ABOUT BASICC:  BASICC was formed to address the community and economic needs of the Twin Towns area.  The Board of Directors is comprised of local business people, community leaders and residents who give their time on a voluntary basis to ensure that positive things happen in our towns.  We work collaboratively with business groups and community networks within the area, regionally and nationally.  Our Vision is that Ballybofey and Stranorlar stands out as a thriving community that provides real and valuable opportunities for everyone.

For more information contact Leah Fairman on leah@BandSChamber.com

PRESS RELEASE  25 March 2020