Falmouth BID Updates

J-Class Regatta

Richard Wilcox, Falmouth BID Manager

Many of you will have seen these superb yachts out in the Bay, even through the mist! If you haven’t then an update that the J-Class Regatta is currently taking place in Falmouth (26-30 June), a real coup for the town. Only a handful of these boats exist in the world today and 4 of them are here and racing for the first time in UK waters since the second world war. Another great advert for the town and one that again we’re pushing and promoting. You can still get out on a tripper boat to watch them at close quarters by getting in touch with the Visitor Information Centre 01326 313394.

SPLASH 2012

Many of you will have read my update last week or indeed local media coverage which we have started generating for this, the new arts festival funded and organised by the BID 7-16 Sept. The first press release has gone out, we will be issuing promotional material which will include A5 flyers, posters for shop windows and a 16 page Festival brochure. Each will have a significant print run in order to get the message out as far and wide as budget will allow. Contact me if you are interested in advertising in that as I can supply details. I’ve enclosed the logo as you may wish to add to your website and link through to www.falmouth.co.uk so that as many people get the message as possible. Again if you missed it last week the really exciting schedule with big literary and art names we have secured are listed here

Olympic Torch Relay impact

Evaluation work has been undertaken by Cornwall Development Company to assess the impact that May 19^th Olympic Torch relay day had on the County. I have put together the salient points for you which you can read by clicking here.

Falmouth High Street Campaign National Conference invite

In a very positive move, the Town Team – Town Manager Richard Gates/BID Manager Richard Wilcox were invited to take part in a national conference in London on the future of the High Street. This is important as it shows how Cornwall is being held in high regard as to how it is proactively addresses issues that affect its town centres via BIDs, Town Management Functions, partnership working, innovative projects such as FREE car parking etc. You can read the story here http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/County-s-support-high-streets-held-best-practice/story-16454961-detail/story.html.

This follows on from the High Street campaign that we launched a number of months ago. That gathered momentum leading to Richard Gates and myself being invited to Parliament where we met with Mary Portas and fed directly into her High Street Review before rolling out a FREE car parking scheme earlier this year which the BID will be looking to undertake again.

Cornwall & IOS Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Strategy Launch

Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP is one of 39 LEPs across England. A partnership between the private and public sectors, LEPs are tasked with helping to shape the economic strategy for their area, undertaking activities to drive growth and the creation of local jobs. Their business strategy launch is Thursday 28^th June which you can follow here

SPLASH - THE NEW FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR!

The vibrant maritime town of Falmouth announces a world class line-up for SPLASH, the brand new arts festival taking place on 7-16 September 2012.

The town will play host to many artists and writers, including the award-winning author of War Horse and former children's laureate Michael Morpurgo and renowned illustrator and author Michael Foreman. The Edinburgh Fringe award-winning play Allotment and artist and sculptor David Kemp will be among the highlights of Cornwall’s creative event of the year.


Funded and organised by the Falmouth Business Improvement District (BID), this innovative festival will unite Falmouth’s creative community through such diverse events as a Book Fest, light and sound installations, living heritage walks, contemporary dance, theatre and award-winning fringe plays.


Richard Wilcox, Falmouth BID Manager says:
“Falmouth’s diverse event scene helps to drive significant footfall into the town and Falmouth BID now funds all of Falmouth’s main festivals so that they continue to develop and succeed. In addition, we are continually looking for creative, sustainable and innovative ways to raise Falmouth’s profile and support BID businesses. Last year we funded and developed Falmouth Spring Festival as an early season initiative and SPLASH will have the same objectives – to be a fantastic festival that appeals to visitors and residents, to encourage people to come into town and to showcase Falmouth’s artistic heritage and creative spirit.”


The first weekend of SPLASH kicks off with one of the week’s highlights. For three days, award-winning authors and illustrators will be headlining SPLASH Book Fest. Join bestselling novelists including Katie Fforde for a Girls’ Night In with a difference, discover practical tips on getting your own book published from people who know, and much more. 
The Book Fest is a must-attend for all book-lovers.


