Gazette News

Businesses come together for inaugural trade fair

By Amanda Greaves

7:40am Tuesday 16th March 2010

The first Ilkley Summer Showcase trade fair will get off to a spectacular flying start this summer with the help of world-famous aerobatic team The Red Arrows.

Ilkley Business Forum has secured a flying visit by the top Royal Air Force display team on Saturday, June 19, when local retailers, businesses and customers will descend on the King’s Hall and Winter Garden.

Billed as the shopping and business event for the LS29 area, the business forum’s Summer Showcase is expected to bring a wide variety of local businesses together, encouraging them to help each other, and give them a wider profile The flypast by the Red Arrows will help to spread the word across Ilkley about the event, it is hoped.

Members of the business forum recently paid a special visit to the Red Arrows’ base, RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, to meet some of the crew and get a closer look at the iconic bright red Hawk trainer jets.

The Business Forum says Vernon Young, of Ilkley business Pitscards, has been a supporter of the Red Arrows for many years, and the team was happy to return the favour by agreeing to do the flypast.

The team will fly over Ilkley while en route to another show in the UK. The Red Arrows carry out flypasts free of charge over events if they can do so without deviating too much from their formal flightpath.

The arrangements are always subject to the weather and flying conditions, last minute flight restrictions and contrary orders from local flight controllers.

But the forum says that once an arrangement has been made the ‘Reds’ will do their best to stick to it.

Back on the ground, arrangements are well under way for the Summer Showcase. The forum say the King’s Hall and Winter Garden, Station Road has been firmly booked for Saturday, June 19.

There will be at least 24 different businesses showing off their wares and services, and it is expected that there will be almost 50 stands in use on the day. Entry for the public will be free of charge.

Ilkley Business Forum continues to hold monthly meetings, in the meantime, bringing businesses together and inviting knowledgeable speakers to share their advice with the local business community.

Associate lecturer at Bradford University’s School of Management, Ros Walker, of Clout Marketing in Bingley, spoke about Effective Advertising and Productive PR at the forum’s February meeting.

Her slides are available if required, by contacting the IBF chairman Paul Birch at enquiries@ilkleybusinessforum.co.uk.

The next meeting of the forum will be on Thursday, March 25, when more information will be given about the new constitution and the latest plans for the Summer Showcase. The guest speakers for the session will be Martin Haley and Helen Priest, another pair of experts arranged by the University of Bradford, and their subject will be Retail Marketing.

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