Bovey Festival brings crowds and boosts local businesses in town centre

Bovey Tracey saw thousands of visitors on Saturday, September 6, as the Bovey Festival brought a boost of footfall to the town centre and highlighted its independent businesses.

Fore Street was closed to traffic for the day, allowing a wide range of food and drink stalls, craft displays, and performances to transform the area into a bustling marketplace.

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Local shops reported increased footfall throughout the day, with some offering special promotions to coincide with the festival.

The event also included craftspeople at the Methodist Hall and live performances in The Square, while supporters of the new Bovey Paradiso Arts Centre hosted tours of the developing venue and highlighted its green technologies.

"Corin and Rebecca Burton and the small team of volunteers who organised the Festival deserve the highest praise for their efforts which delivered yet another fantastic Bovey Tracey event," said Mayor-Cllr Sheila Brooke. 

"The town was buzzing with people everywhere tucking into some wonderful food and drink or learning about our growing reputation as a hub for creativity and independent businesses.

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"We’ve a busy programme of events throughout the year and at a time when high streets nationwide are struggling, people like Corin and Rebecca are proving that change can be positive. I’m so grateful that we can look to the future with a degree of confidence at a time when many towns are struggling."

District and County Councillor Sally Morgan, who helped fund the festival’s promotion through her Teignbridge Community Fund, said: "It’s brilliant for the town, it brings people in and they realise what a wonderful place it is and come back later and spend more money.

"What’s not to like? We’ve got crafts, we’ve got food, we’ve got people enjoying themselves. It’s also good for the people who live here creating a real sense of community pride, the organisers should be fully praised."

Festival organiser Corin Burton, who runs a zero-waste shop on Fore Street with his wife Rebecca and also chairs Business for Bovey, said: "It’s about promoting the town and creating an environment in which residents and visitors want to use our shops and services, time and time again. Bovey comes alive on festival days and everyone benefits, be that our residents, our businesses or our visitors.

"We’re just grateful that everyone responds so warmly and we look forward to our next event which is the Bovey Love Local Market on Saturday September 27. Fore Street will once again be lined with more than 35 stalls, there’ll be live music and street food too. See you there!"