Many of the events are free, in the spirit of celebrating artistic diversity in one of the leading creative and design hubs in the South West. Falmouth’s rich artistic heritage showcases itself through the multiple local design, interior and image agencies, who plan to open their doors as part of ‘Open Design Week’ for the public to access the creative heart of business Cornwall.


TRAIL will see six of the South West’s finest artists commissioned to create light, sound and art installations throughout the town for people to follow and find. TRAIL will be accompanied by an engaging free programme of talks and tours, workshops and making activities for all ages.


Falmouth Art Gallery, recognised as one of the leading small art galleries in the country, hosts a major touring exhibition from Southampton City Art Gallery of British Surrealists showing how a range of artists have responded to surrealist ideas on dreams and the unconscious. And running alongside, David Kemp’s ‘Plastic Botany’ presents surrealist-inspired giant plastic sculptures.

In Focus, a collaboration between Cornwall Hospice Care, renowned wildlife and landscape photographer David Chapman and a number of retail outlets in the town will put a new twist on window shopping, while pop-up art exhibitions at Pizza Express and Courtyard Deli will be the topic of table conversations.


Louise Connell, Director Falmouth Art Gallery added:
“Falmouth is a hotbed of creative talent so it’s great that SPLASH 2012 will give people the chance to enjoy the arts in all its exciting forms with all the wonderful events, art installations and activities that are being planned for September. It will really help put Falmouth even more on the creative map, as well as being a fun festival for everyone to enjoy.”


Ron Johns, owner of the Falmouth Bookseller said:
“Falmouth Bookseller is delighted to be working with Falmouth BID and hosting fabulous literary events for SPLASH, from A Girls Night In, to Michael Foreman’s sublime Cornish picture books, and a hound breaking new style event Dog Tales! Concluding with a talk by Michael Morpurgo, literary giant!”


SPLASH schedule:


SPLASH Book Fest 7-9 September
Girls’ Night In, Fri 7 Sept, 7pm: Dolly’s Wine Bar hosts an author and wine evening with award winning authors Katie Fforde, Emily Barr, Judy Astley and Liz Fenwick. Tickets with a glass of wine are £5 which is redeemable against a book.
Dog Tales, Sat 8 Sept, 11am: The Poly welcomes the winning six auditioned dogs, their owners and six illustrators for a creative hour producing a pooch story and illustrated front cover. The event is free.
My Cornish Tales, Sat 8 Sept, 2.30pm: World famous illustrator and author Michael Foreman talks at The Poly, about his Cornish works including Mermaid of Zennor and Dolphin Boy.
So you want to be an author? Sun 9 Sept, 11am: Join a national literary agent and two successful published authors at The Poly for an hour question and answer session. For those wishing to make it as a writer, this is a must!
War Horse and other things, Sun 9 Sept, 2pm: Michael Morpurgo will talk at The Poly, about Private Peaceful, his new biography recently made into a feature film, War Horse as well as his life in writing.


AT FALMOUTH ART GALLERY
Shallal: Friday 7 September, 7-8pm: The acclaimed dance company presents a free evening of poetry and dance.
British Surrealists: Monday 10 September to 17 November, 10am-5pm: This free major touring exhibition from Southampton City Art Gallery of surrealist art shows how a range of artists have responded to surrealist ideas on dreams and the unconscious.
Plastic Botany: Monday 10 September to 17 November, 10am-5pm: Artist David Kemp presents his surrealist-inspired giant plastic sculptures.


OTHER THINGS NOT TO BE MISSED
Big Draw: SPLASH will be transforming a 40m section of fence into an outdoor art space and exhibition.
Allotment: Follows the complex and quirky relationship between sisters Dora and Maddy as they live out the seasons on their allotment. Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Fringe First winner 2011.
Living Heritage Walks: The Scary Little Girls delight with their quirky and irreverent tales and stories on Falmouth’s maritime and literary history.
Falmouth Plays the Blues: A series of live performances across Falmouth’s pubs throughout the week celebrating the unique Cornish music scene.


