Support your local shops on 4th July

Ballymoney Borough Council is flying the flag for local retailers in Ballymoney and supporting diversity on the high street.

On 4th July across the UK, the public will be encouraged to buy at least one item from their local, independent shop to celebrate Independents’ Day 2013.

The national campaign, organised by the National Skills Academy for Retail, champions the local retailers who make the UK’s villages, towns and cities so special.

To raise awareness of the campaign, Ballymoney Council are providing a family fun day in Ballymoney town centre. Families are invited to come along and meet Mickey and Minnie, have a go on the Spiderman Bouncy Slide, meet the stiltwalking balloon modeller Uncle Sam and enjoy an afternoon of music and craic from fUSe FM.

There will be a treasure hunt for children to find a mystery word in the town’s shops, in which they could win a Sweets Hamper from the Candy Store. The Chronicle will be sponsoring a Best Dressed Window Competition and all shops will be automatically entered. There will be special offers in many of the independent shops for one day only!

With over 160,000 independent retailers making up 92% of all retail businesses in the UK, their importance to local economies as well as their contribution to a location’s identity and community is unrivalled.

You can follow the campaign on Twitter @Retail_IndieDay,facebook.com/independents day or on the news section ofwww.retailindieday.com