Stokesley Parish Council has launched a competition for local businesses in the run up to ‘Stokesley TourFest’, a day-long celebration of the Tour de Yorkshire which has also received the backing of Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire.
A host of activities is being organised as part of TourFest when the market town welcomes the Tour de Yorkshire on the final day, Sunday May 1st, which will see the route pass through Stokesley High Street after setting off from Middlesbrough.
Businesses are now being invited to take part in a special window-dressing competition in an attempt to make Stokesley the best dressed town on the Tour de Yorkshire route. The Town Hall has already been decorated with a blue bike which is lit up at night.
Sir Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “It is fantastic to see the people of Stokesley getting behind the Tour de Yorkshire and making the most of this amazing opportunity. I am sure TourFest will be a roaring success.”
Parish Councillor, Malcolm Smallwood, is one of the organisers of TourFest. He said: “We want to rise to the challenge of being the best dressed town for the race and this means being creative and showing in any way possible that we are welcoming the race. It all started with our blue bike on the Town Hall and we’re now asking businesses to take part in a ‘Best Dressed Window’ competition open to any businesses in Stokesley. They can be as creative and unusual as they wish and prizes will be presented for the best windows.”
The parish council, local community and businesses are now well underway with preparations for the festive-style day which will see a programme of events to celebrate the race which expected to pass through the town around noon.
The High Street will be closed to traffic for the whole day with extensive car parking available on the Showfield. A number of family focussed activities are being organised as well as live music, rides, street entertainers, food stalls, a mobile bar, marquees on The Green, official merchandise stalls, a children’s treasure trail and parades along the High Street.
The whole race will be shown live on a large, outdoor TV screen and a stage will have a programme of music performances as well.
The final day of the Tour de Yorkshire will see cyclists take a gruelling 123 mile route starting in Middlesbrough and passing through North Yorkshire, before finishing in Scarborough.
Ian Blakemore, a local businessman and a parish councillor, said: “TourFest is going to be a really special day for Stokesley and to make sure this happens we need to get as many people involved as possible. We’ve been told to expect over 5,000 visitors on the day so this is a tremendous opportunity for local businesses to showcase what they do.”
Judging for the window dressing competition takes place on Friday 29th April and for more information on dressing a business for the Tour de Yorkshire visit
http://issuu.com/welcometoyorkshire/docs/tdy_business_promotional_guidelines?e=2443496/11