For the full festival schedule, please see www.falmouth.co.uk and Twitter: @FalmouthBID #SplashFalmouth, Facebook: Falmouth 'spirit of the sea'

Impact of Olympic Torch Relay Day in Cornwall

Olympic Torch Relay 19th May positive for Cornwall? You bet:
Cornwall Development Company has undertaken an evaluation of the Torch
Relay. The basis for this report is:
• An evaluation of four surveys that were distributed to key individuals for
completion post event
• Spectator estimates undertaken on the day
• Comprehensive evaluation of the media coverage undertaken by Excess
Energy PR who work with Falmouth BID

Key Points
• The Olympic Torch Relay travelled through Cornwall on May 19th 2012 starting
at Land’s End at 7am and crossing the Tamar Bridge sometime after 8pm
• The flame was on view in 21 Communities all of who had their own
community celebrations
• 188,500 spectators came out to view the torch. The numbers exceed
expectations and was approximately 35% of Cornwall’s population
• The Relay influenced approximately £3.77M in spectator spend in the
Communities on Route
• 1 Billion worldwide viewers was predicted, with the China and Japan
broadcasts meeting this alone
• £5,665,912 Advertising Value Equivalent (this is a conservative estimate with
only significant articles recorded and does not include all international print
media due to limited access to these publications)
• £16,997,735 PR Value
• 240 reporters, photographers and film crews from around the world including
Japan, China, Australia, Brazil, France, America, South America, Asia, Russia,
Poland, Finland, Hungary and the Netherlands were present at the start of the
relay at Land’s End
• Over 50% of businesses thought that the Torch Relay was of great importance
to the image of Cornwall
• Over 2,000 tweets using the #DayOne2012
• 36% increase in international visitors to Cornwall’s official online visitor guide
was experienced in the days post event
• Between 14 and 22 May there was an increase of 13,026 additional visits to
the VisitCornwall website based on the same week in 2011
• 79,074 views of the Cornwall Torch Relay Google Map were recorded

Richard Wilcox, Falmouth BID Manager

Quote from Richard Wilcox, Falmouth  BID Manager


"The eyes of the world were on Cornwall on the 19th May and the county really delivered. Many people including those who were expressing negative views regarding Torch Relay Day prior to the event should be left in no doubt as to its positive effect, both in the short and long term. Millions of pounds worth of national and international coverage, hundreds of thousands experiencing a wonderful day and Cornwall's community spirit really coming to the fore. A collective effort that demonstrates how the county can really deliver on the big stage."  

Falmouth BID Updates

Richard Wilcox, Falmouth BID Manager

SPLASH 2012
7-16^th Sept
The schedule for SPLASH 2012, the new arts festival that BID is funding and co-ordinating is really taking shape. Quirky, original and innovative, the festival will celebrate the artistic diversity of Falmouth in as many creative ways as possible.

·         For the Book Festival element, we have nationally acclaimed and award winning authors giving talks and workshops such as ex Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo who wrote among other things Warhorse, Katie Fforde, Emily Barr, Liz Fenwick as well as multi award winning and renowned illustrator Michael Foreman.

·         Light, sound and art installations will appear throughout the town throughout the week as 6 leading south west artists are commissioned to undertake works under the guidance of Falmouth Art Gallery.

·         Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2011 play award winners ‘Allotment’ will be performing in Gyllyngdune Gardens, dance company Shallal in Falmouth Art Gallery and Scary Little Girls throughout the town.

·         There will be an exciting BIG Art in the community project unveiled, an open design week that celebrates Falmouth creative sector and a host of other exhibitions and live music events to boot.

DO please have a browse at the schedule here – SPLASH 2012 schedule
Follow regular Twitter updates here and use hashtag #SplashFalmouth
Follow Facebook updates here  

We’ll be working extensively on the regional and national promotion to once again raise the town’s profile and drive in extra footfall – flyers, brochures, posters, PR will all be undertaken as well as online marketing of course.

Sea Shanty Festival

Another fantastic festival has drawn to a close and well done to all involved in making it happen. The BID lent marketing and PR support via our work with Excess Energy PR, to once again raise the town’s profile specifically on a wider regional and national level. This is what was achieved:

·         Daily Express – 9^th June article (readership in excess of 1.7m)

·         Daily Mirror – 15^th June small feature in the ‘welcome to the weekend’ feature (readership in excess of 2.7m)

·         The Guardian and Guardian online – article in Sat 16^th edition (readership for this in excess of 1m)

·         Western Morning News – articles on 15^th and 18^th June

Some of these can be viewed via our PRESS COVERAGE ACHIEVED section on the Falmouth.co.uk website. For those who haven’t seen this page, it gives a comprehensive flavour of the national (including the recent Telegraph article on the Falmouth design scene) and some of the regional coverage that the BID PR effort has achieved for Falmouth and many of the BID businesses over the past 18 months. This includes videos as well as editorial.

A reminder that we have the superb J-Class yachts weekend after next 26^th-30^th June, with the Pendennis Cup on the 2^nd -7^th July which like other events, the BID will be assisting in terms of marketing, logistical and PR support to help these festival grow and develop.

SPLASH 2012

7-16 SEPT 2012. SPLASH 2012, 

Twitter hashtag: #SplashFalmouth


Celebrating creativity in Falmouth. Art installations, poetry, drama, comedy, dance - we'll be celebrating all and more in September this year at Falmouth's newest festival. So what is happening? Here's a taster:

BOOK FESTIVAL - the first weekend 7-9 September will see the likes of leading illustrator Michael Foreman, Michael Morpurgo and Philip Moran headlining. Look out for Chick Lit evening, illustration workshops, Warhorse talks and more


TRAIL! - six leading South West artists are being commissioned to create light, sound and sculpture installations throughout the town throughout the week. You'll be able to grab the SPLASH brochure and follow...


EXHIBITIONS - Falmouth Art Gallery will be launching a huge new Surrealist exhibition...


IN FOCUS - art and photography exhibitions by leading local artists in shop windows...

BIG DRAW! - this will be biggest community draw project ever seen in Falmouth! Schoolchildren from Falmouth will be painting sections of a 40m work of art that will be installed after the arts festival along Grove Place. The complete 40m masterpiece will be unveiled to the public on The Moor on Sat 15th Sept at 1pm.


FALMOUTH PLAYS THE BLUES - a series of live performance in pubs across Falmouth throughout Festival week celebrating the fantastic music scene that exists in Cornwall.

LIVING HERITAGE WALKS - the Scary Little Girls will delight you with their quirky and irreverent take on Falmouth’s artistic, maritime and literary history. Join one of their walks through the town and discover the many hidden surprises along the way. All inspired by Falmouth people’s tales and stories. Saturday 15 Sept. Time: from 12.15pm, every 15 minutes to 2.15pm

OPEN DESIGN WEEK - Falmouth is one of the creative and design hubs of the South West with many of the county’s leading graphic design, interior and image agencies based here. Add to that the multi-million pound facilities at Tremough campus. Throughout Festival week some are opening their doors to allow you privileged access into the creative heart of business Cornwall.

ALLOTMENT - follows the complex and quirky relationship between sisters Dora and Maddy as they live out the seasons on their allotment, playing out their rivalries among the plants, and when the unexpected rocks their uneasy balance, it’s time to do something radical. Join Dora and Maddy for a cup of tea and a homemade scone and ponder: Do flowers matter as much as vegetables? Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Fringe First winner 2011. Venue: Gyllyngdune Gardens

MORE ON ITS WAY...

Bugs, bats and birds at first campus BioBlitz

The Tremough Campus in Penryn is holding its first ever BioBlitz on Saturday 16 June 2012. The main event will be held from 10am until 4pm with additional early morning and late evening activities.

The aim of the BioBlitz is to survey the flora and fauna on campus, and raise awareness about the fantastic biodiversity on our doorstep.  The event will be led by the students’ union’s EcoSoc society, along with University of Exeter alumnus and Really Wild Show TV presenter, Nick Baker, who will be visiting the Campus to help out.

In addition to wildlife walks, there will be numerous stalls and games at the BioBlitz, including a bouncy castle, treasure hunt, face painting and wildlife colouring competition.  Kids can try their hand at being a wildlife detective with local experts and meet live mammals, including a special visitor, Norman the Noctule bat.  There will also be a raffle and a cake stall.

“This event will enable us to find out more about the biodiversity in our local area as well as at the Tremough Campus,” says one of the organisers, Roz Evans.  “We hope that local families will come along to take part in surveying the huge variety of species that we have here and get involved in loads of fun activities including small mammal handling, bird ringing, plant walks, nature walks, and all manner of competitions and games.  It is an event for all ages and we hope that everyone will come along to get to know the Campus and its abundant wildlife.  We are also delighted to welcome Nick Baker to our event.”

The event is supported by FXU, the Falmouth and Exeter Students’ Union.  FXU represents University of Exeter and University College Falmouth students at the Tremough Campus, which is shared and jointly managed by both institutions, as well as students at University College Falmouth’s Woodlane Campus.

All are welcome! Just turn up on the day. Sign up only activities include early morning or late evening events including bird ringing, small mammal handling, moth trapping and bat walks. To sign up, please email bioblitz.cornwall@gmail.com

Join the event on Facebook: BioBlitz – 16 June 2012 – Tremough  Campus, Penryn. http://www.facebook.com/events/428332557180029/

Event details:
Entrance is completely FREE
Date and time: Saturday 16 June, 10am to 4pm
Venue: Tremough Campus, Penryn, TR10 9EZ. The Campus is just off the Treliever roundabout on the A39, then follow the signs to the BioBlitz.  Free car parking will be available.

For further information about this press release, please contact Jilly Easterby Dip CIPR, MCIPR, Public Engagement Manager, University College Falmouth, the University of Exeter and the Tremough Campus Services Group, on 01326 213792, on 07825 420690, or by emailing jilly.easterby@tremoughservices.com

Falmouth BID Updates

Richard Wilcox, Falmouth BID Manager

Olympic Torch evaluation for Cornwall – message from VisitCornwall:

‘As part of the overall evaluation of the Torch Relay we would like to try and assess the economic impact of the day for the County. We would be very grateful if you could pass on the below link to business in your community for completion:’

 https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NRGR3PB

PR

More recent results from the BID PR efforts for Falmouth:

Chat Magazine (readership 1million) -  arriving this weekend to cover Falmouth and Sea Shanty Festival
Sunday Mail (readership 1million+) - arriving today to profile Falmouth

BBC Olive magazine – coverage expected in their July magazine from their Falmouth visit organised last month

World Travel Guide (online publication) – piece on Falmouth/Finn Festival out next month

Henri Lloyd Falmouth Week

BID is extensively supporting an enhanced ‘Marquee on the Moor’ event this year and is liaising with Pubs United and others to develop an exciting mix of live music and family activities during the week, on The Moor.

Sarah Newton meeting

We have been co-ordinating with Sarah Newton MP, to organise another session for the benefit of businesses to discuss business rates and other high street issues. The date for this meeting is earmarked for Thursday 19^th July at 3.30pm in the Town Council Chambers on The Moor. I will give more information nearer the time.

Well done to all concerned in the organising of the Fal River Festival, another excellent event and a reminder that this weekend is the Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival. Enjoy!